Jersey Boys

Just Four Simple Boys from Jersey

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kwantis/4087806978/

My sister and I tried to see it in London's West End, but the screaming hordes got there first. I tried again two years later, only to see the line stretched right around the building. Too bad! But when we heard it was a movie, we dashed downtown for a ticket and settled in just as the lights dimmed. She and I had been curious about Jersey Boys because we loved their songs - not to mention Frankie's falsetto voice. They had been on the Ed Sullivan Show before and after the Beatles, so better than that it does not get.

I wondered whether the actors could actually pull it off. Frankie Valli would be a tough one to imitate, and I wasn't sure. 

The theater in this sweet woodland town is not known for its great sound system, so it was kind of hard to hear everything (this also happened when Les Miserables came through town. Can you imagine I Dreamed A Dream at an excruciatingly low volume?? I never recovered).

If any of you are expecting this to be the sweet rags to riches tale gently typical of the 50's, you might wish to see a different movie (perhaps How To Train Your Dragon 2?). If you are expecting to hear mild oaths such as 'darn', 'heck', or 'shoot', might I also direct you elsewhere? Because in a word, the language is...rough (their mothers must have forgotten one of the great purposes for SOAP).

I suppose the screenwriter and book authors and others who told the story had to 'keep it real', but it was all rather disappointing. The boys may have started out sweetly enough, but soon they were sporadically in a lock-up, then sang together, then gained notoriety, then drank too much, then became famous, then ignored their wives, then fought, then lost control of their money to an idiot, then shouted a lot, and then split up. Sound familiar?

It is similar to other fame stories that bring heartache in the end. Is there any group, any person, any quartet or trio who did NOT fall into the pattern? Fame apparently does not equal happiness in this world. So why do so many human beings wish for it? It's a quandary to me.

I can't utterly disparage this film. The music alone was almost worth the money. Whoever portrayed Frankie sure had a nice vibrato, and sure seemed to be a decent guy. All the same, I don't think I'll rush over to the West End for tickets anytime soon. 

But come to think of it, I actually wouldn't mind seeing How To Train Your Dragon 2. It's probably a better use of my time.

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See you along the way!

the SconeLady

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kwantis/4087806978/">Gary'</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilovememphis/4311090795/">ilovememphis</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">cc</a>