Review: Jersey Boys

Before seeing this, I had never seen the musical show. But I have heard a few of the singles from Franki Valli and The Four Seasons.
I do not know the story of their legacy to American music, but it seems there were a big deal and seen as one of the greatest bands of the 20th century.

With it having a musical tone to it and Clint Eastwood being the director, that won me over enough to go and see this.

Right from the start, it is obvious to see that there is a dark tale to tell. Despite all their success, the journey getting there was not the prettiest.
It had a light tone of Goodfellas to it that I felt was an interesting move for Eastwood. As the film goes on, you get some of the struggles these group of guys had to get to being the stars they are now.
However, it became slow at points and felt like it was losing steam and gave up on its story in-between the singing.

Thankfully, the singing was terrific throughout. Apparently all the actors has had experience on the stage performing Jersey Boys, so you knew they could cope with the songs. Props go to John Lloyd Young for playing Franki Valli. He really has an amazing voice that I hope gets used more often in future film projects. Another performance that I am expecting to break through to a very respectable film career is Vincent Piazza's as Tommy DeVito. After his efforts in Boardwalk Empire, this will surely give him the push he needs to make on the big screen.

One other big positive was the setting. From the opening scene, you instantly knew it was the 1960's. You could see the trends that happened at that time and the costume design was spot on.
The most important part of the film was obviously going to be the singing. I thought everyone sung brilliantly and I gave a lot of brownie points for the actors actually doing the singing.

Jersey Boys does have that magic that only a musical can bring. But I'm afraid the dramatic parts were either perfectly line or slowed the pace of the film down a few notches. At times, it feels more like a TV movie.
I enjoyed the performances of the main characters, the music is terrifically enjoyable and really makes me want to see the stage show.
For me, I think Eastwood could have done better with this. But I think there is enough to applaud him for.

Rating: 7/10