Very disappointing

Rating: 6/10 (7 July 2014)

If you loved the stage show, you might want to give this a miss. To put it mildly, it's a mess. The script is all over the place - starts off with a (too) long introductory section about Jersey, with all the stereotypes, the mob, cute Italian families etc. You just want it to get to the MUSIC!! Even when it does, there's not enough of it. (A couple of songs that should have been in full in the body of the film are tacked on at the end under the closing titles.) The subplots about Frankie's wife and daughter make little sense unless you've seen the stage version. We never find out that 'What a Night!' was Bob Gaudio's anthem to his loss of virginity; the songs rarely accord with the plot developments. On the plus side, the performances are all fine, but the actors are battling to inject some sense, and some real joyousness, into the ponderous screenplay. You certainly don't come out toe-tapping as you did with the stage show. I was so looking forward to this movie, but Clint Eastwood was the wrong person to direct it. You have to really love the music and he clearly didn't.