An entertaining and fun biopic about the Four seasons

Rating: 7/10 (20 October 2014)

Jersey Boys is quite possibly my favorite musical off all time. I saw it on Broadway and adored every second of it. It does help that I'm a big fan of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons as well. So I was surprised to hear that Clint Eastwood of all people was directing a musical, albeit with a mob themed element. Thankfully, the movie is very good, if flawed in some cases.
One thing that you have to compliment Eastwood on is how he mainly used actors from the stage. Sure, actors like Christopher Walken and Boardwalk Empire's Vincent Piazza do have roles in it. But the majority of the main cast are actors from the musical. As a result, the performances are great as they are all familiar with their roles. Piazza and Walken do chew a lot of scenery but not to a point where it becomes annoying or over the top. John Lloyd Young who won a Tony award for playing Frankie Valli on stage continues to shine as Valli. He has the voice, charisma and looks of the singer so his performance is incredibly believable and awesome to watch. The production design is also great. Eastwood is always very good at making the audience feel like they're in a different time period. The music is of course amazing and the story is just as entertaining as it was on stage.
My two biggest gripes with the film are the following. The movie is far too long. Eastwood tries to adapt every scene from the play but it doesn't necessarily work. Some scenes, particularly the ones involving Valli and his daughter drag on for far too long. At 2 hours and 15 minutes, there could've been some things they cut down.Also, the movie less feels like a musical and more like a biopic about the Four Seasons. With the exception of the final scene, there's no big song or dance number which could disappoint people. The music is still brilliant though. I just wish it felt more like a musical rather than a biopic like Ray or Beyond the Sea were.
Overall, Eastwood does a good job of bringing the play from the stage to the screen. It is over long but it is saved by its music, story and acting.