Jersey Boys

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Clint Eastwood/Starring: John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza and Christopher Walken

I never saw the stage production on which Jersey Boys is based but one can discern its theater origins from its tone and its lack of fidelity to biographical imperatives. It gives us enough history for us to care about the characters but not the deeper probing of life and times one might find in say, Walk the Line.

On first seeing the trailer for the film, I thought maybe I was hallucinating when I read Clint Eastwood's directorial credit. He is far from an obvious choice to direct a film about Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. Eastwood has always been a jazz devotee; films like Bird and Straight, No Chaser (which he produced), reflect his personal musical passion so I was intrigued with his latest directorial choice.

Jersey Boys is more than the story of how Franki Valli (born Francesco Stephen Castelluccio) and the Four Seasons rose to the top of the pop charts. It also gives us a glimpse of the rough and tumble world of New Jersey in the 50s' and 60s', specifically Franki Valli (John Lloyd Young) and fellow band member Tommy DeVito's (Vincent Piazza) connection to local mob man Gyp DeCarlo (Christopher Walken). Sharply captured is the tightly-knit Italian-American culture, where loyalty is all but a sacrament, even when strained.

The story begins in the 50s' as a sixteen-year old Francesco (Franki) Castelluccio divides his time between working as a hairdresser during the day and singing in the evenings; his voice already a local sensation. His best friend Tommy is the frontman for a band that gigs in local clubs.

Tommy and some of the locals involve themselves in all sorts of crimes, often with Franki as the lookout. A funny scene where Tommy and some associates rob an establishment of a large safe while Franki watches for police is wildly amusing. The over-sized safe is placed in the trunk, which causes the front of the car to rise absurdly off the ground. As an alarm is set off, Franki is forced to drive the car with the upraised front obstructing his view, which causes him to crash through a store front window.

Both Franki and Tommy are loyal to Gyp, a sort of father-figure to Franki, who he looks out for while Tommy is treated mostly as an afterthought. Later in the film, Gyp's powerful influence, which Franki calls upon as an enormous favor, saves Tommy from a sizeable $500,000 debt. The debt is mostly shouldered by Franki, who refuses to abandon his friend to unimaginable punitive measures. Such a sacrifice, as we hear in one character's aside, is part of the Jersey code-of-honor.

The story is really, in essence, Franki and Tommy's relationship. The close, fraternal bond the two share sometimes is challenged by Tommy's brushes with the law which unfortunately often implicate Franki. Their relationship is grievously tested later in the film, as we see a strong bond under seige by resentments and Tommy's dangerous debt.

Before long, Franki joins Tommy's group though stardom continues to elude the band. A brilliant singer/songwriter Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen) joins the group but rather than finding immediate success, the group is forced to sing back-up in studio sessions until Bob pens the group's first hit Sherry. The song places them on the pop charts, lands them a gig on American Bandstand and lays the groundwork for what will ultimately be a successful run in the 60s'.

I've never been a fan of Franki Valli and the Four Seasons though it's difficult to ignore their impact on the pop-music scene in the 60s'. But no matter, Jersey Boys is fun though hardly a significant addition to Eastwood's 21st century oeuvre. The performances, particularly Lloyd Young's and Vincent Piazza's, are solid and affecting. Piazza almost steals the show; his charm and menace make the perfect contrast to Franki's more unassuming, non-confrontational disposition.

Eastwood's camera-compositions, never fussy nor demanding attention, mostly fix on actors rather than settings, making the story more character-driven. The characters' occasional asides to the camera provide some commentary or illuminate motivations--an idiosyncrasy one can easily imagine being retained from the stage production. Inter-band strife--members threatening to quit or forming secret agreements--always seems inevitable. Ultimately, Bob and and Franki become a team; landing a hit with the now classic Can't Take My Eyes off of You

Though entertaining, there is something vaguely unsatisfying about the film. The story lacks historical context; we see the band score hit after hit but we don't get a sense of when and how. We also don't get a sense of the importance of the band's music in rock history, as if it all happened in a vacuum. We see the band arriving at Radio City Music Hall to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a scene leaping forward to the early 90s' but so what? To whom did their music matter? In my high school days back in the early 80s', their music seemed Paleolithic though music from other bands and performers from the band's heyday were still heard on classic rock radio (and still are). Luckily the relationships between the bandmembers and the colorfully drawn Jersey personalities make us care about the people, if not the music.

I didn't leave the movie humming any of The Four Season's songs but I took note of the performances; enjoying the film in spite of its shortcomings. Jersey Boys might not dazzle, but it is a welcome change from the non-stop demolition seen on most Summer movie screens.