Either Clint Eastwood had the flu or he wanted to distance himself from "Jersey Boys" as much as possible while still managing to direct it. Either way, it's impossible not to sense a certain coldness on the part of Eastwood here — you just don't feel love emanating from the frames in the manner of his previous films such as "Million Dollar Baby" or "Bird."
It's as though he got the job done and put it behind him as quickly as possible, which is regrettable, because there's so much in the source material to make this story soar.
"Jersey Boys" traces the meteoric rise of the The Four Seasons, a 1960s vocal group. At one point The Four Seasons were bigger than The Beatles recording some of the most gorgeously sweet, memorable tunes of the twentieth century ("Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Can't Take My Eyes Off You"). Listening to the lyrics now, it's easy to laugh at the cheesiness, but at the same time you're struck by both the endearing innocence of the era and the four lads from New Jersey who, as legend goes, sang their first number huddled together under a street lamp.