Jersey Boys (2014)

Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Country: USA

Movie Review: Biographical musical drama, “Jersey Boys”, marks a fragile return from the acclaimed filmmaker and co-producer, Clint Eastwood, who based himself in a Tony-award winner jukebox musical. The film tells the story of Frankie Valli and his mates of the pop/rock band The Four Seasons, which attained international success in the 60’s. In the early 50’s, guitarist Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza), already leader of his own trio, introduces for the first time the talented 16-year-old singer Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young) to the audience. Tommy and Frankie, who ambitioned to be as big as Sinatra, first stood between a promising musical career and the temptations of the local mob, represented by Gyp DeCarlo (Christopher Walken), a serious admirer of Frankie’s voice. Nick Massi and the songwriter Bob Gaudio, recommended by the amazing actor Joe Pesci, form the rest of the band that will start falling apart after serious financial problems arise. Despite the professional success, Frankie will have a hard time with the separation from his wife and the death of his daughter due to drug overdose. The film exhibits the spirit of an old gangster movie, where the decades are well reconstructed, but musically and emotionally, it lacks vitality. Or Eastwood didn’t have firm hands for this, or the story wasn’t strong enough to captivate us. Although some narrative inabilities (the characters thinking out loud directly to the camera was a lousy choice), I bet more on the second motive, where “Jersey Boys” would continue being lame, boring and full of pose, even if directed by another filmmaker. In one word: inefficient!