PlatinumRead Just so...so bad

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

seymourblack-1 The stage production of "Jersey Boys" was highly entertaining because it was slick, well-written and full of humour but its sensational music and fascinating story is what made it a cut above most other jukebox musicals. The well-researched rags-to-riches tale of "The Four Seasons" not only provided an interesting account of the struggles, conflicts and personal problems that the group experienced but also threw a light on their links with the mob, their involvement in petty crime and their on-going respect for the values that they'd learned in the tough neighbourhood where they grew up.The action begins in the early 1950s in Belleville, New Jersey, where small-time hood Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza) recruits barber's son Frankie Castelluccio (John Lloyd Young) into his group, "The Variety Trio". DeVito's pop group plays local bars and also includes his brother Nicky (Johnny Cannizzaro) and his friend Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda). Frankie's exceptional falsetto voice is appreciated by everyone who sees the group (now called "The Four Lovers") and draws a particularly emotional reaction from local mobster Gyp DeCarlo (Christopher Walken) who's moved to tears by Frankie's rendition of "My Mother's Eyes".When Nicky leaves the group, Tommy's friend Joe Pesci (Joey Russo) recommends singer/songwriter Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen) as a replacement and Bob, who'd already had some success with his song "Short Shorts", is impressed by lead singer Frankie (who has, by this time, changed his surname to "Valli"). After a period of struggling to get a recording contract, the group (now known as "The Four Seasons") are signed by producer Bob Crewe (Mike Doyle) and have to go through a frustrating period of singing back-up for other artists before finally being able to make their debut single "Sherry" which became the first of three consecutive number one hits. A major problem arises, however, when it's revealed that Tommy owes a huge amount of money to notorious loan shark Norm Waxman (Donnie Kehr) and this heralds the eventual disintegration of the group.It was vital to the credibility of this movie to have performers who could properly replicate the highly distinctive sound of "The Four Seasons" and to this end, using original Broadway cast members (Lloyd Young, Lomenda and Bergen) was a great decision. They're all convincing in their roles and Christopher Walken was an inspired choice to play the sentimental mobster who provided the boys with some invaluable help when they hit a crisis. Vincent Piazza also adds a lot of spark to the proceedings as the self-destructive group-leader whose attitude to women and propensity to needlessly involve himself in crime are symptoms of his inability to outgrow the values he'd learned during his upbringing.The script by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice (who wrote the Broadway production) sounds virtually identical to that used in the stage show, so it's puzzling why the impact of the comedy seems more muted and less effective in the movie. Similarly, the musical numbers don't carry the same excitement and energy as they did on stage.Even with the screen version's flaws, "Jersey Boys" still provides a lot of fun, enjoyable music and drama and the insight it provides into the inspiration for "Big Girls Don't Cry" and the role played by Joe Pesci in forming the group are really interesting (as is the artistic cross-pollination that saw Pesci's character in Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas" being named Tommy DeVito).

RealLiveClaude As far as I'm concerned, Clint Eastwood is a music lover and rendering this biopic of the Four Seasons makes one more in his resume.Adapted from a Broadway musical, Jersey Boys tells the story how Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons rose to success after being so patient. Yes, there were some pitfalls (especially Tommy's shady deals which almost cost the band's career) but at the end, it brought the group to introduce the "Jersey Sound" with Frankie Valli's unique voice.At the end, the result is a piece of pop music history worth to watch.Even if critics panned this movie, the people decide. And Clint went ahead and "made his day" again.

