John Belushi (Wired)

John Belushi "I'm f**ked..." Gender: Male Type: Actor Drug Addict Age: 33 Species: Human Portrayed by: Michael Chiklis Status: Deceased Media of origin: Wired First appearance: Saturday Night Live

John Belushi was an American actor and comedian best known for being one of the original cast members (Not Ready for Prime Time Players) of Saturday Night Live during its first 4 seasons from 1975 to 1979, before he left the show to star in movies such as National Lampoon's Animal House, and The Blues Brothers. He died of a drug overdose in March 1982. Although John Belushi was beloved by fans in real life, the same cannot be said for his portrayal in the obscure 1989 biographic film Wired, where he was portrayed by Michael Chiklis.

Why He's F**ked

1. John is portrayed as a stereotypical drug addict in this movie. While it's evidently true that John Belushi did drugs in real life, he made a genuine (but failed) attempt to fight his addiction.
2. John's written to be as unlikable as possible, being racist (as he calls Angel a Mexican, even though he's of Puerto Rican descent), completely careless about the actions he's caused, and treating his friends like garbage. Again, John Belushi didn't act like this in real life, as he was a kind and compassionate person.
3. Most of John's life is completely glossed over in favor of his drug addiction and SNL reenactments. Granted, drugs played a major part in John's life and eventual death, but they didn't have to take up so much screentime.
   • Not to mention, the things that did happen to John Belushi either never happened in real life or were heavily disputed.
4. John's also a bit of a butt-monkey, as he gets mistreated by his friends and is constantly called out for his drug abuse, like some kind of after-school special.
   • The most infamous example is during the scene where coroners perform an autopsy on John while he's awake, making him scream in agony. Not only is this scene very disrespectful, but it's also accompanied by a laugh track, which only makes the scene even more disturbing than funny.
5. Despite being a ghost, John somehow manages to crash through a ceiling to curse at Bob Woodward while he's interviewing John's close friend Dan Aykroyd.
   • In another scene, John somehow gets a cheeseburger, despite his guardian angel Velasquez/Angel stating that people couldn't see or hear John due to him being a ghost.

Redeeming Qualities

1. Michael Chiklis was a great casting choice for the role of John Belushi.
2. The SNL reenactments and the very few flashbacks that aren't focused on John's drug abuse are pretty good, and greatly show off Chiklis' talent.

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