Product: Cadillac Records [Blu-ray] (2008)
Rating: 4.0
Entertaining and Sincere In Spite of Hollywood Schmaltz
This gets 4 stars--flaws and all--just because anyone who tries to raise public awareness about these musicians should get huge props. The Chess greats have been my life-long heroes, and as a harp player I was particularly thrilled to see Little Walter given so much attention in a Hollywood movie--no matter how maudlin. And boy is this movie maudlin! Really cheesy stuff, but movingly acted by the cast and with great art direction (cars and amplifiers are photographed with almost fetishistic love of the period).Unfortunately the film had some major shortcomings, some of which I've already seen mentioned by other reviewers. The biggest disappointment for me was the omission of one of the absolute greats of the era--Sonny Boy Williamson II, who had a HUGE influence on 60's blues rock. He was also a hilarious character and would've added much to the story. Although Eamonn Walker did a very credible job on Howlin' Wolf's vocals and the great Kim Wilson did justice to Little Walter's playing, some of the other musical elements were a trifle lacking. Jeffrey Wright's singing was quite weak, and Beyonce's contemporary R&B; riffing was a bit anachronistic (although she seemed to have made some effort to emulate James' phrasing). Having a completely irrelevant contemporary pop song by Beyonce during the credits was a travesty--obviously forced upon the filmmakers by her manager or something...it really marred an otherwise earnest effort.