Bryan Kluger You might think it's quite odd that Clint Eastwood directed a musical this year with 'Jersey Boys', which is an adaptation of the Broadway stage play that is currently the 13th longest running show in history based on the careers of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, but you'd be wrong. In fact, Eastwood is very big in the music scene and always has been. You remember the film 'Honkytonk Man' and 'Bird', don't you, which were both about musicians. And you can add to this the eight films he wrote and composed the music for. My point is that Eastwood is a solid choice for this great musical adapted into a feature film.But the question is , how well does it transfer to film from the stage? Where 'Jersey Boys' the film might lack in the glitz and glamor that you would find on stage, it makes up for in emotional depth as we jump from each point-of-view from each band-member throughout the 134-minute film, which in my opinion was about twenty minutes too long. 'Jersey Boys' has a 'Goodfellas' - light backdrop that follows a young Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young) getting into trouble with his friends Tommy Devito (Vincent Piazza) and his brother Nick in early 50's New York. They all do odd jobs for the local mob boss Gyp DeCarlo (Christopher Walken) by day and play in a band by night. It seems that everyone in the neighborhood, including the police know who young Valli is and constantly ask him, "Don't you need to be home by 11", when he's out late?At home, his parents are good Italian working class people who have a framed picture of the Pope and Frank Sinatra paired together watching over Valli's every move. With Valli's impressive high pitched falsetto voice, people start to take an interest in their band called 'The Four Lovers' as they are going from lounge to bar to bowling alley, performing their tunes, but they don't seem to be cutting record deals yet. Since the Devito brothers can't seem to stay out of jail for short periods of time, the band takes on Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda) as the bass player and things pick up. But it's when Joe Pesci, yes that Joe Pesci, introduces Frankie, Nick, and Tommy to Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen), a writer and musician, where the band really takes off. Gaudio previously wrote the hit tune 'Short Shorts' that previous summer, and was known to be a class act. Tommy, the band's self made manager whose temper is fire hot, eventually agrees to bring on Bob, and when they do the hits roll in including 'Sherry', 'Big Girls Don't Cry', 'Walk Like A Man', 'Rag Doll', and 'I Can't Take My Eyes Off You'. All of these were #1 hits and provided the band with big money and concerts, and television appearances.They even changed their name to 'The Four Seasons'. But while the band was doing well, Tommy was secretly spending their hard earned money on gambling and becoming increasingly in debt with the mob. Needless to say, it was a rocky road for 'The Four Seasons', despite all of their money and fame, but all are still alive and well and eventually reunited for their induction in to the music hall of fame in the early 90s. Eastwood did a great job of showing us the more dramatic and emotional moments with each character, followed by a fun and energized scene or two of their big musical accomplishments that actually had people clapping and dancing in sync with the songs throughout the film.And let me also credit Eastwood for hiring Young and Lomenda for these roles, as they were the original Broadway actors for the first run on stage. And they pull it off flawlessly. Young's Valli is pitch perfect and spot on, never missing a beat, while the others fall into place. And Piazza (whose known as Luciano from HBO's 'Boardwalk Empire'), pulls out a great performance as the hot-tempered band-mate, but he gives his character Tommy Devito (Joe Pesci's character name from 'Goodfellas') so much charm and wit, that it's easy to see why Frankie always stood by his side no matter what kind of trouble he got into.However, Eastwood is also known for having a slower-than-desired pacing with his films, and this one is no different. There are a few scenes that could have been cut out that while they offered some emotional depth to some of the characters, they were not given the proper amount of set-up time to make us grieve and didn't go with the basic story he was trying to tell. But other than that, 'Jersey Boys' the film is a solid gold hit. And the end credit scene with the Broadway vibe and dance routine was outstanding. I only hope the younger generation takes to this film and appreciates the music.

Python Hyena Jersey Boys (2014): Dir: Clint Eastwood / Cast: John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza, Erich Bergen, Christopher Walken, Michael Lomenda: Misguided bio pic about a sound and where it originated. It regards Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and their rise to fame and the background struggle. Clint Eastwood is a fine director but he crams too much into this film. John Lloyd Young plays Frankie who is involved in the wrong crowd when young yet has a voice for song. This becomes a problem when Valli's voice and Young's performance fail to match. He gets married in what seems to be sudden in the film. Then he becomes a father and then it jumps ahead suddenly to his daughter grown up and her struggles, etc. Eventually he becomes involved with a journalist and that seems just thrown in and forgotten until they break up. Vincent Piazza as Tommy DeVito delivers the best performance narrating the film. He is seen as a bad influence on Frankie, and is in prison early in the film. He has a gambling addiction and generally ticks off the band. Erich Bergen as Bob is a writer whom Frankie works well with but Tommy disproves of. Michael Lomenda plays another member of the group and who also gets into trouble with the boys during their early fiascoes. Christopher Walken plays a mob boss who often helps the boys but he really has faith in Frankie's talent. Eastwood doesn't seem to be on his game here. Even the concluding dance sequence is corny and fails to add life to the film. The 1950's era is captured well but the screenplay sinks like the wrong single failing to climb the rock and roll charts. Score: 5 ½ / 10