JERSEY BOYS (2014) – My rating: 8.5/10

Jersey Boys is the story of The Four Seasons.  4 kids from New Jersey who started out singing arcapella under the street light and grew into one of the biggest names in the music business today.  Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza), Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young), Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda), Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen) are the members of this successful group.  Their story is directed by Clint Eastwood and ranges from the 1950s to the present.  While Jersey Boys opened to mixed feelings, I thought it was basically a very good movie.  The Jersey Boys’ story was well told and entertaining.  The music was fantastic and the cast was spot on.  Christopher Walken played Gyp De Carlo, who was a mafia figure, appeared to tremendously smooth the mafia connection.  The group went through many trails and tribulations including $150,000 owed to a loan shark for a gambling debt incurred by Tommy.  The group took responsibility for Tommy’s debt but also  bought him out.  The Four Seasons split up and Frankie went solo.   Frankie Valli’s and his wife Mary (Renée Marino), although divorced, ended up having the biggest tragedy when they lost their talented daughter, Francine (Grace Fitzgerald) to drugs.  Overall, I enjoyed the music and the story of Jersey Boys, now on DVD.