Cadillac Records

Cadillac Records brings the music of the 1950's right into your living room. Sometimes gritty, never truly suspenseful, but mostly entertaining and fun to watch.






This is certainly one of Adrien Brody's best performances of recent memory. Playing club owner turned record exec, Leonard Chess, Brody has that certain savoir faire to pull this off without being too sleazy. Come to think of it, there is an endless array of strong performances. Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, Columbus Short as Little Walter, and Mos Def as Chuck Berry each performed admirably and shove believability down your throat.

This soundtrack is top notch ass kickin music. That alone makes this worth the watch.

The problem here is the writing just wasn't strong enough. It was a little gritty in parts, but a movie such as this needs to be really gritty. It needs to make you feel the music, feel the pain behind it, and the joy involved when it hits the air waves. You need to feel the poverty, the successes, and the failures. For the most part, it failed in fully delivering.

Beyonce makes an appearance in the second half as Etta James. So much could have been done with her character. For the most part, she was wasted.

It's a good movie, just not a REALLY good movie. As I said, the music alone is worth the watch.

3 stars.