Unfortunately, in what should have been the ultimate tribute to the King of Rock & Roll, Jon Brewer’s style comes across as disjointed. Most of the documentary is very dry, like what you’d get from a VH1 Behind The Music episode, but Brewer tries to spice it up with unnecessary dramatizations and random colorization. When describing Berry’s encounters with law enforcement, we see condescending reenactments shot in black and white with one color sticking out, similar to what Spielberg did in Schindler’s List. Archival black and white footage will have one piece colorized, such as a television performance where a go-go dancer’s bikini bottoms are colorized bright green, drawing our eyes away from Berry’s performance to this woman’s genitals for no reason at all. At one point, an interview with Berry’s attorney, the screen shifts to the secondary camera showing the primary camera’s side screen because…art? These flourishes simply don’t work and get in the way of what could have been the definitive documentary about Chuck Berry.
“…music and lyrics that are now ingrained in our collective psyche as the origins of modern music as we know it.”
There’s also a heavy sugar coating of several important negative factors in Berry’s life. Chess Records gets all the credit for discovering him, while their well-documented practice of ripping off their artists is completely ignored. Berry’s legal troubles for videotaping women in the bathroom of his restaurant gets dismissed by attorney Wayne Schoenberg (aka Schoeneberg) as an orchestrated set-up. He hired a girl as a waitress for his restaurant and drove her back to Missouri from another state, but supposedly had no idea she was an underage prostitute. When discussing the 1990 raid on Berry’s home, Schoenberg mentions everything but the pornography, and apparent child pornography, that was confiscated as reported by numerous contemporary news sources. Berry was a true artist, and all artists have their issues, some more serious than others. To completely ignore this aspect of Berry’s personality makes everything else in the documentary questionable.
Brewer shines best toward the end when Chuck Berry finally succumbs to old age and leaves the corporeal plane. The coverage here is spot on, candid and emotional. We truly feel the effect of his passing and mourn beside his friends and family. It’s a shame the rest of the documentary doesn’t reach this level of connection.
Regardless, Chuck Berry is an icon, legend, and master whose legacy resonates a full 65 years after his first release. For any music collector, aficionado or fan of rock and roll, this is absolutely essential viewing. For everyone else, just walk in knowing it’s a sugarcoated version of events with some unnecessary elements thrown in for some reason.
Chuck Berry screened as part of the 2020 Greenpoint Film Festival.
"…feel the effect of his passing and mourn beside his friends and family."
