Film Screening 31st July, 2014

Poster for Jersey Boys

Jersey Boys 

7:30 PM, 31st July, 2014

  • M
  • 134 mins
  • 2014
  • Clint Eastwood
  • Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice
  • Christopher Walken, John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza, Erich Bergen

Immediately this movie looks promising – when was the last bad flick directed by Clint Eastwood? I don’t remember either. This time around his subjects are the members of The Four Seasons, one of the biggest bands of the 1960s, in the film adaptation of the popular musical of the same name.

Gone are the days of clearly defined “good” characters who we desire to see succeed at the expense of the “bad” characters’ failure. We now see real people, whose good qualities attempt to counter their flaws. Eastwood shows us these flaws, making them more human and easy to relate to. And, as usual in his films, we live their successes with them and share in their defeats.

John Lloyd Young reprises his Tony-Award winning portrayal of the band’s lead singer, Frankie Valli. Having such a successful actor who has demonstrated on more than one occasion his talent for the role created a much more powerful experience while watching the film. With excellent casting and the strong bonds forged between the audience and the characters, Jersey Boys proved to be an incredibly immersive movie for me.

Eastwood shows that his reputation as a filmmaker is unwavering, regardless of the fact that he’s pushing well into his 80s. An absolute must for anyone who enjoyed the stage production or enjoys the music from “Mad Men”.

Chey Bowers