Cadillac Records (2008) – The barely factual story of Chess Records in Chicago. Leonard Chess (Adrain Brody) advanced the careers of some of the greatest blues artists of his time.
Directed by Darnell Martin Starring Adrian Brody, Cedric the Entertainer, Mos Def, Beyoncé Knowles, Jeffrey Wright
Fans of great Blues men and women like Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Little Walter, Etta James and even Chuck Berry will want to steer well clear of this movie. This is no argument that Chess Records wasn’t a pivotal part of bringing these artists and many others to wider fame in the ’50s and ’60s. For his part in the growth of Chicago Blues and Electric Blues, Chess was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 in the Non-Performer category. This movie does a gross dis-service to all the legends involved.
This isn’t a story that lacks forceful characters, conflict or even sex. What the movie offers is the people and their stories after it has been run through a garbage grinder. Events are grossly out of place, relationships are distorted and history is considered a minor annoyance to the writers. As with any biopic or historical story, there is a certain level of editorial rearrangement that is necessary and forgivable. Then there is simply making things up wholesale. There’s no depth to any of the characters. Waters, James, Chess, Little Walter and Howling Wolf are reduced to a series of “tics” that are repeated endlessly in place of character development. Mos Def as Chuck Berry is farcical. Jeffrey Wright’s considerable talents were given little room to work with an unexplored Muddy Waters. Add in consistently awful lip synching and the movie comes close to being unwatchable.
Someday maybe we’ll see a proper movie for these people and this place in music history.
Why You Will Like It – Beyoncé isn’t bad as Etta James.
Rating – ** Not Impressed
Stories Are My Life 
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