Jersey Boys

It was not my call to see this movie but so glad I went along for the ride! It has at least a little something for everyone and a LOT for Frankie Valli fans. Granted, the narration is a little distracting at first, but you quickly get so into the story and the characters; the good times and the bad, that you adapt to it quickly. I thought I was tired of their music but I couldn't get enough of it. After several of the songs, the entire audience clapped as though we were at the performance portrayed in the movie. Eastwood knows what moves us, what makes us laugh and how to get us on our feet. He delivers it all big time. Seriously, what more do you want from a movie?

There's a reason why the 1960s is widely known as the "Golden Era" of music, specifically, the birth of what is now called Rock n Roll. Comprising of four British teenagers from Liverpool, The Beatles produced their first album (Please Please Me) in 1963 and went on to be regarded as the greatest rock and roll band of all time. But just a year earlier, in 1962, four boys from New Jersey made heads turn and girls swoon with a unique 'sound' to their music. Jersey Boys is the phenomenal true story of a 'sound' that took four boys from New Jersey's mob controlled suburbs and made them into the icons they are today – legends whose music is still celebrated more than five decades on!

Produced and directed by another living legend – Clint Eastwood – Jersey Boys is a Tony Award winning Broadway and West End musical adaptation of the same name. Scripted by Woody Allen's Oscar winning collaborate Marshall Brickman (Anne Hall and Manhattan), the story benefits from a deeply dramatized account of the stage production, thus making it a biopic rather than just a musical. This is why the audience has to wait a good hour before Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young) makes our feet tap to the film's first real track: Sherry. But before we get to hear Young's remarkable rendition of Valli's incredible falsetto pitch, Brickman's story takes us through New Jersey's underworld circa. Valli is a good Italian-American kid but his friend Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza) is just the opposite. They are both connected to local mobster Gyp DeCarlo (Christopher Walken). Taking Valli under his wing, Tommy puts together a small time band but only manages mediocre returns while also moonlighting as juvenile delinquents. This changes with the arrival of Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen), a golden goose of a singer- song writer whose epiphany changes the band's name from The Four Lovers to The Four Seasons. Then, with the addition of bass guitarist and singer Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda), Sherry, their first song as a band, becomes a hit and the group is instantly catapulted into nationwide fame.

By the time we get to the band's all-time number one hit single, Can't Take My Eyes Off You, there's trouble brewing. Domestic heartbreak and tragedy, ego trips and quarrels, financial crises and mob intervention turns cracks into fissures. Reminding us that this is in fact a stage show adaptation, Eastwood creates individual perceptions by allowing each member of the band to narrate his story directly to the camera. While this might seem like a theatre-cinema blending technique (ala Moulin Rouge!), it adds wholesome dimensions as a biography made for the discerning cinema audience. Adding on to that dimension is the juxtaposition of organized crime with the evolution of Doo-wop into rock and pop. In fact, there is a brief reference to Frank Sinatra, who as legendary as himself, was known to have ties with Chicago's notorious mobster Al Capone. To this effect, the story also includes real life actor Joe Pesci (Joey Russo) as a talent scout who recommends Bob to the band. Synonymous with mobster roles in previous films, Walken himself might seem like a cliché, but instead is entrusted with the film's humour and he delivers. Characterization from the rest leaves more to be desired. Young as front man Valli and Piazza as Tommy are more theatrical than expected in a film. It's a different matter when we get to see them perform as musicians – simply astonishing!

That there is no reference to era specific bands like The Beach Boys or the Bee Gees can be another letdown. Instead, Brickman's script remains parallel to the stage production with emphasis on an underdog rags-to-riches plot arc. Even so, as Eastwood's first musical adaptation, Jersey Boys has more hits than misses (excuse the pun). Like the Academy Award winning Walk The Line, a lot of focus has gone into the back story by dramatizing the true cost of fame and fortune. Above all, it is a brilliant narration on how pain and loss can conceive everlasting music. And judging from the need to make this film, it's no surprise that the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons will always remain evergreen.

