Cadillac Records

Starring: Emmanuelle Chriqui, Adrien Brody, Gabrielle Union, Beyonce Knowles, Mos Def

Directed by: Darnell Martin

RS: 2of 4 Stars

2008 Sony Pictures Drama

Beyoncé Knowles could have nabbed an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress. That's how good she is playing it all sexy, sassy and druggy as Etta James, the R&B singer who found the soul in songs like "At Last." Too bad for Knowles that she's only part of Darnell Martin's rushed mess of a movie that jams the story of Chicago-based Chess Records into one incoherent package. Adrien Brody plays Leonard Chess, who started the company in the 1950s with his brother Phil (we hardly see him) to record great blues artists and pay them with Caddys. There's Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, Eamonn Walker's as Howlin' Wolf, and a lively Mos Def as Chuck Berry. It's all a blur, except for the music. That's workin'.