JERSEY BOYS
Lynn Belvedere

JERSEY BOYS

Still from Clint Eastwood's Jersey Boys

I had seen the JERSEY BOYS musical on stage in both London and in Sydney, so I am a fan of the music of The Four Seasons  plus the small kid with the big falsetto, Frankie Valli.  You will experience all of the songs that everyone remembers, from simpler times with the musicians’ history, their code of honour, and their back-story lovingly captured, without in any way being stage-bound, since the songs are inserted into the action as part of the story narrative.  Fortunately the JERSEY BOYS movie is an entertaining biopic with great songs, that cuts a fine line between a song-and-dance show and a mafia flick, plus is so much better for not being a word-for-word adaptation of the crowd-pleasing jukebox musical stage show. The Stage Musical received the Tony Award for Best Musical, the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical, and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.

To get out of the wrong side of the tracks neighbourhood, there were just three ways, join the army, join the mob, or become famous.  We are shown the earliest days of the Italian-American Jersey street kids and their struggle as a 1960’s singing group, until receiving help from a local mafia identity, Angelo ‘Gyp’ DeCarlo (Christopher Walken) plus the hiring of a songwriter and a producer, that they finally had the artistic collaboration that made The Four Seasons a bestselling pop group.   The Four Seasons was one of the biggest American pop music sensations, and sold 175 million records worldwide, all before they were thirty.

John Lloyd Young, reprises his Tony-winning role of The Four Seasons singer, Frankie Valli. Bass player Nick Massi, is played by young Canadian actor Michael Lomenta from the touring company. Erich Bergen, is the quiet genius songwriter Bob Gaudio, who refined and perfected his portrayal, whilst in the touring company and the Los Angeles and Las Vegas productions. Newcomer, Vincent Piazza, plays the hotheaded tough guy as singer-guitarist Tommy DeVito.

Extremely well chosen cast, with Freya Tingley as the young Francine. Because Clint Eastwood encouraged his actors “to improvise some of their scenes, putting a fresh coat of paint on performances that went relatively unchanged night after night” and yes, all the performances are wonderfully fresh and very alive.

Completely engrossing with all the wonderful live music performances now captured on film, the performances are just simply superb, and expect several well-deserved Oscar nominations for JERSEY BOYS.      Fortunately I was invited by ShowFilmFirst to the Greater London UK sneak screenings of this new film, directed by Clint Eastwood, and will be exhibited in Australian Cinemas from 3rd July 2014.    Highly Recommended.

 
The movie film version of the Tony Award-winning musical JERSEY BOYS opens soon in cinemas, and several music albums are also being released.
 
The song “Cry for Me” appears in the Clint Eastwood-directed film based on the music and careers of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. The track features lead vocals from Erich Bergen, who plays Bob Gaudio, the writer or co-writer of such “The Four Seasons” hits such as Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like a Man, Dawn (Go Away) and Rag Doll.
 
Gaudio, who is now 71, sang the song during his audition for “The Four Seasons”. He calls “Cry for Me” ”a song I had forgotten I’d written — I won’t forget it again.”
 
“Cry for Me” is one of the twenty-five tracks on “Jersey Boys: Music From the Motion Picture and Broadway Musical”, available to buy online from the USA on 24th June 2014 plus on 1st July 2014 Rhino will release these three additional “The Four Seasons” related music projects:
 
“Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons – The Classic Albums Box” full 18-disc set that includes the vast majority of the group’s albums in mini jackets with original artwork.
 
“Frankie Valli – Selected Solo Works” full eight-disc set that features many of Valli’s classic solo albums in mini jackets with original artwork.
 
“Audio With A G: Sounds of a Jersey Boy, The Music of Bob Gaudio” two-disc collection of Gaudio’s songs, performed by The Four Seasons and other artists.
 

OFLC Classification: rated M (Frequent coarse language).

 

Running Time: 134 minutes.

 

Official Website: http://jerseyboysmovie.com/

 

Published by Lynn Belvedere

Once we were old enough, my parents took the whole family to the Sydney CBD cinemas every week. Thus began a lifetime interest, in going to the cinema every week, and became a passionate cinephile by watching all those very heavily edited ''Australian Film Censorship Board'' true cinéaste versions of brand new release ''Cinematograph Films''. Greater Union always gave my father (who worked in Cinema Distribution Exhibition) guest double movie passes, to every first-night ''red carpet Opening Night'' at The State Theatre Cinema at 49 Market Street. Up until his death, my dad always received ''two house seats'' for every Opening Night performance events at the Theatre Royal SYDNEY and at Her Majesty's Theatre SYDNEY. As a child, when mum choose not to go, I often went with him, to those live performance events. As a young child, I remember being taken for each new show, at both The New Theatre at 60 Sussex Street, and the Phillip Street Theatre when located at 150 Elizabeth Street, and for classical music concerts at Sydney Town Hall. = = = ★★★★★ = = = Being happy is a choice, and I have always viewed my life, as material ready be made into a series of amazing tentpole movies. My New Years Resolution is kept every year: ''Get to see/review five new live theatre shows each week, and get to see/review six new cinema movies each week'', plus is one of the Australian Cinema Pioneers, and apparently have seen far too much already, but always wanting to experience more and more each year. I am also able to do almost everything that I enjoy doing. Yes, I do have a great daytime job in I.T. as ''Software Design Project Manager'', PLUS each evening until quite late - - - Australian Cinematograph Films historical censorship consultant - product-placement consultant - mystery-shopper consultant - playwright, writer, author, director, producer, photographer, cinematographer, color-grader, subtitles proofreader - arts/ drama/ music/ film critic and judge, journalist, member FIPRESCI & FCCA & AFCA, member AACTA accredited film reviewer-critic-writer, accredited IMDB.COM critic-reviewer-author, projectionist, plus an innovative iconoclast - - - ★★★★★ LYNN BELVEDERE ★★★★★ - - - [usr 5] - - -