Product: Cadillac Records [Blu-ray] (2008)
Rating: 4.0
well worth a watch or three
Read the other reviews, which are going to be better than this one. I was blown away by the music in the film until Beyonce showed up. Okay, she's doing an acting job, playing Etta James. But, she doesn't sing like Etta James, she sings like Beyonce, which is unforgivable; she is not playing herself and should not be singing in her style. Jeffrey Wright is not, by profession, a singer, but he does a stand up job as Muddy Waters. Actually, he is pretty amazing. But Beyonce is no Etta James and doesn't even try to be, which she should have.Other than her flawed performance as one of the greatest jazz singers in history, I loved the film. Granted, as others have pointed out, it is a history written in highpoints. But, ya know, it's a film and can't include everything. Leonard Chess and Sam Phillips were probably the most important pioneers in the recording of indigenous music in the United States. Maybe somebody will do a good film about Sam Phillips.Oh boy, I probably shouldn't have said all that, but, as Jerry Lee said in one of his songs, It Just came out. Listen, guys. Good film. Jeffrey Wright is a terrific actor who doesn't do enough, and man, the guy can really sing. The film at least gives an overview of how that great blues sound came to be recorded. You get a taste of how things were back then, and how guys like Muddy Waters started out. Back then, without TV and internet, all these guys had to occupy their time were their guitars and harps and angst and voices.