New Releases: June 20, 2014

1. Jersey Boys (Warner Brothers, 2,905 Theaters, 134 Minutes, Rated R for language throughout):  The Broadway musical and touring show it spawned has a rabid following. People have memorized the track order of the Original Cast Recording. It is directed by one of the best directors working in Clint Eastwood, one with multiple Oscars.

Then why does the trailer for this film seem so boring?

Granted, part of the reason is because it seems like the film follows in the same rut many other musician biopics do: group of friends come together to form a band, they find the missing piece that launches them on the road to stardom, they become famous, a wild card in the group causes trouble, the friendships breaks down, eventually the problems cause the break-up of the band. The only difference is this time it’s a full musical.

Also, check out the logo on that poster. I could probably design a better logo. What? They couldn’t get rights to the musical’s logo? Were they pressed for time and had to use only what Microsoft Word had to offer?

If I were you, I’d wait until the Broadway tour comes back into town and see it then.

2. Think Like A Man Too (Sony/Screen Gems, 2,225 Theaters, 106 Minutes, Rated PG-13 for crude sexual content including references, partial nudity, language and drug material): At least you can say this for this film, unlike Jersey Boys, which only brings John Lloyd Young from the original Broadway version, it brings back the entire cast from the first film, including Kevin Hart, whose career has boomed in the two years since the first one came out.

If the first film was When Harry Met Sally, this one is more The Hangover. The couples come to Las Vegas to celebrate a wedding and naturally get into all sorts of trouble in Sin City. What happens in Vegas might stay in Vegas, but that includes a number of what were good relationships prior to the visit.

The first film made eight times its budget worldwide, which is impressive no matter how you slice it. There is no reason to think this will not to the same–if not better.