Our Critic Says "Jersey Boys" Movie Soars

Like Frankie Valli’s falsetto, Jersey Boys soars. ‎You know between the interstices of the brain where a snappy tune sticks, once heard, and you keep hearing it in your head?   Jersey Boys will do that to you, as it recreates the hits and tells the story of the boys from New Jersey in a smart and stylish way. 

Based on the Broadway hit and directed by Clint Eastwood, with a solid cast of actor/singers, Jersey Boys is pleasing to the eyes and ears.    There’s not a weak performance in the lot, with some standouts such as Vincent Piazza as the selfish but charismatic Tommy DeVito, Erich Bergen as hitmaker Bob Gaudio, Michael Lomenda as the amiable Nick Massi, and of course John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli, he of the big range and the acting chops to match.    Then there’s Mike Doyle as music producer Bob Crewe and in a lesser but pivotal role, Christopher Walken as Gyp DeCarlo, lending gravitas as local mob guy and father figure to Valli.

The Jersey accents and the strong characterizations are supported by the look of the film - the huge finned cars, the smoky little clubs, the unkempt streets of the old neighbourhood, the slick shiny suits of the men.  We see the clash of egos, money troubles and carelessness that lead directly to mob involvement, family angst and tragedy.  Despite the busyness, Eastwood makes us care about each of the characters.   In a film about the rise of a group of four young men, with a bevy of discarded band names before they light upon “the 4 Seasons” taken from the name of a local bowling alley, family decidedly takes a back seat – the strongest relationships shown are those between band members.  We get an idea of the human cost of touring and promoting.  Wives, lovers and children are afterthoughts to stardom.   It had me wondering what the family members of the band felt about their success and the dynamics between the members of the group. 

As a Broadway musical, breaking down the fourth wall conceit with characters periodically addressing the audience likely went over like gangbusters, but at first it was a bit disconcerting to have the band members talk to the camera at certain points, and I wasn’t entirely convinced that recreating these moments from the musical were even necessary.   However, that’s a minor quibble and it did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the story. There’s some clever or sly references:   at Valli’s parents’ home, the Pope and Frank Sinatra are literally framed equally and reverentially, in side-by-side photos, the other a scene where Joe is watching TV in a hotel room and who should pop up but something starring a young and virile Clint Eastwood.

The performances are high energy and will make you go to the Internet to see if Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons were rightly captured in their glory days. Recommended, but be warned – you will have the lyrics to ‘Sherry’ or “Big Girls Don’t Cry’  stuck in your brain for a week.