“Jersey Boys” made me feel like a kid again! This was probably because, at the age of forty-five, I was the youngest person in the theater (rimshot).
But seriously, folks- I liked “Jersey Boys”. While I’ve certainly seen better musical/biopics, this is just plain likeable. It’s a movie that won’t bowl you over- there’s nothing intrinsically fascinating about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. However, for a movie that clocks in at two hours and fourteen minutes, I wasn’t bored. The reason for this wasn’t the music (which I like well enough, although I didn’t buy any of the Four Seasons’ records- oddly enough, the music comprises only about 25% of the film). I liked “Jersey Boys” for two reasons: the subtlety of Clint Eastwood’s direction and the likeability of its cast.
I remember when “Jersey Boys” opened on Broadway. I was living in North Bergen, NJ at the time, not far from where the Four Seasons became a band in Belleville, NJ in 1951. To me, the success of “Jersey Boys” seemed like cashing in on a weird hybrid of Beatlemania and TV’s newest smash “The Sopranos”. Everyone who had seen the play loved it (maybe because it’s based in the same area I was living in, I thought). I, upon hearing people gush about having seen the musical, would quip, “This is Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons we’re talking about?” to which they would reply, “You’ve gotta see it. It’s so good”.
As Bob Gaudio, the songwriter who joins the Four Seasons after hearing Frankie Valli sing for the first time, remarks in the film, “When I heard that voice, I knew I had to write songs for him”. For lack of better words, I had the same reaction and distinctly remember the first time I heard Frankie Valli sing- it was when my cousin Cherie played their first number one hit “Sherry” on a 45-rpm record while she was babysitting me (I was five years old).
Frankie Valli had a distinctive voice and was impressive in his range. A few years later, I remember Valli scoring a big hit with “My Eyes Adored You” and then singing the title song for the film “Grease”, which I saw in the movies at the age of nine. I remember thinking, that’s cool- I know that voice, I know that guy. A few years after that, I remember watching “The Deer Hunter” and seeing Robert DeNiro and his friends sing-along to Valli’s hit “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” while it played on the jukebox as they were unwinding at a bar after a day at the steel mill, drinking beer and shooting pool.
In short, the reason I mention my personal experience upon hearing Frankie Valli sing for the first time sums up what I think is the catalyst for “Jersey Boys”- Valli’s voice was distinctive. Have there been better singers? Of course. But the Four Seasons success, apart from Gaudio’s songwriting, can be attributed to Valli’s singing. While people could easily dismiss Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons as the white version of Little Anthony and the Imperials or that their songs “had a good beat and you could dance to them”, they had something the other songs didn’t- Valli’s voice. Even as a five year old, I knew that was enough. Valli’s voice was impressive. And so, with Valli’s voice and Gaudio’s songwriting, the Four Seasons became a sensation.
Eastwood’s film “Jersey Boys” documents that rise to stardom, from the band’s inception in 1951 to their induction into the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. While this movie presents an homogenized version of a rising doo-wop group achieving stardom through humble beginnings, it doesn’t delve into the harsh realities of such pitfalls as drug addiction that musical/biopics like “Lady Sings the Blues”, “Ray”, or even Eastwood’s “Bird” could shine a light on, yet it does deal with the Four Seasons’ debt to the Mafia for start-up money to record their songs.
But even here, the Mafia is played as status-quo- after all, they’re Jersey Boys. The band is started by Tommy DeVito, who borrows money from the Mob to get studio time after acquiring Valli and Gaudio. While DeVito incurs the debt, Valli sings and Gaudio writes chart-topping songs- the records sell and the money is there. Unfortunately, DeVito likes the money and borrows more money from the Mob and steals more money from the band. The dynamic of “Jersey Boys” hinges on a “sit-down” with the Mob that forces his bandmates to clear DeVito’s debt- it’s ultimately up to Valli, Gaudio, and bassist Nick Massi to settle the debt and, in turn, decide the future of the band.
Again, “Jersey Boys” dials a lot of this drama down. While you have to keep in mind that this isn’t a soul-searching expose of great artists like Billie Holliday, Ray Charles, or Charlie Parker (as I alluded to in the previous movies mentioned), it’s just Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons we’re talking about. This movie is here to make fans of the Broadway show happy and allow for the geriatrics in the theater not to suffer cardiac arrests.
Could this movie been grittier? I guess, but why mess with the inherent fan base? I can honestly say I appreciated this movie being diluted. It wasn’t wall-to-wall music, but it had just enough musical performances for me to enjoy listening to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons again. With the exception of Vincent Piazza, who plays Tommy DeVito who starts the band, the other lead actors are straight from the Broadway musical- hell, John Lloyd Young who plays Frankie Valli won the Tony for his performance on Broadway. The cast is good- they’re likeable. And Clint Eastwood, as director, has nothing to prove. Could someone else have directed this movie as well or better? Absolutely. But Eastwood has a knack for quiet moments and being subtle- think of William Munny in “Unforgiven” at his ranch before he sets out on his journey or sharing lemon pie with Hillary Swank in “Million Dollar Baby” or following Meryl Streep in his truck through the rain-slicked roads of “The Bridges of Madison County”. Eastwood does subtle well, and “Jersey Boys” is the better for it.
I especially liked the cast of “Jersey Boys” because I hadn’t seen them before. Like the first time I discovered Frankie Valli, these actors were a pleasant surprise. Will I see them again? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t mind if I did. I thought they all did a hell of a job.
I’m just saying all of this because we Jersey Boys stick together.