Something of a disappointment

Rating: 7/10 (4 July 2014)

A bunch of New Jersey lads eventually achieve popular success thanks to the unique voice of singer Frankie Valli and the songwriting skills of Bob Gaudio. But there have been pitfalls along the way - organised crime and family tragedies to name but two.
Clint Eastwood directs the big screen version of the hit stage show, using the same conceit of having the group members offer commentary on the story as it goes along. And what we get is proof that what works well on stage doesn't necessarily have the same impact on screen. My two main quibbles are that the episodic nature of the narrative as it recounts the incidents in the Four Seasons' story is noticeably episodic on screen - there is little sense of long-term narrative cohesiveness in the movie: ditto the stage show, but the artifice of the theatre means that this does not matter to anything like the same extent. Also - and, I think more importantly - the stage show imparts a joyfulness, especially in delivery of the songs, and this is almost entirely lacking in the movie. I also thought the "old" makeup in the 1990 scene was completely unconvincing and John Lloyd Young's lack of resemblance to Valli, which hardly matters on stage, was distracting (he sings beautifully, and nails Valli's falsetto perfectly).
It's not a disaster - far from it. The musical sequences are terrific, Christopher Walken is, as usual, value for money, Vincent Piazza as Tommy DeVito is excellent, the end title sequence is a delight, and the director has a fun cameo. But, compared with the show, it is a somewhat dour disappointment.