A legend such as Berry throws "Cadillac Records" out of balance because he overshadows the film's real subject, which is the independent record company Chess Records. Chuck Berry(Mos Def) is Leonard Chess' Joy Division. Learning about Little Walter is akin to a hypothetical film about Factory Records that spends an inordinate amount of time on A Certain Ratio. Profiling a relative obscurant such as Waters, and for that matter, Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter, makes "Cadillac Records" unique, because the film is profiling artists that are better known to the black community. In other words, a contemporary white audience forgot who the Sylvers were. Rock wanted to do a bit on The Sylvers, a sort of poor man's Jackson 5, but was turned down by the producer because the disco group were a niche act. "Cadillac Records" brings Chris Rock to mind when he was a regular on "Saturday Night Live". Thank goodness Bo Diddley stayed relevant and did a Nike commercial with multi-sport athlete Bo Jackson, or else the rhythm and blues giant might have been lost to a generation prone to short memories. Muddy Waters is an odd fit for the music biopic treatment because the legendary musician, unfortunately, is not exactly a household name. As a result, the film has a muted quality, even though the former sharecropper, made it. Waters' stardom is a secret stardom the filmmaker doesn't have television appearances and the usual media-oriented showcases at his disposal. His success is largely invisible to mainstream America it's a tempered success in which "Cadillac Records" shrewdly captures by not falling into the usual trappings of the music biopic. The bluesman makes "race records" that the white kids don't dance to. His success is largely invisible to mainstream America it's a tempered success in which "Cadillac Records" Muddy Waters(Jeffrey Wright) has a number one hit song, but he's number one on the black charts.
Muddy Waters(Jeffrey Wright) has a number one hit song, but he's number one on the black charts.