. PIANO MUSIC www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2017 You wanna hear the real story? I'm the one you wanna talk to: Tommy DeVito. Wasn't for me, we would have wound up in the trunk with a bullet in our head. There's even a street named after me. Of course, it don't come easy. You gotta have talent and skill and vision. And luck. SINGING # Just like a wandering sparrow # # One lonely soul # # I'd walk the straight and narrow # # To reach my goal # Frankie. Where's my single? Coming up, Mr. DeCarlo. Vito, when are you gonna give my boy here his own chair? VITO: Ah, he's not ready yet, Gyp. FRANKIE: Here you go. -Frankie, you wanna give me a shave? Yeah, sure. GYP: Give him the razor. Go ahead. Be careful. All right. Soave, Louie. He's not gonna cut my throat. Are you, Frankie? Heh. No, Mr. DeCarlo. Lot of people would like to, eh? Get nice and close. - Hello. GYP: Ooh. Party time. -Dio mio. -Shit. TOMMY: What? -No, no, no. It's nothing. Can you hand me the witch hazel? Well, I'm sorry. It's a nick. I'm sorry, Mr. DeCarlo. Maybe you should phone ahead, Tommy? I'm sorry, Gyp, I didn't figure-- I know. You usually don't. -Gimme. -It's a nick. -I'll finish it. -Calm down, Vito. What's a little blood between friends? -I'm sorry, Mr. DeCarlo. -It's all right. TOMMY: Gyp DeCarlo. Sure, they had elections. But you wanted something done or undone in Jersey... ...Gyp was the man. And I gotta say, I had a special relationship with him. -Tommy. You pick up my dry cleaning? -Sure thing, Gyp. It's already at your house. -Okay. Drop Frankie. Then take me home. -Right away. You doing your exercises? Yeah. A voice like yours, it's a gift from God. The world is gonna hear that voice. You understand? Sure, Mr. DeCarlo. It's just-- What? I don't know. I just wish things would start to happen. -Impatient, huh? -Heh. Don't worry. You work hard, everything follows. Am I right, Tommy? Bigger than Sinatra, Gyp. My hand to God. There were three ways out of the neighbourhood: You join the Army, maybe you get killed. You get mobbed up, you might get killed that way. Or you get famous. For us, it was two out of three. It's gonna be good. -Be careful, huh? -Bye, Mr. DeCarlo. Yeah. MOTHER: You know what I don't understand? I don't understand the infatuation... ...with these mamaluke bums. Because that's what they are, Frankie. You hang out with them, you either end up dead or in jail. Eh. She's right, huh? Just listen. Learn something. KNOCKING ON DOOR I gotta go. -Finish your dinner. -I finished. I didn't want anybody to get up. Hello. MOTHER: Hey, Tom. -Mrs. Castelluccio. MOTHER: You hungry? -I'm fine. Thank you. -Where you going? FRANKIE: We got rehearsal. We got a rehearsal for this Friday. -It's a dance at the high school. FATHER: Uh-huh. -You better not be drinking or using drugs. -Him? Forget it. He's an angel. Sounds like one too. Who does he get that from, you or your wife? -Not me. -Not you? What's that? -Please. -What? You keep an eye on Frankie. I'll never let anything happen to Frankie. My hand to God. For later. Frankie non mang. Gimme a kiss. -The two of you. Be careful. -Meatballs. Mama. -I want you home 11:00. TOMMY: Come here. I love you. -No later. -Yeah, good night. -Okay, be careful you two, please. -Yeah. Eleven o'clock, Frank. FRANKIE: Good night. FATHER SPEAKS IN ITALIAN SIGHS TOMMY: All right, Frankie. You look, you listen. You understand? What's the high sign? "Silhouettes." All right. Come on. All right, don't screw this up. Understand? It's for real. Real casual-like. GRUNTING TOMMY: Come on, come on, go. Push. Push the fucking thing. THUDDING NICKY: I am pushing the fucking thing. SINGING # Took a walk and passed your house # # Late last night # # From within, a dim light cast-- # -Hey, Frankie. -Hey, Officer Mike. How you doing? What's with the concert? Oh, it's, um-- Good acoustics, so the sound bounces off the wall there. Aren't you supposed to be home by 11? You want the truth? It's my girl. She lives there. I'm wooing her. -Wooing, huh? -Yeah. Making love with music. SINGING # Silhouettes # # Silhouettes # # Silhouettes # # Ty-oh, oh-oh # # Silhouettes # # Silhouettes # # Silhouettes # # Ty-oh, oh-oh # Hey! Down there! Shut the hell up! We're trying to sleep! Her mother don't like me. Okay, nice try. Why don't you get out of here before I gotta run you in? Yeah, sure, Mikey. Sorry for the disturbance. BOTH GRUNTING Watch my-- Come on. TOMMY: Okay, come on. NICKY: Slow, slow. You couldn't open it inside, how you gonna open it at home? NICKY: We can't open up-- -Shut the fuck up and push. -Get in, get in. NICKY: Come on. NICKY: Fuck! Your mother's ass! Come on. Go, go, go! Come on. Frankie, step on the fucking gas. Shit. Oh, shit. -What are you doing? TOMMY: Frankie! Straighten it out! Frankie, what are you doing? Frankie! -I can't! NICKY: Stop the fucking car! TYRES SCREECHING TOMMY & NICKY SHOUTING TOMMY: Frankie! NICKY: Jackass! Oh, man! TYRES SCREECHING SCREAMS Holy shit. ALARM RINGING Come on, come on, let's go! You all right? Come on! SINGING # Darling, my darling, my darling # # -Wait, wait # # -Darling, my darling, my darling # # -Wait, wait # # -Boom, boom, boom, boom # # Boom, boom, boom, boom, # # Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom # # -Uh-oh, I love you # # -Darling, my darling, my darling # # -I truly, truly love you # # -Darling, my darling, my darling # # -And I've been thinking of you # # -Darling, my darling, my darling # # You're the apple of my eye # # You're the apple of my eye # APPLAUSE TOMMY: Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you. We are The Variety Trio. I'm Tommy DeVito. Plus we got my brother, Nicky DeVito. How you doing? And on bass guitar, we got Nick Massi. And now... ...right here on our stage. Before I bring out the Vienna Boys Choir and Topo Gigio... CROWD CHUCKLING ...I would love to introduce you to a new discovery of mine: Little Frankie Castelluccio. Frankie, get on up here. Come on, don't be shy. BAND PLAYING "I CAN'T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE" You want your shot? Fucking sing. Come on. SINGING # I can't give you anything but love, baby # # That's the only thing I've plenty of # -He's cute. -He is, really. # Baby # # Dream a while # # Scheme a while # # We're sure to find # # Happiness # # And I guess # # All those things you've always pined for # # Gee, I'd like to see you looking swell # # Baby # # Diamond bracelets woolworth doesn't sell, baby # # Till that lucky day # # You know darned well, baby # # I can't give you anything but love # # Anything but love # He is so good. Go ahead. Just say "good night." Good night. