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Jersey Boys

{2 Popcorn Boxes}

  Jersey Boys is adapted from a popular Broadway play based on the true story of the Four Seasons and their rise to fame. I learned a lot about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. For instance, Frankie Valli is an idiot.

  We meet Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza) and Frankie (John Lloyd Young) as young men in a small New Jersey town. They perform in local clubs at night𠉪s well as perform various dodgy small time criminal activities. This eventually ends up with most of the group doing time (not all at once) and puts a damper on their musical aspirations.

  Throughout the movie various characters talk to the audience (or camera) – I think this may be a technique used in the stage play – it doesn’t translate well to the movie screen. Perhaps it even means to make you feel a bit closer to the characters. That doesn’t work either. Surprisingly, I didn’t like any of these guys very much. They run the gamut from totally self-absorbed (Tommy DeVito) to just doing whatever they’re told (Frankie Valli) to the point of me wanting to shout “say something, do something… these bums are running your life and not very well!” Idiot.

  Also thrown into the character mix is local mob boss Gyp DeCarlo (Christopher Walken) who seems extraneous at all times. I realize that Walken is one of my generation’s outstanding actors, but he is also outstandingly creepy.

  Of course, the soundtrack was a real smile-maker, but by the time we got to those familiar songs I was well into boredom. I didn’t feel sorry for Frankie and his broken family (broken by Frankie, hello), I didn’t swoon over Frankie’s ‘voice of an angel’ and I really wasn’t surprised that Tommy DeVito managed to rip off everyone. But Frankie is a stand-up guy and won’t abandon his Jersey brother. Idiot.

  Jersey Boys was produced and directed by Clint Eastwood. The film suffered from a serious lack of editing and was entirely too long. I am in no way a professional film maker, but even I could cut about 40 minutes from this clunker and come out smelling like a rose.

  Only two boxes out of five for Jersey Boys. My handsome husband really enjoyed the music, but it was not enough to keep me interested. The movie is rated R for some violence and language.

  For a complete listing of shows and times, please call 1-888-319-FILM or visit the website at www.cinemahollywood.com.

MOVIE TRIVIA

       Clint Eastwood has been around a long time. His acting and his directing can be “hit” or “miss” and one of my favorite “hits” is this little 1982 character-driven film about a country singer.

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