Film Review - Jersey Boys (2014)

Jersey Boys is based off of the successful Broadway musical and is also directed by Clint Eastwood and the story here concerns the origin of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons as well as their eventual success with many hit songs and the tensions that lie underneath between its 4 members.

I have to say that I was looking forward to this film going into it, I like a good musical and I'm also a big fan of Clint as a director mainly because I love his snapshot of working people on film, it's tricky to do that in a way that feels authentic and with his style I look at it and go "Yeah this feels like someone I would come across in my own life", could he make my day with a good musical and was I just an unlucky punk?

Well sadly it's more of a disappointment for me and I forgot to remember that a good man always knows his limitations, what I did like here thought was the dramatic side of the film I thought that did work very well and I was invested in the lives of the four band members.

What is not as good here is the musical numbers as they feel very out of place in this kinda dark film and some of them are okay but they don't really gel all that well into the main structure of the film, I can't help but think that Clint just doesn't feel all that comfortable with them and had to have them there because they were part of the stage show and as a result of this, the film runs on for a little too long for its own good.

Don't get me wrong though I did like some of those musical numbers mainly "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "I Love You Baby" which is easily the best song moment of the film as it feels like it fits within the main arc of the character but even then I couldn't help but be reminded of Michelle Pfeiffer's version in the Fabulous Baker Boys which is a MUCH better film in this style as it focuses much more on the drama than the singing.

And so all in all I would recommend the Fabulous Baker Boys instead of Jersey Boys as this film sadly disappointed me, 1.5 out of 5.