Product: Cadillac Records [Blu-ray] (2008)
Rating: 4.0
A compelling story, but just an "okay" movie
"Cadillac Records"(2009)------------------------------------------Let me start by saying that I am a huge, lifelong fan of Chess Records, particularly of Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter, as well as Sugar Pie DeSanto and others. Having a movie that celebrates this fabled, groundbreaking, immensely important, immensely influential blues powerhouse is a good thing. But, like almost all "historical" films and biopics, this is riddled with unnecessary factual errors and other shortcomings. Also, it just wasn't as great as it could have and should have been.I think perhaps the biggest problem was with the portrayal of label co-founder Leonard Chess (and, um, hey, what happened to his brother, who also ran the label?). I think Adrien Brody, who I like and respect as an actor, was badly miscast in this role. He had none of the rough edges that I image a figure like Chess would have had, none of that big city ruggedness or tough-guy street smarts: it just wasn't there. He also seemed to have little chemistry with any of his fellow actors, and little feel for the role. I also imagine that a guy like Chess would have been immensely charming and likable, even when he was jerking you around, but I didn't get that from Brody's portrayal, either -- his Chess was saintly and businesslike, but not a guy you'd want to have a drink with, or record for. Ah, what someone like Paul Rudd could have done with this part!Also, there's the tiresome Hollywood habit of mucking with the facts when making a "historical" film. Other reviewers have noted several problems... what stood out for me was the general timeline: the Beach Boys are famous before Elvis Presley; Little Walter is killed sometime (apparently) around 1965 (instead of '68, when he actually died) and the big wowzer ending is when Muddy Waters & Co. are invited to tour Europe in the late 'Sixties, after Chess Records had been sold and the whole shebang was long over (in fact, pioneering blues musician, Waters included, had been touring Europe for several years by then, and had already been lionized by the Rolling Stones and the British blues bands for half a decade... The film shows this happening much later than it really did.)The whole messing up the facts thing baffles me. It seems that Hollywood screenwriters have given themselves a blank check to re-write whatever they want to in historically-oriented films, in the interest of "tweaking" the script, giving it more dramatic oomph, etc., and they will sarcastically remark that all of us who complain are just being too literal and taking things too seriously. The thing is, though, that details *do* matter, and if you don't want to stick to the facts, then why pick a historical topic for your film? If you think you've got a good story to begin with, shouldn't it be good enough to tell without blatantly distorting the facts? It's laziness on their part, not creative genius.Anyway, "Cadillac Records" was fun enough, but it could have, and should have, been great. It's worth watching, and hopefully it will succeed in turning some folks onto the classic urban blues recordings of the 1950s. It got me to dig out some of my old LPs. (Axton, Planet Krankulon)