Cadillac Records Turns the Label's History into Another Downer Soap Opera

A A A Comments (6) By Robert Wilonsky Wednesday, Dec 3 2008

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Cadillac Records
Directed by Darnell Martin
TriStar
Opens December 5

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For a film "based on a true story"—that of Leonard and Phil Chess's eponymous record label, featuring the likes of Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Howlin' Wolf (Eamonn Walker), Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles), and Chuck Berry (Mos Def)—there doesn't seem to be a single fact contained within writer-director Darnell Martin's ham-fisted fiction, which renders pre-rock musical history as yet another downer soap opera bloated with smack and sex and premature corpses. For all its copious flaws, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story perfectly nailed the trajectory of every single rockudrama that has tarnished a legend's legend—the big bang turned sad whimper. In this version—told in flashback, no less, with overwrought narration provided by Cedric the Entertainer as Chess producer, session musician, and house songwriter Willie Dixon—there is no Phil Chess, only Leonard, played by an actor, Adrien Brody, who, with his anachronistically tousled hair and Forever Fonzie wardrobe, looks as much like Leonard Chess as he does, well, Howlin' Wolf. Fabrications in the name of movie myth-making are, of course, to be expected from a genre that demands condensing a life into a handful of Defining Episodes; all biopics reduce and trivialize. But so egregious are the deficiencies and distortions here—in this universe, the Rolling Stones came to the U.S., and the Beach Boys ripped off Chuck Berry long before anyone had ever heard of Elvis Presley—that it's almost impossible to discern whether there's anything decent about the moviemaking itself. With everything so wrong, how can there be anything right about Cadillac Records?

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Stephen Conn 12/08/2008 11:47:00 AM

I'm with Nick. You can't merely skate over the detailed performances offered by Columbus Short as Little Walter and Beyonce as Etta James as Dewey Cox cliches. Sure, the addition of Marshall Chess, Bo Diddley, and Muddy burying Walter to something other than a 1957 clip of Elvis would've been helpful, but otherwise the film covers a missing part of music history quite well.
Nick 12/08/2008 2:33:00 AM

This review is guilty of everything it incorrectly accuses this fine movie of. By dwelling on superficial details like whether the actors look like the people they're portraying, Wilonsky completely overlooks the excellent performances that give life to the very real struggles of these artists in an era of segregation, and the fascinating trajectory of their music. While, as in most biopics, the details may not be exactly correct, the larger, really important issues come through loud, clear, and true--offering unforgettable entertainment all the way.
Robert Wilonsky 12/04/2008 2:22:00 AM

Giorgio, I think the errant comma in there is throwing you off: My point is that the film says the Stones and the Beach Boys came along years before Elvis Presley. Somehow, the 1960s take place before the 1950s. Which is, to put it mildly, distracting.
Wang 12/04/2008 12:07:00 AM

Agreed with giorgio. The Stones actually took their name from a Muddy Waters song called "Rollin' Stone," and the film shows, correctly, that they and other Invasion artists made history by repackaging Chess' "race music" for American whites. It's also worth noting that another Chicago label, VeeJay, was the first to sell Beatles recordings in the US, though that's not in the movie.
Wang 12/04/2008 12:03:00 AM

Agreed with giorgio. The Stones actually took their name from a Muddy Waters song called "Rollin' Stone," and the film shows, correctly, that they and other Invasion artists made history by repackaging Chess' "race music" for American whites. It's also worth noting that another Chicago label, VeeJay, was the first to sell Beatles recordings in the US, though that's not in the movie.
GiorgioNYC 12/03/2008 8:14:00 PM

"in this universe, the Rolling Stones came to the U.S...." Is there something missing here from this sentence? The Rolling Stones did come to the US in the early 60s and did record at Chess Records. The title of the instrumental "2120 South Michigan Avenue" is the address of Chess Records. Jagger and Richards both have spoken about meeting their musical heroes, including Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, at Chess