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all for coming. Hope you enjoyed your evening. Anybody seen my lighter? Look who it is. NICK: What do you want? -Hey, Frankie. You sang good tonight. It was good, not great. They seemed to like it. Yeah? Look what we got over here. We got an audience expert. -I'll tell you when they like it. -I'm just saying. Maybe you shouldn't say so much and start listening, huh? -Move, move. NICKY: What? You see the redhead in the front row? It's not under there. I seen her clocking you. You can get in. -Nah. She was with somebody. TOMMY: Oh, yeah? TOMMY & NICK CHUCKLING -So you take her for a spin. FRANKIE: Like in what? Take her in the Plymouth. -You gonna lend me your car? TOMMY: I might lend you the car. Bullshit. Just don't wrap yourself around a tree. I don't have to fill out a lot of forms. Look. He's chomping at the bit. What's a matter with you? Sit. There's a couple things you gotta know first. I don't have time for this shit. There's two types of women. There's Type A and Type B. Type A: They're real easy. They jump right into bed with you. Boom, boom, boom. Then later on, they break your balls. Then there's Type B. Ask Nicky about Type B. Tell him about Type B. You gotta wine them, dine them. -Then what do they do? -Break your balls. They bust-a the balls. -I don't get it. TOMMY: You don't get it. You see this face? He don't get it. Don't worry. You will. -You want the car? Huh? -Yeah. Yeah? Look at him. He's going for it. What do you wanna do? Oosh! -Oh, Frankie. Oh, Frankie. -Oh. What's a matter? Come on, you wanna fight? You wanna go, big man with the ladies? -Come here. Let's go. Like this. -Come on, Tommy. Like this. Like this. He's hooking. He's hooking. TOMMY SWOOSHING -What happened? -Don't do that. Don't hit me, man. -Oh, there he is. FRANKIE: Don't do that. Don't hit me. He took a swing. Ha-ha-ha. -All right. He's a slugger. FRANKIE: Come on, man. -Let go of me! -Eh. Eh! Listen to me, all right? Come on, little brother. I ain't your little brother. Frankie. Calm down. This kid takes everything so serious. You want the car? Take the car. Here. It's on me. Here. You have the car. All right? Enjoy yourself. Enjoy the little porcelain doll. All right? So where you wanna go? I don't know. Where do you wanna go? Mexico? BOTH CHUCKLING MIKE: Hey, Frankie. -Hey, Officer Mike. Detectives would like to have a word with you. FRANKIE GRUNTS DETECTIVE 1: That jog your memory? DETECTIVE 2: You're underage. Hanging around the jewellery store. You give the officer some bullshit about doing a Romeo act. I don't know what you're talking about. Aah! Tommy and his brother already gave you up, numbnuts. Yeah, bullshit. All right, asshole. Have it your way. Come on. How old are you? FRANKIE: Uh, 16, Your Honour. Your Honour, please, the kid didn't know what he was doing. I conned him into it. I'm letting you off with a warning. I suggest you get yourself a new set of friends. If I see you back in my courtroom again you're going away. Now get out of here. Frankie, sing good, huh? Frankie. You're the devil. You know that, Tommy? Oh, holier than art thou. Just stay away from my son. Okay? You stay away from my son, Tommy. SINGS # Earth angel # SPEAKING IN ITALIAN As for you, let's see. Gaetano DeVito. Breaking and entering, possession of stolen property. Possession of stolen property, breaking and entering. Possession of a forged document, breaking and entering. Illegal gaming. That's quite a resume. Thank you, Your Honour. So the kid's a singer? He's a good singer. And he's getting better every day. Then he ought to be great by the time you get out. Six months. GAVEL BANGS BELL RINGING -Teach him. NICK: Yeah, okay. And watch him. Anything happens to Frankie, you got a problem with me. So it's back to the joint. Rahway Correctional. They got a revolving door on this place. Somebody from the neighbourhood's always inside. Welcome back, Tommy. TOMMY: You get a promotion? -Yeah. -How's life? TOMMY: Not too bad. -Yourself? -All right. You're looking good. TOMMY: Who's the new guy? GIRL: Nicky. For God's sakes, I thought we were going to the movies. Relax, will you? But I wanna see The Blob. Two minutes. Sit down. Read the Bible. Improve your mind. Frankie, come on. CHUCKLING Ooh. WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY BELCHES GIRL: Nicky! -Okay, you remember the words? -Yeah, yeah. Now don't push. A little more from the inside. ORGAN PLAYING SINGING # I want a # # Sunday kind of love # # A love to last past Saturday night # # I'm glad to know # # It's more than love at first sight # # I want a Sunday kind of love # # Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh # # -I do my Sunday dreaming # # -I do my Sunday dreaming # # -And all my Sunday scheming # # -And all my Sunday scheming # # -Every minute # # -Every minute # # -Every hour # # -Every hour # # -Every day # # -Every day # # -I'm hoping to discover # # -I'm hoping to discover # # -A certain kind of lover # # -A certain kind of lover # # Oh, yeah # SINGING There. I told you it wasn't no vision. Hey, Nicky. Frankie. -Hey, Stanley. Sister, looking good. STANLEY: You breaking into a church? -You're on parole, for chrissake. -Come on, Stanley. STANLEY: Gimme your hands. -I guess this means good night. At least I'll know where your hands are gonna be. -Need some help there, Stanley? -You take him, you gotta take me too. -Aren't you supposed to be home at 11? -Don't bend the suit. It's imported. Work on that B