[Avon-theatre-news] AVON THEATER EXTRA! EXTRA!

AVON THEATER 3 Skip at theAvon.com
Fri Jun 20 13:29:09 EDT 2014


It's been a long time since I've sent out an EXTRA! EXTRA!, but I thought this was an appropriate reason...

JERSEY BOYS opens today at the Avon, and, as usual when a movie is aimed at anyone but the younger age groups (and sometimes not even then), the reviews are mixed...

BUT, here is an excellent review from a critic you can trust to be fair to the older folks, Leonard Maltin!


JERSEY BOYS reviewed by Leonard Maltin
Jersey Boys has enjoyed enormous popularity on stage around the world, largely because the hit songs made famous by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons are so utterly enjoyable. The screen adaptation, by playwrights Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, is somewhat darker in tone than the show, but retains the key ingredients that have made it so successful: a rags-to-riches tale with glimpses behind the scenes of the music business. I never thought this was the stuff of great drama, but I like a good show-biz underdog story as much as anyone, and I do love those songs. The result is pretty well irresistible.

As director, Clint Eastwood doesn’t impose himself on the material; he lets it stand on its own two feet, aided and abetted by production designer James J. Murakami and cinematographer Tom Stern. The evocation of working-class New Jersey in the 1950s may be a bit rose-colored, but it seems to suit the picture.
John Lloyd Young, who won a Tony Award for his portrayal of Frankie Valli, reprises the role with complete conviction and credibility. Rooting interest is essential and he wins us over in the opening scenes, addressing the camera along with his costars. The other members of the Four Seasons have worked in various incarnations of the play, and slip into their roles with ease: Vincent DiPiazza, Erich Bergen, and Michael Lomenda.       

It’s a special treat to watch Christopher Walken in the role of a local mob boss who takes a fatherly interest in Frankie, which comes in handy more than once. He adds a note of effortless grace to the film and never steps over the line into caricature. 

If the strains of “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” and “Walk Like a Man” don’t do anything for you, you may not have the built-in affection for Jersey Boys as baby boomers like me…but there’s a decent chance this likable film will win you over.
 (Leonard Maltin---used with permission)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

SO, what are ya' waiting for??
JERSEY BOYS starts TODAY!!!

FRI: (5:00) - 8:00
SAT & SUN: (2:00) - (5:00) - 8:00
MON, TUES & WED: 7:15

I'm watching for YOU!!

-Skip

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