I just saw Cadillac Records.

This was the story of Chicago based Chess Records. Chess was a dominant actor in the world of early blues, jazz and rock-n-roll. It was the home of such legendary artists as Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Howling Wolf, Etta James, Jimmy Witherspoon, Buddy Guy and Bo Diddley. The film was titled Cadillac Records because of the label owner's proclivity to cheat his stars out of royalties and pay them in new Cadillacs instead.

The film starred Adrien Brody, Gabrielle Union, Vincent D'onofrio, Cedric, Eamonn Walker, Jeffrey Wright, Mos Def, and Beyonce. With all of that talent, the film should have been better. But it wasn't. It looked and felt like a made for TV movie. It lacked the intensity of Ray (starring Jamie Foxx) which covered similar ground. An invented romance between Leonard Chess and Etta James falls flat. There are parallels drawn between Muddy's desire to escape the plantations of Mississippi and Leonard Chess' desire to escape the ghettos of eastern Poland. Curiously the film makes no mention of Phil Chess, Leonard's brother and business partner.

The film accurately depicted the different approaches of Howlin Wolf and Muddy Waters to label exploitation and interference. Waters was more of a "company man" and didn't object to recreating a paternal plantation style relationship with Leonard Chess. Waters knew he was being cheated but also knew that Chess would take care of him. Wolf (played superbly by Eamonn Walker) was different. Wolf didn't accept any "gifts" from label owners, paid for his own home and cars, and resisted anyone telling him how to run his band. This was true to life. Howlin Wolf was 6-6 and 300# in his salad days so there weren't very many people who tried to push him against his will.

Jeffrey Wright looks nothing like Muddy Waters but he did a fine job recreating the man's mannerisms and style. Mos Def does have a slight resemblance to Chuck Berry and turned in an excellent performance showing Chuck's defensive sarcasm against the racism of the day. Mos also nailed Chuck's precise diction and expansive vocabulary.

The real problem of the film is that with the exception of the actor (Columbus Short) playing Little Walter, it is difficult to suspend belief. You never forget that these are just actors. Good actors but there is no one who takes over a role and blurs it like Jamie Foxx did in Ray.

Little Walter's explosive temper, incredible talent and self-destructiveness make up something of a theme throughout the film. The victim of numerous police beatings and also an alcohol and drug addict, Little Walter died young. His death marks something of a turning point in the film.

A final nitpick for any blues fanatics is that the film shows Muddy playing various Gibson Les Pauls when everyone knows Muddy was primarily a Fender Telecaster man.