Jersey Boys

Clint Eastwood takes the hit musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons from stage to screen, but he's not the kind of director to fall for glitz and glamour in telling their story. He's more at home on the mean streets of New Jersey, where Valli (John Lloyd Young, who played the role on Broadway) and wise-guy pal Tommy (Vincent Piazza) are caught between a life of crime and chart-topping greatness in the 1950s and 60s. Christopher Walken is a hoot as the Mob boss who sets them off on the path to glory, but it's squeaky clean outsider Bob Gaudio (a smooth Erich Bergen) who pens the group's infectious jukebox classics, including Sherry, Oh, What a Night and Big Girls Don't Cry. Bass player Nick (Michael Lomenda) calls himself the "Ringo" of the band, but even the big names aren't fully realised as characters. Eastwood neatly follows the beats of the show and that makes for solid entertainment; it's just that he doesn't fully exploit his medium to flesh out the personal conflicts that threaten to split the band. Young still shines, though, and Eastwood's rough-and-ready style aptly reflects his young subjects, who are brimming with roguish charm.