flat, Frankie. Chest voice. And do your exercises. Stanley, take it easy. We're walking out of a church. Let's get out of here. -Hey, easy. OFFICER 1: Come on. Out. Out. Hey, princess. Hey, Tommooch. Machoch. So as I'm getting out, Nick is going in. And the Variety Trio is now a single. Ain't gotta be no Einstein to see there ain't no future for me as a single. So I make an executive decision. I put Frankie in the band. Hey, Greg. How are you? BAND PLAYING "A SUNDAY KIND OF LOVE" SINGING # My arms need someone to enfold # # To keep me warm when # # Mondays are cold # Come on. Let's get out of here. Hey. Cool your coglioni. I'm listening. Look at that son of a bitch over there. -Where? -That guy. The big guy. Hitting on my girl. BAND CONTINUES PLAYING That's not your girl. She will be as soon as she meets me. That's Mary Delgado. She'll eat you alive. They'll send you home in an envelope. Come on, Tommy. I'm in love. SINGING # I want a Sunday # # Kind of love # APPLAUSE TOMMY: Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Hope you enjoyed the evening. Special night having you here and drink up. SPEAKS IN ITALIAN IN ENGLISH: And then, get lost. We got a second show at 10. Come on. Can you introduce me now, or what? Do me a favour. 'Stu cazzo in the red tie? Get rid of him. -Okay, friend. It's your bedtime. -Who are you? I'm Mother Goose. MAN GRUNTS AND MARY CHUCKLES Mary. Hey, Tommooch. Mr. Subtle, huh? And you didn't even bat an eye. Frankie, this is Mary Delgado. Mary Delgado, this is Frankie Vally. Hi. How are you? All right. Slow down, okay? The kid's barely legal. Since when do you care about legal? Hey, come here. Come on. Listen to me. This is Type A, you understand? Type A. -Yeah, yeah. I got it. -This is a hit-and-run. Yeah, yeah. I'm fine, man. Have a good time. You know, that's a nice colour for you. -You should always wear that. -Thanks for the fashion tip. So, what do you say we get out of here? FRANKIE: So this is a pretty nice place. -Yeah. They don't sell slices. That's how you can tell. -So that's your real name? Vally? -No. Castelluccio. Francis Castelluccio. Kind of long for a marquee. -That's why I changed it. Vally. V-A-L-L-Y. -No. -V-A-L-L-I. -How come? Because "Y" is a bullshit letter. It doesn't know what it is. Is it a vowel? Is it a consonant? Never thought about it. Plus which, you're Italian. You gotta end in a vowel. Delgad-O. Castellucci-O. Pizz-A. Valli with an "I." It says "This is who I am. You don't like it, go fuck yourself." Ah. That's a very unusual fragrance. I never smelled that before. What do you call it? Soap. Tommy warned me about you. Yeah? What'd he say? -He said I couldn't handle you. -That's because he couldn't. CHUCKLES So your group...? -The Varietones. -Yeah. Just you and Tommy? And his brother, Nick... -...and this other guy, Nicky. -So where were they? They went away for a while. What for? They did some things. With friends like that, maybe you should just change your name to Sinatra. I'm gonna be as big as Sinatra. Only if you stand on a chair. Hey, why you gotta say that kind of stuff? Look, first of all, Sinatra wouldn't be caught dead in that jacket. Where'd you get it? -I don't know. Tommy got it off a truck. -Exactly. Tommy's a two-bit hustler. He doesn't see the big picture. Yeah? So what do I do? Come here. You got a nickel? Yeah. Call your mother. You're gonna be home late. ALL CHEERING MAN 1: All right! MAN 2: Attaboy, Frankie. WOMAN 1: You look beautiful, Mary! Quick and painless. Quick and painless. TOMMY WHOOPS THEN WHISTLES Mary had a couple of years on him and they both wanted out. Up and out. Mary saw Frankie as her chance, and she poured it all into him. Love? I'll be honest with you. I never knew what that was. Marriage? Marriage is not love. Marriage is you take a shave while your wife sits on the can and clips her toenails. . TOMMY: Anyway, Frankie's married. We're playing nights, Frankie's cutting hair in the daytime. And it's their anniversary, and he decides to get Mary some jewellery. So he goes shopping, Jersey style. I don't understand. Why can't this guy bring stuff over the house? He's a little nervous. Your wife's gonna love this shit, Frankie. Couple of watches. Nice diamonds. He got it out of some house in Saddle River. He had to smack the broad around. -But she'll live. DONNIE: Would you shut up? He don't need to know all that. Frankie's cool. Right, Frankie? Yeah, no problem. DONNIE: Wait a minute. This isn't Bloomfield. No, it's Fairfield. Not Fairfield, you fucking asshole. Bloomfield. You said Fairfield. Why would I say Fairfield if it was Bloomfield? Maybe your brain is fucked up. And don't call me an asshole. Why? It's what you are. A piece of shit fucking asshole. -Hey, fellas, it's okay. -You stay out of this! Hey! Don't get out of line. No! Fuck him! And fuck you! Okay? I'm not the asshole! You're the asshole! Don't you call me an asshole, asshole! Oh, yeah. And what are you gonna do about it, asshole? What am I gonna do about it? -Asshole. -Yeah, yeah. -How about this? TYRES SCREECH Holy shit! What are you, crazy? Now who's the asshole? -Jeez, Donnie, my God! -Get out. Get out! Get out! I'll call you tomorrow. Come on. I'll take care of this. Go! Go! Go! Frankie, go! LAUGHING Aw. You should have seen his face. I almost felt sorry for the kid. Yeah, well, don't. We gotta lean on him. And hard. We need that money, Donnie. Okay? Asshole. -Ha-ha-ha. -Ha-ha-ha. Get in the front. BANGING ON DOOR What are you, deaf? Open it. Put the plate down and open it. Open it! What if it's your wife? Don't worry about it. Just open the fucking door. Tommy. Tommy, something terrible just happened. Agh. Slow down. So he shot somebody in your car... ...and they charge you $20,000 to make it go away? FRANKIE: Twenty-five. Sweetheart, gimme a kiss, go powder your nose. So let me ask you something. If he shot the guy, why should you pay? What are you, nuts? It's my car. There's a dead guy in it. My prints are all over. The cops are gonna trace it. It's a murder rap. Frankie, it's a scam. What? They fake a murder in