Review of Jersey Boys (2014) by Shpostal — 04 Jul 2014

Many people don't know Clint Eastwood did some recording of his own in the early 1960's, and is a fine composer in his own right, having done the music for "Mystic River" among others, so it's no surprise he'd do a movie on the Four Seasons, no doubt a big fan himself.

Time can make us all forgetful, and the story of the Four Seasons and their success immediately prior to Beatlemania along with musical rivals the Beach Boys was impressive, with a ton of great R & B flavored hits that became classics, especially with Frankie Valli's inimitable falsetto. Even after the Beatles struck, the Four Seasons (and the Beach Boys) were still up for a game fight, a sign that the Fab Four were not the only great band around, although the way history is reported nowadays it would be understandable to think otherwise. Rather, like the rest of the remarkable '60's from start to end, we were blessed with pop music that had the creative liberty to do as it pleased before advanced marketing and "experts" stepped in, over categorized and interfered with and made what is pretty much the bland soulless crap that passes for pop music today. It's why real music fans find themselves going back in time to discover the goldmine that predated the MP3 era where everybody sounds like everybody else.

The movie itself is a touching tribute, holds no punches and does a fine job of showing the seedy and even life threatening dangers that lurked behind the glitz and fame as the Four Seasons raked in hit after hit but found themselves in a lot of trouble along the way. It was a stiff price to pay, and makes one wonder if new outfits are under the same pressures. The acting is solid, including Christopher Walken as a somewhat benevolent Mafia figure, probably a capo. The movie is adapted from the highly successful Broadway musical and is full of great music, although not by the original band.

For those who like bio pics and the Four Seasons, it's a can't miss. It's definitely a better film bio than the horrifyingly bad and inaccurate depiction of the Beach Boys from several years ago. I recommend those who may want to purchase their music to avoid the soundtrack and get the group's greatest hits packages.