JERSEY BOYS

John Lloyd Young and Erica Piccininni in JERSEY BOYS
John Lloyd Young and Erica Piccininni in JERSEY BOYS

Clint Eastwood does Four Seasons in one play and makes a Rowdy cameo in the big screen adaptation of the smash hit stage show, JERSEY BOYS. Around the same time as The Four Seasons were making a name for themselves, young Clint was starring in the TV series Rawhide, and guess what show is playing on the box in a domestic living room scene?

Some people were surprised that Clint Eastwood was to direct this picture -ostensibly a musical – but Clint’s a film maker first and foremost and a musician/composer to boot. Don’t forget he directed the biopic BIRD, about Charlie Parker, and starred in Paint Your Wagon.

Anyway, JERSEY BOYS is not strictly a musical, but the story of one of the pioneer boy bands, The Four Seasons. People just don’t break into song, but they do address the camera, all members of the cast, except for Franki Valli , breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the audience.

It is as much a drama as anything, the conflicts that crop up when touring, record contracts, ego with billing, domestic relationships that wither when the demands of touring necessitate neglect. Frankie Valli suffers a mangled marriage and devastating estrangement from a daughter.

Most of the cast are original members of the Broadway show and it’s a tight nit troupe.

John Lloyd Young plays front-man Frankie Vallli with a sweet ingenue style. Vincent Piazza plays the egotistical fast talking Tommy deVito, the self styled brains behind the group who lands them in million dollar hole. Micael Lomenda as Nick, the big goofy baritone and Erich Burgen as Bob Gaudio, the songwriter whose tunes and lyrics were a perfect match to Frankie’s falsettos.

Mike Doyle as Bob Crewe, the record producer, puts in a wonderfully flamboyant performance, and the cherry on top of this toe tapping trip is the casting of Christopher Walken as benign crime boss, Gyp DeCarlo.

Episodic in construction, one of the terrific devices employed is the use of My Eyes Adored You as an underscoring motif musically reflecting the slings and arrows of the band’s outrageous fortune.

The transition of Cant Take My Eyes off of You from unsaleable to unstoppable standard and an airing of DeVito’s towel habits constitute a couple of absolute highlights of the film.

The screenplay is by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, who wrote the original stage show.

Clint has assembled his regular collaborators behind the scenes – including the talented Australian composer/orchestrator Mr Ashley Irwin- to bring an energetic entertainment fuelled by smash hit music that has stood the test of time.