your car, then charge you to make it go away. There was blood. I saw it with my own eyes. Eh? -Or fake blood, like in the movies. -Huh? -Shit. -Let me explain something to you, all right? You shoot somebody, you gotta shoot all the witnesses too. That's a basic rule. I bet you $100 your car is sitting in his driveway right now. Hundred dollars, I bet you. But Donnie's my friend. And I'm not your friend? Huh? -I'm your friend. -All right. Fuck Donnie. Now go home. I'll take care of it. -What are you gonna do, call Gyp? -Are you stunade? You mention that name? You don't bother Gyp DeCarlo with two-bit bullshit. I said I'll take care of it, all right? Go home. Take care of your wife. Thanks, Tommy. I owe you. What am I gonna do with you? Huh? Stupid. You said it, Gyp. Take off your hat. Okay, I'll say it once, so get it through your thick skulls. Frankie is my friend. Capisce? You don't touch him, you don't speak to him, you don't even dream about him. If you see him coming toward you, you cross the street. But if he trips, you better be there to catch him. Hmm? And now, get out of here. You're being watched, friends. Thank you, Tommy. BAND PLAYING "MY MOTHER'S EYES" SINGING # God's gift from up above # # A real unselfish love # # I've found in my # # Mother's eyes # APPLAUSE Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. He's good. Yeah. He's very good. -Have a good night. -Thank you. I appreciate you sang that, Frankie. It was my mother's favourite song. Oh, please. My pleasure, Mr. DeCarlo. By the way, you get your car back? My car? Yeah. Those guys, they went away? Yeah. You're a good boy, Frankie. Frankie, here's your claim check. Anytime you got a problem... ...you reach out to me. -Mm? -All right. -Beautiful tonight. -Thanks. You got something to say? Huh? Hmm? Good. For years, I'm humping DeCarlo's laundry, he treats me like a bum. Frankie sings one song, he gets a claim check. I'll tell you, it's good to be lead singer. Anyway, Nick Massi finally revolves out of Rahway. -Hey. TOMMY: Hey. CHUCKLING Look at you. Look at this guy. Like you never left. Tommooch. Frankie. So it's me, Nick and Frankie. And it's up to me to keep us out of the gutter. But nobody's hiring trios any more. Trios are dead. The fact is, I'm all out of ideas. But I could still do math. Three Lovers equals zero bookings. So to generate some walking around money... ...I'm working with this kid on a project at a local establishment. THE ROYAL TEENS' "SHORT SHORTS" PLAYING ON JUKEBOX # -Who wears short shorts? # # -We wear short shorts # # They're such short shorts # BOWLING PINS CRASHING -Hey, you listening? -Yeah. Tommy, I'm working. Come on. You being a wiseass? After the fifth frame you start spotting the pins like we said. Right? Yeah, I know, a little off. So listen. We got this jazz group, you know. We're playing up in Bergenfield with this kid. Tommy, this kid. He plays like a madman. He writes songs. I'm thinking this is the guy you're looking for. -Yeah, for what? -"For what?" For the group. The band, the Lovers, the Romans... ...whatever the hell the name is this week. Tommy, this is his song. SINGING # Who wears short shorts # # Boom, boom, boom # # We wear short shorts # BOWLING PINS CRASH THEN JOEY SCREAMS I told you! I warned you! I swear I'm gonna come over, you motherfucker! Lucky you got a split! I'm gonna split open your head! Joey. Pay attention, huh? Can we take care of our business? We take care of business, then we talk about you being a scout. Yeah, sure, Tommy. Listen. You don't screw this up, there's a C-note in it for you. What's his name? Gaudio. Bob Gaudio. If you want, I can arrange a sit-down. I handle the sit-downs. Keep taking care of the pins. Tommy, the kid's a genius. You're gonna thank me for this. And don't forget: I discovered him. Yeah, that Joe Pesci. The film actor. Who knew? I played the thing down about Gaudio. I like to keep my game face on. But in here, bells are going off big time. Some kid from outta nowhere who sings, plays and writes? Come on. You sign him up, man. You just hit the trifecta. KNOCKING ON DOOR Bobby, listen. Three Lovers looking for a fourth. -Who? -The Three Lovers. They got rid of this yutz who was doing monkey songs or some shit. -Ha, ha, ha. That's funny. -Funny how? No, I-- Look, why are you telling me this? Because I told him you're a freaking genius. Hey. Don't forget. I discovered you. Good. Uh, look, I'm in the middle of something right now, okay? -Are you kidding me? Let's go. -Now? Yeah. No, next week. Yeah, we gotta go. BAND PLAYING "I'M IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE" SINGING # I'm in the mood for love # # Simply because you're near me # Joey, come on. This is like for my grandparents. Wait. Will you relax? Trust me. # I'm in the mood for love # # There I go, there I go, there I go # # There I go # # Pretty baby, you are the soul # # Who snaps my control # # Such a funny thing, but every time I'm near you # # I never can behave # # You give me a smile, and then I'm wrapped up in your magic # I heard them all: Jackie Wilson, Johnny Mathis, Dinah Washington. But I never heard a voice like Frankie Valli's. After 30 seconds... ...I know I need to write for this voice. # I'm in the mood for # # Love # All right. TOMMY: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. -Right? -Yeah. JOEY: Hey, fellas. Fabulous. Man, what a set. Bob Gaudio, the guy I was talking about. Tommy DeVito, Bobby. I run the group. You're out late, huh? I was telling him about how you guys were looking for a-- Joey. Don't get overexcited, huh? Yeah, sorry. Nick Massi, Frankie Valli, Bob-- What is it? -Gaudio. Hi. -Where you from? Uh, Bergenfield. Somebody said you write? I told you. "Short Shorts." Number two with a bullet. Sorry. Shut up, Joey. All right, call me. We'll set up a meet. Hey, come on. Kid's here, we're here, let's do it. Yeah, Tommy, he's got a new one. This stuff just pours out of him. I'm just saying. All right, do what you do. Thank you. PLAYS PIANO SINGING # I cried for you # # Now cry for me # # No, no, I