I assume the stage show was MUCH better!

Rating: 6/10 (6 July 2014)

At least Alfred Hitchcock let his wife look for errors in his films. Clint Eastwood's dog, if he had given it half a chance, could have found plenty in this one.
When a show about recent (all right, within my lifetime) history starts with three anachronisms within the first 5 or so minutes ("Silhouettes," "Earth Angel," and Topo Gigio in a scene supposedly set in 1951), you know that either there have been terrible liberties taken that the audience isn't supposed to realize, or else the producer, director, screenwriter (sorry, Marshall Brickman--I do enjoy most of your work), and the folks they hired have been taking too many "three-(insert your drug of choice here)" lunches. This was almost as bad as the use of anachronistic 45s in "Mad Men." Oh, wait...that was made for TV...I guess they get a pass for being lower-budget.
Don't get me wrong. I am a fan of FV/4S, although not an inordinately rabid one, so my words here are not prompted either by dislike of their music or fandom gone wild. The words here are simply aimed at what I saw on screen--which was indeed pretty lame. For example, character development was zilch. There was no explanation for much of the action that occurred between the main characters, nor for their interactions with those outside the group of leads. No reason for empathy with any of the four members of the group was given, save for the fact that we saw FV trying to mourn for someone with whom he had had almost no interaction...zzZZzz. Thank goodness for two actors, playing members of the group, who shone through their performances and made us forget FV and TdV--kudos to EB & ML for making an interminable flick bearable.
I have never seen the stage show, so I'm not trying to compare the movie to it--but I would certainly hope that there were a few more dramatic moments (even ONE in the movie would have been nice) that would lead someone to assume there was anything that would have lifted the musical, on stage, above the level of this movie, which is the clear equal of any typical USA Network, Lifetime, or Hallmark presentation. Think about it: everyone knows the Four Seasons had a profitable career, and like every other group they had their obstacles to overcome. Do you suppose those obstacles could have at least been made slightly interesting, instead of just being told as fact? Clint Eastwood knows how to tell a story with emotion; here we only have a story with events. Yee, and may I add, haah.
I've already mentioned the obvious anachronisms within the first five minutes. I won't make fun of the use of the mid-'70s "My Eyes Adored You" as an offhand lullaby for a soon-to-be-excised daughter; I'll give them that as some way to bring Valli's later career into the period of the major portion of the flick. But I still have to mention, in as ludicrous a fashion as I can, the supposed "major plot device" that posited "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" as a revolutionary recording.
"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" was a genre-changing invention? Is everyone on drugs here? There were many laughable things in the flick (I certainly wouldn't call it a movie, much less a film), but that was one absolutely ridiculous thing to try to swallow! Whether you lived through the era or not, once you hear that recording, you'll realize the same thing radio listeners at the time recognized: that it was pretty lame compared to previous hits by Phil Spector and Brian Wilson--or even those you might have heard by Jackie Gleason's orchestra or Herb Alpert's brass--which had utilized the same type of recording studios, techniques, and orchestras...and achieved arguably better results. Should a reference of the type need to have been made, perhaps the production team could have looked to the fabulously produced 4S album "The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette"...which flopped as badly as this movie should have.
Overall, a C+ for writing, directing and production...and although there were a few good jobs of acting (Christopher Walken, as always, was giggle-worthy), a B- for all that. I have to give Clint an extra bump for attempting a "Thriller" scene at the end, although that didn't work either. Overall, I cannot see ANYONE with ANY taste thinking this piece of...ummm...was it ever on celluloid, or just all digital?...is worth 6 out of 10 overall...even if, like me, he or she might happen to be a fan of FV/4S. I'll stay home and listen to my 45 of "Soon" and the TGILG album, and get a REAL taste of the Four Seasons.
You should, too.