Oh what a night; Eastwood does it again

Rating: 9/10 (26 June 2014)

When I saw "Jersey Boys" on stage I thought it would make a great film, a gift for Martin Scorsese; think "Goodfellas" as a musical minus the killings. Now it's finally, and somewhat inevitably, reached the screen but under the guidance of Clint Eastwood, who also knows a thing or two about this sort of milieu; think a New Jersey "Mystic River" as a musical minus the killings, and I can safely say he has done it proud. Of course, Scorsese and Eastwood are two very different kinds of director. Scorsese, now in his seventies, is still the fly-boy, a super kinetic director of in-your-face entertainments. Eastwood, now in his eighties, has always been something of a classicist, a film-maker in the Howard Hawks mold whose films don't necessarily draw attention to themselves. I think this is why he is the most underrated of all the great American directors and it may be one reason why the critics have given "Jersey Boys" a rather lukewarm reception. Even I had my doubts that Eastwood still had it in him, that he could pull the rabbit out of the hat one more time. I needn't have worried, "Jersey Boys" is terrific; a full-blooded, thoroughly old fashioned biopic that totally transcends the term 'jukebox musical'.
It is, of course, the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, or rather The Four Seasons, the band that included Valli, and who rose to inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame despite their connections to the Mob. In some respects it's a gangster musical along the lines of "Love Me or Leave Me" but with a rock n'roll slant. It's not perfect; there is still a soap-opera feel to some of the more emotional moments but luckily these are dealt with reasonably quickly. For the most part it zips along buoyed by a handful of highly credible performances.
John Lloyd Young recreates his Tony award winning performance as Valli. He's great in the musical scenes but his lack of experience as a serious actor tells as the drama progresses, (for here was a band that didn't just have to worry about breaking up but maybe even staying alive). On the other hand, Vincent Piazza, Michael Lomenda and Erich Bergen are all excellent as fellow band members, (Piazza, in particular, is superb), and Christopher Walken, as always, raises the bar with what is basically a glorified cameo as an old-time Jersey gangster. And then there are those songs, which are still some of the best in the pop canon and which, thanks to this marvelous show, have now been given a new lease of life. Oh, what a night!