Hey! Turn up the radio, will ya? Frankie and The Seasons are playin' c'mon!
Try and mimic his voice. Sing me a line of Sherry or Big Girls Don't Cry real quick. You've done it in the car ride home from work and you do it in the shower whether someone is listening or not. As hard as we all try, it can't be done. Frankie Valli's smooth falsetto is something that cannot be duplicated. The story of the Four Seasons is one filled with struggle, confrontation, and fame that goes almost as high as their notes. Now that Clint Eastwood has adapted the Broadway smash hit of the same name, the past can be relived in full force. Let's take a minute and walk like a man, shall we?
Early '50s. Newark, New Jersey. Bad side of town. Four Seasons' guitarist, Tommy DeVito (a truly hardcore Vincent Piazza) helps take the audience down memory lane by breaking the fourth wall and speaking straight to you from the street corner with a great accent, nonetheless. Along comes hometown good ol' boy Frankie Castelluccio but, you may know him by anotha name (don't know why he ever changed it in the first place). He works as a barber by day but pairs up with Tommy and makes a different kind of livin' once the moon goes down which may not be very legal (I won't tell if you won't, capish?). One thing that isn't a secret is Frankie-boy's angelic voice. Together, the duo becomes a trio to make a few extra bucks as lounge singers and that blossoms into the quartet of Summer, Winter, Fall, and Spring. Clint Eastwood takes off his cowboy hat and puts on his director hat to bring the life of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons from the big stage to the big screen. This can be a difficult feat given that Jersey Boys has been nothing but an audience favorite and critically-acclaimed spectacle since 2006 when it first premiered on Broadway.
The highest achievement in this film is that all four singers were not dubbed over at all during filming according to Mr. Eastwood in a recent interview on The Tonight Show. The talent and strength of John Lloyd Young's falsetto compared to the real thing is spot on and entrancing. Out of the rest of Four Seasons portrayed onscreen, Young is the only one that has taken his talents to both Broadway and film playing the same character. Besides Frankie and Tommy, the other two are Nick Massi and Bob Gaudio (Michael Lomendo and Erich Bergen). Christopher Walken is the epitome of what it means to be a supporting character and sticks it to the man as Gyp DeCarlo, the man behind the fame. One Side Note that also doubles as an Easter Egg is how Joe Pesci (yes, that one) was closely tied with Bob Gaudio's introduction to the band. You may think that's funny, but, Funny How?
As a longtime fan of the Four Seasons' snappy toe-tapping hits, listening to them again a millionth time is a joy in and of itself but the speed bump that comes between Broadway and the silver screen is that there can only be so many details mixed with the music breaks before the audience becomes confused. While this isn't a musical per se, the time periods jump around a little too fast to not include time stamps as an indication. What makes up for it, though, is the strong and classically vibrant cinematography that could have been taken straight out of your grandparents' photo albums. All in all, it does what it is meant to, serve as a window to the past and croon you back to the sound we all miss. GRADE: 7.1/10
