When an investigating journalist Ernie Souchak (John Belushi) gets beaten up and is sent to hospital for writing a too revealing story about a corrupted councilman, he is sent away from the city to Rocky mountains to do a story of a Dr. Nell Porter (Blair Brown), an eagle researcher living in solitude. While back in the city Souchak is a tough cookie and somewhat a celebrity, in the wilderness he is completely unknown, useless and inept, but tries to cling onto every bit of masculinity he still has left, often with a comical outcome.

Continental Divide is a movie that grows on you. All of a sudden you find yourself sympathizing the grumpy Souchak, and being the fly on the wall sharing the small cabin up in the mountains with the two and watching their worlds collide. The dialogue is witty and Belushi delivers every line like a pro that he is.

While I didn’t pick up this movie for John Belushi, and the male lead on this one could’ve been anyone as far as I was concerned, after seeing the movie he obviously was the right choice for the role for this (romantic) comedy.

There was much more to John Belushi than a SNL comedian or a Blues Brother. Too bad we didn’t get to see more of him.

80s-o-meter: 70%

Total: 81%