Movie Review: "Jersey Boys"

"Jersey Boys": A-.  During the eighteen month period immediately preceding the Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, the two biggest music groups on the Billboard Magazine Hot 100 singles chart were, by far, the Beach Boys from Hawthorne, California, and the 4 Seasons from Belleville, New Jersey. The Beach Boys had eight songs in the Top 40 during that stretch, while the 4 Seasons charted with ten. Neither of those two human hit machines was derailed by the British Invasion, as the Beach Boys went on to record twenty-six more Top 40 singles after the Sullivan show, and the Four Seasons nineteen more (plus eight by Frankie Valli).  Other than Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys and the 4 Seasons arguably were the biggest American recording acts during the first two decades of the pop 'n' rock era.  Jersey Boys, directed by Clint Eastwood and derived from the mega hit Broadway play bearing the same name, is the story of the 4 Seasons.

The face of the 4 Seasons was, of course, its lead singer, Frankie Valli, whose real name was Francis Castelluccio.  His falsetto voice was the trademark of the group, easily and instantly recognizable on every 4 Seasons tune.  Actor John Lloyd Young, who won a Tony Award for his role as Valli in the Broadway play, not only hits all the right notes, but also resembles Valli in his youth.  The brains of the outfit was Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen), who along with the band's usual producer, Bob Crewe (Mike Doyle), wrote the overwhelming majority of the 4 Seasons' catalogue.  It is surprising, therefore, that the central character throughout much of the film is Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza), the guitarist and background vocalist who put the singers together when they were teenagers and, in his words, was responsible for "running the group." Director Eastwood uses each of the band members as narrators (talking directly to the camera) at various stages throughout the story.  DeVito is the narrator for most of the first third of the movie, so even though there are many dislikable traits about him, we hang in there with him and see his good side as well.

Piazza is perfect as the talented punk who regularly makes the mistake of seeing himself as being a bigger shot than he is.  Tommy is somewhat of a Rat Pack wannabe, idolizing fellow Jersey celebrity Frank Sinatra. It becomes painfully apparent to all but Tommy that, if Valli or Gaudio should split, the 4 Seasons would be rendered toast.  Tommy really has no leverage.  Yet, somehow he uses his charisma and chutzpa for a long time to control the band's direction.

It seems like almost every movie which takes place in New Jersey instills The Garden State almost as a separate character in and of itself.  Things happen which wouldn't probably otherwise occur if not for the fact that the setting is Jersey.  Thus, the title of the film ( and play) is most apropos.  The characters' backgrounds helped to mold them into the adults they became, whether for better or worse.  There is almost a swinging gate connecting the neighborhood with the Rahway state pen, and the boys in the band find themselves on the wrong end of the law consistently.  The "Jersey Factor" is particularly evident in the relationship between Frankie and Tommy.  Sure, if Tommy hadn't exerted his influence early on, the 4 Seasons may never have formed, but Tommy almost single handedly brings down the group due to his mismanagement of money and his inability to consider points of view other than his own.

This being Jersey, the story has to have a mobster, and in fact the movie features two.  Norm Waxman (Donnie Kehr) is a hood whose job is to put the squeeze on Tommy when the loan repayments on Tommy's debt to the mafia become delinquent.  If Jersey Boys has a scene stealer, it is Christopher Walken playing Gyp DeCarlo, the Godfather of the Newark metropolitan area.  He takes an interest in Valli early on, and impresses on the young man that, should the need arise, Valli should not hesitate to call upon DeCarlo for a favor.  That is a directive which Valli never forgets.

No review of Jersey Boys would be complete without a comment on the music.  Pick any superlative adjective which comes to mind, and it fits the score.  I would have a hard time choosing between "sensational" and "extraordinary."  The songs alone are strong enough to warrant the price of admission. There will never be another band quite like the 4 Seasons.

Finally -- and if you follow this blog and remember my June 7, 2013 review of The Sapphires, you knew this was coming -- a word or two about ensemble films.  One of the best features of Jersey Boys is that all four of the band members' individual stories are revealed, even (albeit to a smaller degree) that of big lovable lug Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda), the bass singer.  This is an essential ingredient for storytelling concerning a small group, and Eastwood comes through.  Having the narration on a rotation helps, but even if there was no narrator at all, congratulations to the script writers, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, for resisting the temptation to make this a narrower story of Frankie Valli and three sidemen.  It is much more than that.