Dangerously close to a History channel special...

Rating: 7/10 (12 October 2014)

... and in the immortal stylings of Jerry Seinfeld, NOT THAT THAT IS A BAD THING, because the History channel, new to the film biz, has produced some very high quality product.
But here is the critical flaw...
If you already know how the story of The Four Seasons turned out, if you are of a "certain age" and remember the music, then you will reach deep within and find the patience to endure the overlong and tedious portions of this film. And there are many.
How much of this is due to the script, and how much to Eastwood, is hard for this reviewer to say. Eastwood has evolved into one of the most technical directors in the biz. Which is another way of saying, if you have technical perfection, you may not have room for anything else.
To see how this kind of film COULD HAVE BEEN DONE, please take a look at Tom Hanks's THAT THING YOU DO (1992) which tells a similar story. The big difference is that the audience is hooked early, and entertained throughout. Without the burden or knowing or caring whether the story happened in real life.