Jersey Boys -- 4 stars and 4 thumbs up

self | 7-10-14 | Vanity

[afraidfortherepublic]

We saw Jersey Boys last night in our local movie theatre. It is the story of Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons, a singing group of the 1960s, and their rise to fame. It is an adaptation of a stage play. The movie is directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, which is eyebrow raising in itself because it does not seem like a typical Eastwood topic.

I approached this movie with some trepidation because of the big, fat R after the title. Normally, I avoid R-rated movies; and I could not find out why it received this rating. However, the music sounded great in the trailers, and I was curious as to what a "Musical directed by Clint Eastwood" would be like.

It was great. We thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. The R rating was earned because of rough language, I'm sure. However, the language was no worse than what you might hear in any middle or high school today. I could handle that.

This movie is FILLED with music. I haven't been to a musical in ages, and this was the best of the genre. The music wasn't gratuitous. It was the story. The music business is a rough place, but there is something to be said for the honor of a "Jersey contract". You'll have to see the movie to find out what that means.

The story is fast paced and you hardly notice that it is 134 minutes long. In fact, nearly all of the people in the theatre stayed throughout the closing credits, just because of the score which had everyone tapping their toes.

Footnote: I don't know how these guys stayed out of jail...

[RikaStrom]

Clint Eastwood actually has a history of music.

In 1969 he was in the musical Paint Your Wagon with Lee Marvin.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064782/?ref_=nv_sr_1

It’s a trip to watch.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Here is a site that purports to separate fact from fiction regarding the Jersey Boys story:

http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/jersey-boys/

[afraidfortherepublic]

Here is a site I found on the web that purports to separate fact from fiction regarding Jersey Boys. It sounds like most of it is true. The only one complaining is Tommy DeVito. If you’ve seen the movie, you can understand why — although I tend to believe the movie depiction, rather than his denials. LOL.

You might find this site interesting.

[moovova]

Whoa...Joe Pesci. What a small world.

[afraidfortherepublic]

They mention that in the movie, but it sailed right by me.

[ThomasMore]

Awesome review...thank you.

[Nea Wood]

Thanks for that because I, too, had been wondering about the R rating. If it’s for language, well, I guess I can deal with that, in order to see a good movie.

Thanks again for the review.

[informavoracious]

Thanks!

[leapfrog0202]

Thanks for the info. Good site and good info. I agree about Tommy DeVito and the comments :-) Quite frankly I think he was very lucky the group did what they did.

[Seattle Conservative]

Thanks! Appreciate your comments!

[Seattle Conservative]

Thank you! I’ll take a look.

[duckman]

Was a fan of the Seasons from when they were the 4 Lovers. Before Sherry they did the local strip, Route 46 in Lodi/Garfield NJ. If my memory serves, they played Luciano’s and the Cottage Inn. Used to hang out at those places a lot.