Wow...knowing his wonderful work in the past this was a shock..first off I think this is a subject matter for Clint he should have stayed away from at his age...stick with Jazz Clint...secondly...the Four Seasons were good in their day however that doesn't translate into an interesting story...Clint seems to have taken a Goodfellas approach mixed in with a dash of Sopranos(a couple of their actors are in this mess)stick in the appropriate number and there you have it...
The story seems to revolve more around Tommy Devito played by Vincent Piazza in an outstandingly hammy Joe Pesci-like performance that by 10 minutes in is wearing VERY THIN...so clichéd and stereotypical...I can't believe Clint let that go...as for John Loyd Young who plays Mr. Valli...the best I can say about his performance is its stale and anemic and at times effeminate...his singing isn't even close to Valli's tone...its awful...the best part of the numbers was the instrumentation..I have to admit it sounded good at times...the vocals are horrible...
Vincent Piazza is just SO over the top and so unbelievable...the character makes no sense and Clint seems to spend an inordinate amount of time letting this character pontificate as opposed to seeing a supposed evolution of a band that supposedly meant a lot to many people of that generation...there literally is no story here....
The other issue that is glaring here is the overall look in terms of people during that time...for instance back in the 50's and early 60's Women HAD CURVES...I know..I was alive during the 60's...the hairstyles are all wrong..it looks like Clint found a gaggle of strippers and pole dancers and anorexic wannabes and threw the appropriate wardrobe on them and told them to get out there...and then there is Christopher Walken...wow...just a total worthless performance...he looks like RIp Van Winkle woke up and sputtered....the problem is this movie looks way too clean in terms of the sets..the cars are sparkling...the diner is spotless...it just seems so fake...the actors all look like models from the 2010's and stepped into a time machine...
Last thing...the brooding dark lensing I assume Clint thought would make this film look authentic actually gives it a look of a reverse anachronism...the makeup and hairstyles just glare like a neon sign..you can literally see how the makeup and hair were applied its that obvious..PEOPLE DID NOT LOOK LIKE THIS!!!....
Mr. Eastwood...this movie comes off like a made for video bargain bin special...I am beyond disappointed especially thinking about such work as Mystic River and Changeling which were brilliant and gorgeously filmed...Clint..you ARE a better story teller than this...
The story seems to revolve more around Tommy Devito played by Vincent Piazza in an outstandingly hammy Joe Pesci-like performance that by 10 minutes in is wearing VERY THIN...so clichéd and stereotypical...I can't believe Clint let that go...as for John Loyd Young who plays Mr. Valli...the best I can say about his performance is its stale and anemic and at times effeminate...his singing isn't even close to Valli's tone...its awful...the best part of the numbers was the instrumentation..I have to admit it sounded good at times...the vocals are horrible...
Vincent Piazza is just SO over the top and so unbelievable...the character makes no sense and Clint seems to spend an inordinate amount of time letting this character pontificate as opposed to seeing a supposed evolution of a band that supposedly meant a lot to many people of that generation...there literally is no story here....
The other issue that is glaring here is the overall look in terms of people during that time...for instance back in the 50's and early 60's Women HAD CURVES...I know..I was alive during the 60's...the hairstyles are all wrong..it looks like Clint found a gaggle of strippers and pole dancers and anorexic wannabes and threw the appropriate wardrobe on them and told them to get out there...and then there is Christopher Walken...wow...just a total worthless performance...he looks like RIp Van Winkle woke up and sputtered....the problem is this movie looks way too clean in terms of the sets..the cars are sparkling...the diner is spotless...it just seems so fake...the actors all look like models from the 2010's and stepped into a time machine...
Last thing...the brooding dark lensing I assume Clint thought would make this film look authentic actually gives it a look of a reverse anachronism...the makeup and hairstyles just glare like a neon sign..you can literally see how the makeup and hair were applied its that obvious..PEOPLE DID NOT LOOK LIKE THIS!!!....
Mr. Eastwood...this movie comes off like a made for video bargain bin special...I am beyond disappointed especially thinking about such work as Mystic River and Changeling which were brilliant and gorgeously filmed...Clint..you ARE a better story teller than this...