Total misfire

Rating: 3/10 (7 May 2015)

I am not a big fan of Clint Eastwood as a director. Even on his best days, Eastwood has problems with pacing and his deadly serious approach to everything has a tendency to defeat any films he directs requiring excitement, suspense or comical elements. In light of those weaknesses, he seemed a dubious choice at best to direct the film adaptation of arguably the most critically acclaimed and well-loved of the jukebox Broadway musicals from the last 20 years, Jersey Boys.
Jersey Boys tells the story of the formation of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. The Broadway show is energetic, kinetic and fun. The film...not so much. In fact, it is hard to see how Eastwood and company have drained so much life from the material. Another reviewer indicated how faithful the film is to the show and mentioned that it follows it almost word for word. I am uncertain what show they saw, but almost nothing from the opening onward corresponds. There are entire sequences that appear no where in the show that have made their way on film. For the first 20-30 minutes, one is nearly unaware that they are watching a purported "musical", so little does music play a role in anything. Instead, we get a lot of added fatuous material, like a ridiculous bungled heist. I have no idea whether such a thing really happened in Valli's life, but I fail to remember any such sequence in the stage show. These added vignettes end up taking away from the music and come off like The Sopranos-lite. Worse, Eastwood does not seem to know how to build up to musical numbers or film them. Numbers that had real emotion and payoff on the stage seem almost afterthoughts here, and Eastwood has not filled the black hole they leave behind with anything of value.
Eastwood has retained the gimmick of the characters talking directly to the audience. This conceit can work on stage, but less so on film. Even worse, while we get the impression in the stage show that what the characters are telling us are actually inner thoughts and important tidbits detailing the band's creative processes, the film just makes it seem like unimportant babble.
Worst of all is how Eastwood directs his cast. Was it intentional for the actors that play The Four Seasons (with one exception) to seem like they are extras in their own story? The exception is Vincent Piazza as Tommy DeVito. Piazza seems entirely too young for the part and turns in an irritatingly hammy, clichéd performance filled chock full of faux swagger and unconvincing posturing. Michael Lomenda and Erich Bergen, as Nick Massi and Bob Gaudio respectively, come off as little more than props. Tony Winner John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli is the only member of the original Broadway cast retained for the film and he does not make the transition well. On stage Young was a bundle of energy, charismatic and dynamic, and handled Valli's songs with pitch perfect precision. He was deservedly feted for his performance. On screen, he comes off like a stand-in awaiting the arrival of the real leading man to take over. He seems tired and bored, and delivers the songs in a strange nasal monotone. As someone who nailed the songs live, this seems peculiar since film is a far more forgiving medium. Perhaps Eastwood did not think this was worth correcting in the editing process? Unfortunately, the film rises and falls on how good the performance of Valli is and Young is terribly directed here - as is the majority of this cast.
Something is definitely wrong when the four leads fail to make an impression, but one walks away remembering supporting turns from Christopher Walken (as a Mafioso) and Mike Doyle (as a gay producer) far more vividly. Walken because he basically plays himself yet again (although he really has no business in this film) and Doyle because he is arguably the only cast member willing to imbue his performance with any energy.
In the end, Jersey Boys comes off less like a joyous musical event than a low-rent attempt for Eastwood to ape Goodfellas. The proceedings are absurdly low-wattage with forgettable performances from the leading players. Eastwood provides us with no compelling reasons on film as to why Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons were such a success nor does he have any interest in staging musical numbers. The film desperately needs ENERGY! Yet that is precisely the thing that Eastwood seems to be sucking out of it.