‘Jersey Boys’ isn’t what you would expect from a movie based on a musical.
Jersey Boys is an enjoyable film!
It was directed by Clint Eastwood, and it is based on the musical of the same name. It is rated R, it was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, and has a running time of 134 minutes.
I was intrigued when I heard they were making this film. It has many songs in it that I have heard before, but personally had no idea that the Four Seasons sang. It isn’t the best film out there right now, but the soundtrack is wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The film begins many years before this band gets together. Frankie Valli works at a barber shop, and his friend Tommy De Vito is a hooligan in town with a temper, but he does all he can to take care of Frankie. Tommy wants to help Frankie get noticed so he can get out of New Jersey and become someone great.
One night, Tommy and Frankie are out with a few friends, and they get caught trying to steal a safe. Tommy goes to jail for six months, and in this time Frankie gets his chance to sing in front of an audience, and everyone notices his unique voice. On one of these performances, a man named Bob Gaudio hears Frankie sing. He is a singer/ songwriter and he decides that night he must write for this voice. He joins the band, and they also get a man named Nick Massi to join.
Bob and Frankie send their demos to all the publishers, but no one is interested in them. But then they bump into an old friend of Frankie’s named Bob Crewe who agrees to sign the band to a contract. This seems like their big break, until they find out all they are doing is singing back up vocals for other bands. Crewe tells them once they get a name and a sound, he will gladly sign a record deal to them, but until then he can’t help them.
The band, at that moment called the Four Lovers, have a gig to play at a bowling alley, but that changes when the owner recognizes Tommy, a man who used to rig the games when he worked there, and they get thrown out.
It seems like all is lost, until the lights on the sign get turned out and the viewer sees the name, Four Seasons Lanes. This becomes their new name, and soon they discover their unique sound with their first hit Sherry. Once this happens the band takes off. Will this help makes all of their lives better? And how long will it last? And what dangers may they run into along the way?
John Lloyd Young is Frankie Valli, Erich Bergen plays Bob Gaudio, Michael Lomenda is Nick Massi, Vincent Piazza plays Tommy DeVito, Christopher Walken is Gyp DeCarlo, Renee Marino is Mary Delgado, Mike Doyle plays Bob Crewe and Joey Russo plays Joe Pesci.
The way the film is told from the view of the three members in the band is clever, and it gives an interesting insight into the history of this great band. The soundtrack is wonderful, each song is sung very well, and you can tell the cast had fun making this movie. In many of the scenes, the song playing fits perfectly with what is going on at that moment. It is interesting to hear not only how this band came together, but how Frankie Valli found a way to stand up and become a successful solo act when the band broke up.
There are a few things that don’t work with this film. There are some scenes that felt a bit rushed to me, especially towards the end of the story. It was also odd to see how rushed the montage was of Frankie doing as many gigs as he could to help clear a debt that Tommy had, it should have been slowed down so the viewer could see the pain he was going through in doing this tough task.
The ending was all right, but it could have ended better. It was great to see the band come back together at the Rock and Rock Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. The band is older, and it is the first time they will sing together in over 20 years. We get to hear what the members are doing now, and what they thought was the best time. In this scene, it is the only time Frankie talks to the camera. After they finish singing a song, they become young again and there is a huge musical dance montage, which is kind of cool.
Sadly this film didn’t do that well this last weekend. It got 4th place and only made $13.5 million. The reasons for this are unclear, but it is a shame to see it happen to this movie.
If you want to see a film with great music, you should definitely see this movie. It will bring a smile to your face, and is a good film to see on a date or with some friends.