The final scene of Jersey Boys is a curtain call of sorts, each character singing and dancing along to one of The Four Season’s most famous songs, “December, 1963.” With the lights beaming down on them, the smiles on their faces are so contagious that it’s almost nauseating. Through this scene, the film’s Broadway roots are finally exposed, and at last, the audience recognizes what this movie is supposed to be: a musical.
It’s a shame that Clint Eastwood couldn’t have directed more scenes like this one. Plain and simple, this is not his type of film, and unfortunately for the usually-consistent director, that point comes into discussion way too often. However, he made sure that his cast was up for the challenge by converting several of the Broadway stars from the stage to the camera, including Tony-winner John Lloyd Young, whose Frankie Valli is so spot-on, it’s almost unbelievable. Erich Bergen, another stage actor who is now a regular on CBS’ Madam Secretary, plays group member Bob Gaudio and is also impressive both in voice and performance.
The singing talent is there, but when the songs stop playing, the film quickly becomes disoriented, and it starts to scramble around, reaching desperately for the next tune. Eastwood has exchanged the show’s upbeat production for a much colder biopic, implementing scenes for their dramatic and realistic effects rather than their rhythmic place in the film’s composition.
Eastwood’s dramatic tones and tendencies and the music are playing two different ball games here, and only come together in the aforementioned finale. However, there are times when his approach works, like when the boys are conversing and arguing amongst themselves, and especially when their downfall begins taking shape. But for the scenes involving the mob, for which there are way too many, the effort is weak. Christopher Walken plays Gyp DeCarlo, a hard-nosed mobster who has a soft spot for Frankie – he tears up when he hears Frankie sing – and he doesn’t add too much to the band’s story, other than being a little jump starter or a quiet counselor to them.
A key aspect the film does share in common with the show is that it is told from the perspective of all four Seasons. Frankie, Bob, Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza), and Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda) all break the fourth wall to talk to us, generally about something they’re too scared or too proud of to bring up. Frankie spends most of his time with Bob, the main songwriter, because he feels – and rightly so – that Gaudio is the only one that will take him places. Bob’s the professional, whereas Tommy, the group’s self-appointed leader, is a menace. His stupidity will eventually become a major problem, but for most of the film, it is just an extreme bother, especially for Massi, who by the end of the film, can’t stand to be in the same room as him.
Tommy explains to us early on that there are only three ways to get out of the neighborhood: join the army, where you might get killed, join the mob, where you also might get killed, or become famous. We know which way these boys went. The Four Seasons’ story is an abridged Cinderella tale, and though it can be heartwarming and sometimes inspiring, there are moments, mostly in the pre-stardom scenes, that are painfully cheesy. And when a lot of the jokes are supported by every Italian American cliché you can think of, of course it is going to play off as corny. I am not sure what else Annie Hall screenwriter Marshall Brickman could have been thinking would happen when he was constructing them.
Jersey Boys, in short, is a collection of great songs with moments of tiresome dialogue and unsubtle awkwardness thrown in between. Rather than fantastic story of four great musicians, it is the music that takes us on this journey, and though the music is certainly an integral part of a musical, it should never be, like it is here, the most important part. As a devoted fan of Eastwood and his work, I never thought I would say this, and hope I never have to again, but I believe that with a better director, Jersey Boys could have gone much farther.
