Jersey Boys:
Chronicling the journeys of several musicians, this charming film shows us the rise, fall, and subsequent revival of the band Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, a group of young men from New Jersey who struggled to be successful in the music industry in the 50's and 60's.
Clint Eastwood directs this film with energy and slickness, but to me, it didn't feel as though he was really invested in the project. I could be wrong, but I just felt like his heart wasn't in it. Like J. Edgar, it was entertaining and interesting, but ultimately it was just there. There was nothing particularly moving, memorable, or special about it, which is odd considering Eastwood's impressive body of work. (Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, Play Misty for Me, Pale Rider, Invictus, etc.) I guess it just goes to show that sometimes even a great director can churn out a few underwhelming films.
I was happy that the producers, casting directors, and Eastwood chose to cast relatively unknown actors, who are all pretty talented. John Lloyd Young reprises his role as Frankie Valli from the Broadway production, for which he won the Tony Award. He is excellent in this as well, and captures Valli perfectly, especially in the way he sings. Erich Bergen (from shows like Gossip Girl and Desperate Housewives, who bears a resemblance to Evan Peters) is not too shabby as the supporting character Bob Gaudio, the group's songwriter and keyboardist. Vincent Piazza of Boardwalk Empire and Rocket Science fame is the best character in the film: guitarist and vocalist Tommy DeVito. He's charming and funny, but also douchey and aggressive at times, making him sort of a likable asshole. Michael Lomenda is good as Nick Massi, who has an epic freakout worthy of DiCaprio or Nicholson in the film's latter half. Christopher Walken has an inadvertently funny supporting role as Gyp DeCarlo, a real-life mobster and loanshark tied to Frank Sinatra. It's funny because it's just Walken being Walken: the awkward pronunciation and emphasizing of certain words, the strange pauses in sentences, the unique facial expressions, etc. It's awesome. Mike Doyle (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Rabbit Hole, Green Lantern) has a funny supporting role as record producer Bob Crewe, a successful entrepeneur and songwriter who is the best supporting character. Joey Russo has a funny minor part as Tommy DeVito's good friend Joe Pesci (yes, the actor Joe Pesci). In this movie, Pesci is as energetic and excitable as the characters he portrays in films, only a lot less aggressive and violent. In fact, he gets pushed around by others without much self defense, which I found humorously ironic. I can't say this for a fact, but I believe Pesci's character in Goodfellas is named after his buddy. There's no way that his old friend and (arguably) his most famous character both being named Tommy DeVito is a coincidence.
The movie, while it has a few musical performances in it, is not, in fact, a musical. There is, however, a cool choreographed musical sequence during the credits that pays homage to the play the film is based on. Another unique aspect of the film is the breaking-the-fourth-wall tactic used in films like Ferris Bueller's Day Off and, more recently, The Wolf of Wall Street, where a character addresses the audience directly by looking into the camera as if they are aware of their presence. You don't see that used too often in movies any more, so I though it was a nice touch. Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman penned the screenplay, based on their book which they wrote for to Broadway production. It's pretty exceptional for this duo, as Elice has never written a screenplay before, and Brickman's only major ones were co-written with Woody Allen, a highly experienced writer and director.
Despite being slightly underwhelming and not exactly emotionally impactful, Jersey Boys is an acceptable stage adaptation. Not as inventive and visually stimulating as the source material, I got the feeling Eastwood wasn't as invested in this project as he could have been. It seemed like he just wanted to get it over with by the film's latter half, where a moment that should hit hard (like a punch to the gut) gets rushed and feels forced. I would recommend you see it at a matinee at least, if not, then wait for the DVD. I'd say it's good for at least one watch, but nothing more, which is a shame coming from a director as skillful and talented as Eastwood is. 3/5 stars.
(Image: Wikipedia)
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