ReaderKenka
Let's be realistic.
MoPoshy
Absolutely brilliant
Philippa
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
The Movie Diorama
A slight misfire from Clint Eastwood who has directed some excellent films. Don't get me wrong, this was incredibly watchable...just uninspired. Based on the life of Frankie Valli, it is the story on how the rock band 'The Four Seasons' formed. Whilst dabbling in the rise and fall of band member Tommy DeVito, but primarily focused on Frankie. As with most biopics, it is the typical tale of how fame and fortune can corrupt the mind and alter your motives. In this case, this is conveyed through Tommy DeVito who founded the band. But as their popularity increases, his aspirations in life change which may not be for the betterment of the group. The dramatic traits that are embedded into the narrative just work well. The members were emotionally involving and incredibly acted. Considering the majority of the cast were newcomers, it worked in Eastwood's favour. Plus, John Lloyd Young is a revelation. An absurdly talented actor. Eastwood's direction was solid once again as he incorporates some fresh ideas, including letting the characters look at the camera and directly address the audience. I do wish certain aspects of Valli's life were explored more deeply, particularly the death of his daughter. Should've made more of an impact, but instead seemed to have been brushed away as soon as it happens. Then we come to the musical aspect, which just doesn't work. It's not electrifying. It's not uplifting. It's just there. The only time it works is at the end where they are singing in the street. That is what a musical is about! If you are using real songs from a real band, make it the main attraction! Get me standing up and singing the lyrics from the top of my lungs...sadly, it's not executed in that way. So the drama isn't powerful, and the musicality isn't exciting. Watchable, but not very memorable.
BoomerDT
I don't often attend live stage shows, but being a big fan of the 4 Seasons music, did catch the live production a couple years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was a bit disappointed the first time I saw the movie, it seemed that Eastwood tried to stay too faithful to the stage production, although I must admit I don't have a clue as to the process of adapting from stage to film. After 3 months I tried it again last night, catching it on HBO and enjoyed it much more. Maybe I wasn't comparing it to the stage show. In any case, it was enjoyable, a great ensemble cast and at the heart of it was the terrific music. The Seasons had an incredible run of hits from the early to late 60's and it turned out that their evolution was an engrossing story. My complaints-the story does drag in a few places, thought about .15 minutes or more could have easily been trimmed. The scene where they were riding in a convertible with the camera on the hood shooting at them in the car looked incredibly campy, obviously done in a studio. Also thought that the method of having each of the original 4 Seasons introduce a portion of the story may have worked well on a stage, but was unneeded for the film adaptation.One interesting thing-their biggest hit, 1975's "December 1963 (Oh What a Night)" was used in the overture and in the grand finale, bringing out the cast in the stage and film production. This song, which also coincided with the beginning of disco dominating the Top 40 charts, is done by a different group of 4 Seasons, with only Valli left from the original group and this may be one of the only songs that Frankie didn't sing the lead. with Gerry Polci doing the vocals and Valli singing the bridge. Their comeback with this hit isn't mentioned, but the song is used.
adamgonzalezmusic
JERSEY BOYS Film Review by Adam GonzalezIf your into 1960s Oldies Doo-Wop music then Jersey Boys is for you. Originally a Tony Award- winning Broadway hit, this musical biopic shows the rise to fame of the group the Four Seasons. Directed by Clint Eastwood, the film stars John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli, Vincent Piazza as Tommy DeVito, Michael Lomenda as Nick Masdi and Erich Bergen as Bob Gaudio.From connections to the Italian Mafia to Joe Pesci introducing DeVito and Valli to Bob Gaudio, the movie follows the struggles and success of the group as told from the perspective of each band member. Throughout the film you get to experience the creation and performance of their numerous hit singles like "Sherry", "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Walk Like a Man" and "Working My Way Back To You".The musician in me appreciates how the actors are also singers. They kept true to the Era and musical style of the original rock band. Clint Eastwood did a great job bringing this musical to the silver-screen. After watching this film, I've gained a new respect for the Four Seasons and look forward to one day seeing it live on Broadway.
otterman62
we saw the London stage production of Jersey Boys and it was one of the best stage show I've seen in 30 years of theatre going. I also love music from the 50's and 60's including the 4 Seasons songs. And I'm a big fan of Clint Eastwood who produced and directed this, so all the boxes are ticked to really enjoy the film and give it a 9 or 10.......and I wish I could. The simple reason(s) I can't is the awful singing of John Lloyd Young who plays Frankie Valli. Now the focal point of the story is FV's amazing voice that was the ticket out of new jersey for this group , but in this film at times he sounds like he has been sucking helium from a balloon! now this is bad enough but considering that when this became apparent they could simply have had the actors dubbed by the original songs this is criminal. Add in some other problems like the makeup as the actors age being awful and you have a deeply disappointing film. Mr Eastwood needs to take the blame for this major gaffe.
