Wired (1989)

Wired... where can I start? You may notice that I’m using a picture from online as opposed to taking a picture of a movie case on my bed. Why? Because I do not own a copy of this film. Most people don’t. It was never released on DVD, and rightfully so. It tells the story of Saturday Night Live legend John Belushi (portrayed by Michael Chiklis), the film is so unbelievably disrespectful to Belushi that Belushi’s own family and friends, including Dan Aykroyd (who is also portrayed in the film), boycotted the film. The film seemed to be doomed from the start, being based on the book Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times Of John Belushi by Bob Woodward, which in and of itself is already controversial due to the way Woodward paints Belushi. What makes the film so disrespectful? It starts off with Belushi dying and being taken to the morgue. Belushi then “wakes up” and leaves the morgue, only to be picked up by a supernatural Puerto Rican cab driver, Angel Velasquez (Ray Sharkey). He finds that he is a ghost and that no one can see or hear him. He then looks back at significant moments in his life, from his beginning career on SNL to his relationship with his wife, and his eventual constant drug use and downfall. This is only the beginning of the all-over-the-place biopic which includes Bob Woodward (J.T. Walsh) interviewing people for material for the book he’s writing, more flashback scenes, which include a LOT of drug use scenes (which are one of the only times the film bothers to go in chronological order), and even a scene where Belushi gets an autopsy, yes an AUTOPSY, performed on him while he is supposedly still “alive”. All of this, in no specific order, just wherever the hell they felt like putting the scenes. Chiklis’ performance was one of the only good things about this film, he did a terrific job and he thankfully didn’t kill his career before it started with this film. The film is a disrespectful, terrible mess and is without a doubt one of the most disgraceful portrayals of a loved celebrity’s story. I rate it POOR on the scale.