Clint’s “Jersey Boys” Is A Moody Downer
Clint Eastwood‘s Tony Awards appearance was streets better than his empty-chair routine at the 2012 Republican National Convention, but he still left behind a stream of mangled names and head-scratching in the audience. He appeared before Broadway’s finest, of course, to promote his movie version of the long-running B’way hit “Jersey Boys,” which comes out in a week. If you think his Jerseys are going to be as toe-tappingly upbeat as the Broadway variety, think again. Variety points out that ‘altogether moodier, more real, edgier piece of work, more “Bird” than “Bye Bye Birdie,” giving equal weight to the personal tragedies of Frankie Valli and his bandmates — busted-up marriages, estranged children, embezzlement scams and dangerous entanglements with the Jersey mob — as to their professional triumphs. Onstage, misfortune was frequently softened by the show’s overarching uptempo mood. But onscreen, Eastwood hits as many blue notes as four-part harmonies.’