don't love you any more # # Cry for me # # Well, you had your fun # # Don't go, baby # # With someone new # # Don't go, baby # # Girl, now you want me to take you back # # Don't go, baby # # We're all through # # 'Cause now I'm leaving # # No, no, make believin' # # You made a fool of me # # So now I'm leaving you # # I # # Love you so # # Don't go, baby # # Much more than you'll ever know # # Don't go, baby # # But you just cheated and you lied # # Don't go, baby # # Go on and cry for me # # Well, you knew it from the start # # Someday you'd break my heart # # Now we're all through # # Go on and # # -So cry # # -Cry # # Cry # # -Cry for me # # -Cry # # -Cry # # -For me baby? # # Won't you cry for me, baby? # # Cry # # -Just the way I cried for you # # -Cry, cry # # Won't you cry for me, baby? # # -Cry # # -Just the way I cried over you # # -Cry # # -Go on and cry # # Cry # # For me # # Cry for me # # Ooh, ee, ooh, ee, ooh # GIGGLING Right? Yeah. TOMMY: Give us a minute, all right? -Yeah. Thank you. What do you think? Well, I don't know. He writes and he sounds great. What do you think, Tommy? Thanks. -Hi. -Hi. Hi. Hi. Um. So I was just wondering if, um.... Who's, like, the girl in your song? I mean, do you have a girlfriend? Oh, no. No. It's any girl, it's every girl. It's what T.S. Eliot calls "the objective correlative." I felt like you were singing to me. You're not from around here, are you? Probably somewhere really exotic, though. GIRL: Like Europe. TOMMY: All right, we gotta talk. -Oh, yeah. -Hey, ladies. -Hi, how are you? -So good. TOMMY: Good. I'll tell you what. I'm gonna shut my eyes, and I'm gonna count to three. When I open them, you're gonna disappear. Ready? One. Two. Three. -And they're gone. -Heh. So you got an agent? A manager? Somebody does your deals? It's okay. You can talk to me. -You sure? -Yeah. Tell you what. We're gonna hire you on a trial basis, all right? Let's say three weeks, $25 a week and we see how it goes. -Oh, that's not gonna work. -And why not? I was thinking I would come in as an equal partner. Really? Plus, I retain publishing on anything I write. And we can work out a favoured nations on any mechanical and ancillary rights. Excuse me a minute. -Forget it. -Why? He wants a four-way split. In his dreams. Well, Tommy, this kid's good. You think this kid is the golden goose? He wrote one fucking song. Gonna cut him in equal? There's a million out there. Where? -Where what? -The million guys. Where? -Can I just say something here? -No. -Tommy, I like him. -You got a hard-on for this kid? Look at him. He can't drink, he can't smoke. He ain't never been laid before. What good is he? You think he's green, take him under your wing like you did with me. You want to cut him in equal? If it works, there'll be enough for everybody. If it doesn't, what's the difference? I'll tell you what, we don't need a keyboard. That's my decision. That's the end of it. All right. Then go get another lead singer. What'd you say? I said get yourself another lead singer. What's the matter with you? What you want, a fucking smack? Huh? What is this? Oh, I see. All right. I'll tell you what. We cut him in equal and it goes up in smoke, don't fucking blame me, all right? -You all right with this? -Yeah. Let's give it a try. I'm gonna deal with you later. JOEY: What did I do? TOMMY: Gaudio. -Yeah? TOMMY: Come here. You're in the group. BOB: Oh. Great. Thank you. Thanks. Let's grab a drink. . Music business is a jungle, kid. You need anything, come to me, all right? Okay. -Any time, any place. -Yeah. What's your shoe size? Um.... Ten and a half. All right. Come over the house some time. I'll straighten you out. -So, what size are you again? BOB: Ten and a half. Ten and a half. Look at this. Right here. Meant to be. What? Uh... Tommy, this is one shoe. Yeah, it's a left. Yeah, that's how they ship them. The lefts. Then a couple of weeks later, different dock, from Italy, the rights. The rights are coming in next week. Tommy, I got enough shoes. Really. Thank you. I got them. You want something for your mother, maybe a nice fur coat? -Maybe some pearls? -The pearls are gone. -Gone? You moved the pearls? -Yeah, yesterday. -What'd you do, a Nicky Special? -Yeah. TOMMY SPEAKS IN ITALIAN AND NICK CHUCKLES IN ENGLISH: Get her a coat, a nice blazer. Tommy, look, look. No stolen goods, all right? Stolen goods? What, are you kidding me? -These fell off a truck. -Big truck. Look at this kid. Saint Bobby over here, Nicky, huh, looking down on all of us. Oh. This kid. All right, I'll tell you what. Let's have a toast. To the group. BOB: Thank you. There you go. Right to the top. Chin-chin. A hundred years. ALL CHEER IN ITALIAN -Cheers. -Eyes, eyes. Eyes, Nicky. I'm gonna jinx the whole damn thing. I got some good news. I laid on a limo. We're going down to Atlantic City. I got a suite at the Traymore, we're gonna take in a couple of shows... -...have a party, make a bunch of connects. -We're gonna pass, Tommy. What do you mean, pass? What are you, a quarterback now? You pass on things? Is that what you do? When you ever pass on Atlantic City? -We sent out those demos, you know? -We who? Me and Bobby. We're gonna go into town and follow up. Oh, you and Bobby? Nobody's getting younger around here, Tommy. I don't wanna go to a party. I don't wanna go to Traymore. I wanna get a record contract and feed my family. Whoa, whoa. Excuse me. What do you think, I'm trying to take food off your plate? Huh? All right, go out with the demos. But you gotta do things the right way. You talk to me before you do anything. -Of course, Tommy. -I'm sorry, was I speaking to you? Mr. Bobby Businessman. All right, you know what? You go out with the demos too. And when you're done, maybe you could take over General Motors. All right, Tommy, take it easy. -We going? -Yeah, let's go. -Thanks. CABBIE: You're welcome. MAN 1 SINGING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE MAN 2 SINGING: # Knock me off my feet # WOMAN # Best years I've shared # MAN 3 SINGING: # And raindrops fell # TRUMPET PLAYING JAZZ MUSIC Oh. Hi. We're the Four Lovers. We sent you a demo. Not interested. Hi. We're the Four Lovers. -We sent you a demo-- -Sorry. -Hi. We're the Four Lovers. We sent you-- MAN: You're the Four Lovers? -Yeah. -Well, two of them. -No, no. Four Lovers is a coloured group. -No, that's us. SINGING # I love you so # Not bad. Come back when you're black. Get out here, you chickenshit. I'll rip your throat out! Hey, Toto, watch your mouth. You're not in Newark anymore. Crewe. Ha-ha-ha. As I live and breathe, Frankie Castelluccio! No, it's Valli now. Frankie Valli. With an "I." And why not? -What are you doing here? -I'm making hit records. You? We got a new group. The Four Lovers. Here, take a demo. Who's your friend? Ah. The next Otis Blackwell. Heh. Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio. -He's got the best ears in the business. -They're all right. Well, hello, young man. You young, young... CHUCKLES ...young, young man. BOB CHUCKLES Scorpio. Gaudio. No, no, no, silly goose. Your birthday. November 17th. November 12th. Oh, it's a sign. The stars are in alignment. Follow me, boys. Destiny awaits. I remember thinking at the time there was something off about this guy. I mean, this was like, 1959. People thought Liberace was just, you know... ...theatrical. SPEAKS IN FRENCH IN ENGLISH Welcome to civilization, mes enfants. GUESTS CHATTERING AND JAZZ PLAYING ON PIANO -Where did he get his drink? FRANKIE: Vassar. Hi. TOMMY: So this is where the magic happens? No, darling. The magic happens in the bedroom. It's not the back seat, but I prefer a roof over my head. I'm joking. Go make some friends and don't get into trouble. -He's so serious. TOMMY: Holy shit. FRANKIE: It's like Jane of the jungle over there, times two. TOMMY: Is that vodka? -Uh-huh. Give me a triple. I'll take a whiskey. -How much is that? -Oh, it's free. It's fascinating, isn't it? He has such... ...freedom. TOMMY: Hmm. They should take it away. -The painting? -His freedom. So looks like I forgot my gold head wrap. GIRL CHUCKLES -The best of the best. -Ah. So, what do you do? -Me, I'm a hairdresser. -Professionally? Well, during the day. At night, I put on a cape and fight crime. CHUCKLES -You're funny. That's funny. -Thanks. Good thing I'm married. So you two room together, is that it? We do everything together. -Really? GIRL 1: Mm-hm. How old are you? Together, or separately? ALL CHUCKLE FRANKIE: Hey, what are you doing? TOMMY: Shut up. Like he'll miss it. PLAYING JAZZ MUSIC BOB: Crewe introduced us to a whole new world. He signed us to a record contract, and it seemed like we were on our way. -That was good. BOB: But we had a problem. BAND PLAYING "I STILL CARE" FRANKIE SINGING: # Still care # ALL: # Still care # # I still care for you # # -Still care # # -Still care # # Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh # We never read the fine print. The contract had us as backup singers with an option to record four of our songs. Crewe's option. So we spent the next year being the musical equivalent of room service. # Even in the dark of night, knowing that you're not in sight # # -I still care # # -I still care # # Maybe if you love me # # You'll give me another chance # # Chance, I # # 'Cause I still care # # I still care for you # FRANK SINGING ALL LAUGH Sorry. We won't-- Sorry. Did you get all that? Billy Dixon and the Topix. "Trance." Take three. SINGING # Late last night # # Strolling down the street # # I saw a ghost that.... # SINGING Stop the tape. You guys are not hearing it like I do. I'm sorry, Crewe. How do you hear it? I'm hearing it in sky blue. You're giving me brown. -Maybe because you're paying us shit. -Excuse me? I'm sorry. Famous ears clogged up? I'll say it into the mike. Maybe because you're paying us fucking shit. -Is there a problem? -Yeah. Let's see what the goddamn problem is. We got his attention. He's coming down. It's about fucking time. Are our sessions cutting into your time at the track? -Let me tell you the problem. -Here's the problem: You said you'd record us. That was a year ago. When are you gonna record us? -Give me a hit. -I've given you 10 hits. They're all derivative. Find yourselves a name and a sound... ...and then maybe we can make something happen. How do you know what's a hit until you get it out there? Okay. You want me to produce four songs? Get me the money. -What are you talking about? -I am tapped out. You want a session, it's gonna cost you $3500. Eight rooms on Park Avenue, he's tapped out. Ten, Sam Spade. And I've got certain personal obligations. Yeah. No, I saw him. Don't get me started, baby. Perfect. TOMMY: Could use a little more colour. Thanks a lot. Pleasure working with you. Yeah, maybe powder blue. Royal blue. Bullshit. Crewe's right about one thing. Your songs are derivative. BOB: Really? You don't think I know what that means? It means they all sound like each other. Lay off. Let Bob write the songs, you make the bookings, okay? Okay, okay, okay. I talked to the manager. You do two sets. It's a cool $350 a night. Ten nights, you got your session. -And I'm only gonna take 5 percent. -What? Or not. Joking. -How about it? -Okay, let's do it. TOMMY: Good. BOB: Uh.... Okay. It's good. POP MUSIC PLAYING ON JUKEBOX OWNER: Wait, wait, wait. What's your name? -The Romans. NICK: The Topix. -The Varietones. -The Topix. -The Four Lovers. OWNER: No, no, no. You. I know you. You used to come in here. You had some kind of scam going. Spotting pins and betting on the games. -I never been here before. OWNER: I never forget a face. Get out. All of you. Come on, let's go. Come on, before Jesus gets back. Let's go. Move. You have a memory like an elephant. I don't need a band, I got a jukebox. Someday we'll be on that fucking jukebox. OWNER: I'm not gonna hire you, I got no slots left. The Four Lovers. You look like the Four Felons. That went well. Hey, Joey, you're a real prick. This is crazy. We gotta find a club. Forget the clubs. What we want is a record contract. What contract? We can't even book a lousy bowling alley. Maybe this is a good time to start my