“Jersey Boys” is probably not a film that many undergraduates will enjoy the same way that part of the audience will — who undoubtedly used their discounts as card carrying AARP members to purchase their tickets. Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons dominated the music charts more than 30 years before most of us were born. The biopic directed by Clint Eastwood and based on the Broadway musical of the same name is a decent film that just fails to hit the right note.
The movie opens with the hit “December 1963 (oh what a night)” and follows a young Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young) as he strives to use the God-given talent that is his falsetto to escape the mob lifestyle.
The movie plays out much like what you would expect if Henry Hill from “Goodfellas” had the voice of an angel and lived Johnny Cash’s life from “Walk the Line,” chronicling the tribulations that come with stage fame and household recognition.
Throughout Valli’s childhood you see many of his friends, including band mate Tommy (Vincent Piazza), bail him out of trouble so that Valli can make something of his life and utilize his talents. The movie uses asides by the band members to narrate the story of the meteoric rise of the quartet. Despite the long first act, there is not much exposition and the film fails to make you feel for Valli or the fast talking Tommy.
The band has its breakout hit after adding on songwriter Bob (Erich Bergen) and composing the song “Sherry.” Transported from the shadows of the streets of New York City to lavish parties and studios, the band members have trouble coping with their new lives, eventually reverting back to their old street habits, which end up being their undoing. The band later breaks up, but not until it makes its mark on rock ‘n’ roll history with a string of hits that come out during the dark days of music after Buddy Holly took a trip to the Iowa countryside.
The set design, musical numbers and costumes are worth noting as they are done well, but they don’t save the film from a boring plot and a two-hour runtime that drones on. Several subplots seem underdeveloped such as the one with Valli’s daughter, which is the closest the audience gets to having an emotional connection with the singer. The execution of the scene ultimately falls flat.
If you are wondering if you will enjoy this movie, ask yourself if you want a nostalgia trip to the days where The Four Seasons dominated the airwaves and you could buy a malted milkshake for a wheat penny, a pack of Viceroy cigarettes for a buffalo nickel and you could borrow your pop’s Plymouth to take your girlfriend down to “make out point.”