Greetings again from the darkness. Two upfront disclosures are in order. I have never seen the mega-smash Broadway show, and I've always been a huge fan of The Four Seasons' music. These are pertinent because they impact one's reaction to the film version.

Director Clint Eastwood knew immediately he wanted to bring the Broadway show to the movies. In fact, his decision to cast 3 of the 4 main stage actors proved crucial in this successful transition. The rags-to-riches story of four guys from New Jersey is not only true, but it's believable because they scrap and battle just like we would expect. The mob ties are on full display, as is the struggle to maintain any semblance of normal family life while on the rocket ship to stardom.

John Lloyd Young is spectacular as the great Frankie Valli. While I fully anticipated cringing during the songs, his voice never once faltered. He is clearly the main reason the Broadway show (he won a Tony award) and the movie work. Erich Bergen plays songwriter Bob Gaudio and Michael Lomenda plays bassist Nick Massi ... both are solid. The only crack was in the casting of Vincent Piazza as Tommy DeVito. Piazza is well known from "Boardwalk Empire", but he is just a bit too slick as the guy who scammed the other band members, digging a massive hole of debt - mostly to a mob loan shark named Norm Waxman (played by Donnie Kehr in an excellent performance).

Other support work is provided by Mike Doyle as record producer and all-around flamboyant guy, Bob Crewe; Renee Marino starts strong as Mary (Frankie's future wife) but is given little to do as the story progresses; Joseph Russo captures the quirks of a young Joe Pesci, who introduces Gaudio to the band; and the always entertaining Christopher Walken slightly underplays local made guy Gyp DeCarlo who is instrumental in protecting Frankie in those early years. It should also be noted that the band's accountant is played by Barry Livingston, who you might remember as Ernie from "My Three Son's".

Eastwood is now 84 years old and he wisely takes a pretty conventional route with the film version. In fact, the argument could be made that taming the language could have resulted in a PG-13 rating, making it more accessible to families. It doesn't have the edge that most R movies possess. This movie has not been popular with critics and it's probably because of this relatively safe approach to an entertaining and fun story. It's not cutting edge cinema, but if you enjoy the music, you will enjoy the movie.

JERSEY BOYS is another winner from director Clint Eastwood and an adaptation of the popular stage musical about the life and times of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It's a lengthy and often slow-moving biopic that takes a long time to get to the fame and fortune of the group in their heyday, yet there's something engrossing about it all the same. It helps immeasurably that Eastwood is an assured direction who brings a sheen of class and professionalism to all of his films, making this a delight to watch.

Most of the cast members are taken straight from the musical, so their singing is quite wonderful. Their renditions of all the popular hits are quite amazing, particularly the power house climax which is incredibly moving and perfectly performed. The ending credits, in which the whole cast provide an encore in the classic musical tradition, could easily have been completely cheesy in the hands of a less experienced director but Eastwood makes it work, and then some.

Acting stand-outs are John Lloyd Young as family man Frankie, whose turbulent private life is in contrast to his serene presence on the stage, and Vincent Piazza, delivering a variant on his edgy presence in BOARDWALK EMPIRE. I was delighted to see Christopher Walken cast in support as well. As musicals go, I'm not a massive fan of the genre, but JERSEY BOYS is good enough even for non-fans. Check it out.

My wife and I were extremely and pleasantly surprised. I've never been into musicals...ever...my favorite up to this point was "The Sound of Music," which inspired me to get into the film industry in the first place, yet, we found ourselves seat dancing and bopping in our seats. We really enjoyed the interpersonal approach of having the characters each expressing their takes and their understanding of each situation, which brought a lot of comedic character moments to the storyline and subplots.

But the the thing that impressed us the most, was the decision to make the film NOT feel like a musical. No-one busted out in song at the wrong time...and the singing moments felt completely unforced. It was like watching a living biographical film. Great Directing job by Clint Eastwood.

Lastly, we didn't realize how many great hits Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons had. We thoroughly loved this movie....and can't wait to buy the soundtrack.

The theater was pack...and it was the biggest theater in the Tampa Bay area.