3.5 stars. Rated R, for profanity
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 6.20.14
The good news:
Considering this play’s origins
as a minimalist jukebox musical, director Clint Eastwood and scripters Marshall
Brickman and Rick Elice have “opened it up” impressively for the big screen.
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| At the last possible second, the members of The Four Seasons — from left, Tommy (Vincent Piazza), Bob (Erich Bergen), Frankie (John Lloyd Young) and Nick (Michael Lomenda) — attempt to inspire their record producer by singing a new song, over the phone, prior to a studio session that could make or break their careers. |
It can’t hurt, of course, that
Brickman and Elice were intimately acquainted with the material, having written
the musical book for the 2005 Broadway hit that went home with four Tony
Awards, including Best Musical.
The story charts the unlikely
rise, success and lamentable self-destruction of the 1960s pop/rock group, The
Four Seasons, perhaps better known these days as the combo fronted by Frankie
Valli. Eastwood’s approach may be viewed with surprise by fans of the stage
production; this cinematic adaptation of Jersey Boys is less a musical per se, and more a drama about musicians.
With the exception of a few
numbers performed mostly intact for climactic emphasis, we’re granted little
more than a flavor of the combo’s many hits: just enough to remind older
viewers how many chart-toppers the group produced, while perhaps impressing
younger viewers who don’t realize how far back some of these tunes actually go.
Additionally, Brickman and Elice
have re-structured the narrative, essentially abandoning the more obvious
elements of the “seasonal” presentation — spring, summer, fall and finally
winter, each segment narrated by a different member of the combo — that
mirrored the group’s genesis and eventual break-up. Little of that gimmick
remains, aside from a stray reference to Vivaldi.
By the same token, although these
individuals still break the fourth wall to tell this story by addressing us
directly, their narrative input is intermixed here, rather than divided by person,
according to season.
And, quite intriguingly, Valli —
who wrapped up the story during the stage play’s winter segment — gets no
narration here. We therefore never get a sense of his inner thoughts or
motivations, as is the case with his three comrades; to a degree, then, our
impression of Valli is shaped mostly by how others see him.
That’s an intriguing artistic
choice, and it places a heavier burden on John Lloyd Young, who carries the bulk
of the story’s emotional weight as Valli: a kid who comes into this world as Frankie
Castelluccio, and seems destined to become just another mob-affiliated New
Jersey punk.