own group. You're not starting any groups. You're in this group, Nicky. Yeah, which one? The Topix? The Romans? The Lovers? Who we gonna be next, Tommy? ELECTRICITY CRACKLING JOEY: Frankie. FRANKIE: What? It's a sign, Tommy. TOMMY: Ooh. I still like the Four Felons. Yeah, but we still need the $3500. Don't worry about it, all right? I'll take care of it. That's what I do. Now just write us a goddamn hit. Put that in the trunk. . BOB: So I lock myself in my room and I write four new songs in two days. No, not songs. Hits. TOMMY: Norman. NORMAN: What's up? You're late. I couldn't find parking for my canoe. Heh. Five thousand. Let's see. The 11 grand you owe me, plus this five.... It's getting heavy. You're up to 16 grand. Don't worry. We just signed with RCA Victor. That's good. -You don't wanna get behind on the vig. -I don't wanna get behind on anything. I'll send you a record. Better yet, send me three grand by next Friday. Three grand? -I thought it was like a thousand. -Three grand. FRANKIE: So you like the new name? -I love the new name. -All right. -And so did Vivaldi. What? Who? -Some guy stole our name? I'll talk to him. -It's okay, Tommy. He's already dead. What about the songs? The songs? I love the songs. The songs are great. -But we still have a problem. TOMMY: What? The scarols? Here. It's 3500. DeVito delivers. Fuck Vivaldi. I'll drink to that. Let me see. "Sherry." Oh, shit! Stop! TOMMY: This is bullshit, Frankie. Most important day of his life and he's late. -It's not like Bobby to be late. -That's Tommy's territory. All right, stronzo, get off my case. Lay off the booze while you're at it, all right, shithead? Hey, watch your mouth in my house. Francine. Francine. Come here, baby. All right, go with your mommy. -Beautiful. -She wasn't listening. -That way. TOMMY: She was drawing. Shut up. -Pretty pictures, Francine. MARY: Come on. Leave that. -Come on. -Asshole. Oh, real nice. Real nice. Hypocrite. -Hey. Here's the song. -What is this? Are you kidding me? He comes in with a piece of paper he wrote 15 minutes ago. Gimme. -This looks good. -No, it's an insult. It's a slap in the face. Don't take it personal. It looks good. TOMMY: I'm on the hook. -We do the four we rehearsed. We're not taking votes here, all right? I run the group. We don't have enough time. Crewe's got the ears. Let him decide. Crewe's gonna tell you the same thing. You put me in a real pinch, Frankie. You got another song? Come on, let's try it. -I don't now. -Let me see. All right. I'll take the bottom. RINGS CREWE: Bob Crewe. -Middle? -Hey, uh, Crewe. I'm sorry we're late. Listen, we got something for you, all right? CREWE: Right now? -No, just listen. Just listen. Here we go. One, two, three, four.... SINGING # Sherry # # Sherry baby # # Sherry # # Sherry baby # CREWE: Set up the eight-track. -What for? We double Frankie's voice. It's gonna explode off the radio. -I never heard of that before. -Because it's never been done before. Heh. I'm a fucking genius. -What does he think? -That's good, right? Right, Crewe? CREWE: Get over here now. -We'll be right over. You're listening to me, Barry Belson, WCFA Radio. We're in our 17th hour... ...locked inside the studio, and yes... ...we're still playing the same song. I mean, is that a different sound, or what? Who are these people? Four black guys? Three guys and a girl? What can I say? I love this record! Ha-ha-ha. Whoo! We're gonna see this go right to the top, my friends. And we're gonna see it happen this Saturday on American Bandstand. Oh, what the hey, I'm gonna play it again. So put down that girl and lend an ear to The Four Seasons! BARRY LAUGHS BAND PLAYING "SHERRY" SINGING # Sherry # # Sherry baby # # Sherry # # Sherry baby # # Sherry # # Sherry baby # # Baby # # Sherry baby # # Sherry, can you come out tonight? # # Come, come # # Come out tonight # # Sherry baby # # Sherry baby # # Sherry, can you come out tonight? # # Why don't you come out? # # -Come out # # -To my twist party # # Come out # # Where the bright moon shines # # Come out # # We'll dance the night away # # I'm gonna make you # # Mine # # You better ask your mama # # Sherry baby # # Tell her everything is all right # # Why don't you come out? # # -Come out # # -With your red dress on # # Come out # # Mm, you look so fine # # Come out # # Move it nice and easy # # Girl, you make me lose my mind # # Sherry # # -Sherry baby # # -Baby # # Sherry baby # # Sherry, can you come out tonight? # # Come, come # # -Come out tonight # # -Come out tonight # # -Come, come # # -Come, come # # -Come out tonight # # -Come out tonight # # -Sherry # # -Come, come # # -Come out tonight # # -Sherry baby # # -Come, come # # -Sherry # # -Come out tonight # # -Sherry baby # # Come # ALL CHEERING -Hey. What's going on? You got the song? BOB: Hey. No. Not yet, not yet. What've you been doing? It's three weeks. The company's going nuts. -So, what's in the bag? -Chinese. Gotta eat to work. Oh, my gosh. Shush, shush. Bobby, Bobby. Come here, come here. Ace in the Hole. Kirk Douglas. Jan Sterling. God, I love Jan Sterling. Come on. What are you doing? Working or watching the tube? -Shh. Come on. -Get forks. CREWE: "I feel like smiling." I feel like smiling. You heard me. Get it off. CREWE: "Make me." -That's right. CREWE: Watch this. Make me. CREWE: Oh, he will. ALL: Oh. TOMMY LAUGHING Watch. I'll bet you she cries. No, big girls don't cry. SINGING # Big girls don't cry # # Big girls # # Don't cry # # They don't cry # # Big girls don't cry # # Who said they don't cry? # # My girl # # Said goodbye # # My, oh, my # # My girl didn't cry # # I wonder why # # Silly boy # # Told my girl we had to break up # # Silly boy # # Hoped that she would call my bluff # # Silly boy # # Then she said to my surprise # # Big girls don't cry # # Maybe # # I was cruel # # I was cruel # # Baby, I'm a fool # # I'm such a fool # # Silly girl # # "Shame on you" # # -Your mama said # # -Silly girl # # Shame on you # # You cried in bed # # -Silly girl # # -Shame on you # # You told a lie # # Big girls do cry # # Big girls # # Don't cry # # They don't cry # # Big girls don't cry # # That's just an alibi # # Big girls don't cry # # Big girls don't cry # # Big girls don't cry # AUDIENCE CHEERING TOMMY: Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. We're the Four Seasons. Thank you. Thank you. On bass guitar, we have Mr. Nick Massi. CHEERING CONTINUES Keyboard, we have Bob Gaudio. I'm Tommy DeVito. And this is Mr. Frankie Valli. AUDIENCE SCREAMING Thank you very much. You've been a wonderful crowd. Thank you. -It's just, I don't get it. -What don't you get, Tommy? -The title, "Walk Like a Man." -So? As opposed to what, a woman? No, it's for boys, Tommy. Teenage boys. We're telling them to act like men. Instead of like girls. Yeah, instead of like-- No! Instead of like boys. -Come on. Why're you doing this? CREWE: Hey, hey, hey! Miss Congeniality. It's a metaphor. It's an anthem for every guy who's ever been twisted around a girl's little finger. If I'm explaining that to you, we're in trouble. Now knock off the bullshit and sing the song. Roll the tape, Phil. SIGHS "Walk Like a Man." Take one. BAND PLAYING "WALK LIKE A MAN" SINGING Merry Christmas. Come on in. TOMMY: They're organized the way he likes them. What's your name? -Steven. -Steven? SINGING # Said give her up, don't bother # # The world isn't coming to an end # # He said # # Walk like a man # -Nicky. NICK: Yeah, what? How much is he Gaudio? -Hey, who invited the brother along? -It's the little brother. Baby Gaudio. ALL CHUCKLE Come on. Take off the jacket. You look like you're working. What's the matter? SINGING Loosen up that bow tie. TOMMY: Where's Bobby? Bobby's gotta see this face. Look at this face. I'll say this about Tommy. He had his issues, but he sure knew how to run a party. # Fast as I can # # Walk like a man from you # INDISTINCT I bring the boy to the party. Now I bring the party to the boy. Oh, hello. Enjoy yourselves. We will. Uh-- Hi, I'm Bob. Shh. I'm your Christmas present. ALL LAUGHING ALL CHEERING Yes! Well done! -Well done! GIRL 1: All right. Congratulations. You were right. It is more fun with another person. ALL LAUGH PHONE RINGS -Yeah, hello. TOMMY: Frankie. Come on. Come here. We're still going. Jump in your car. You'll be here in 10 minutes. I got a present for you. You know, Tommy. We just got back from church. You don't even understand, Frankie. You are missing all the fun. No, I think I got as much fun as I can handle here. Right, Toni? All right. Bye. SINGING # Like a man # # Like a # # Man # AUDIENCE CHEERING Did I not say the stars were in alignment? Three number ones in a row. -You are always right, Crewe. CREWE: There's that. -Where's Tommy and Nicky? Get them. FRANKIE: Hey, come on in here. TOMMY: Over here. He's got golden ears, he's blind as a bat. -Come on! Three number ones! CREWE: Right? -That's what I'm saying. -Who's the best fucking team? -All right. -Come on, Frankie. Aah. Well, maybe we should make an investment. -In what? In art? -Mm-mm. In us. What do you mean? Well, you got the voice. I got the songs. Yeah, so? So we make a partnership. I give you half of everything I write... ...and you give me half of everything you record outside the group. Why would I ever record outside the group? I don't know. Things happen. What about Tommy and Nick? Nicky's really the one got me singing. Tommy, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for him. It won't cut into their share. I'd never do that. -We gotta tell them. -Yeah, of course. If things work out, think we could talk about a sax? If things work out, we can talk about a whole horn section. Okay, I'm in. All right. I'll have somebody draw up a contract. What, you mean like sign a piece of paper from a lawyer? -Yeah. -You wanna do this thing? -But we gotta get something on paper. -So we do it. You want a contract? Here. A Jersey contract. BAND PLAYING "MY BOYFRIEND'S BACK" SINGING # He went away and you hung around # # And bothered me every night # # And when I wouldn't go out with you # # You said things that weren't very nice # # My boyfriend's back, and you're gonna be in trouble # # Hey-la, hey-la # # -My boyfriend's back # # -You see him comin' # # Better cut out on the double # # Hey-la, hey-la # # My boyfriend's back # # You been spreading lies that I was untrue # # Hey-la, hey-la # # My boyfriend's back # # So look out now 'cause he's comin' after you # # Hey-la, hey-la # I like the one on the right. Yeah. No, no. No dibs. -What? -Share and share alike. Hey, Tommy, you put that 10 grand back in the tax account? Come on, Nicky. Get off my back, all right? Well, it's adding up. Plus the 3500 you dropped at the track last Saturday-- What are you, a ledger? Huh? Forget it. From now on there's a new arrangement. Frankie rides with me. You ride with the genius. -That's kind of up to Frankie, isn't it? -Stick to what you know. Come on. Isn't it up to Bobby too? I mean, the two of them are always together. They're like a pair of... ...um, what do you call them... ...Chinese twins. Try not to say anything for the rest of the day. All right, sweetheart? Everybody has a girlfriend, honey. Everybody. I don't understand. Why did you get married in the first place? -Are you kidding? Family is everything. -Oh. Well, that makes sense. . FRANKIE: Here we go. All right. -This looks like the place. -Okay, Bobby, I'll call you. -Yep. -Get your stuff? -I got it. -Have a good one. -Take it easy. You show up for a couple of days and think that makes you a father? At least when I'm here, I'm here. I'm not stoned. -Think the kids don't know? -You wanna switch places? Anytime! -There's the kitchen and washing! -Go. We'll live off what you make! No, thanks. I wouldn't wanna cramp your style. The road is the road. I'm there to provide for this family. -Certain things are none of your business! -Your family's out there! You think I don't know what goes on? Here. Unh! Give it to one of your "special friends." Go tour outer space. You'll still be what you always were: A dumb wop from Jersey who never even graduated high school. Mr. Vally with a "Y." Give me a fucking break. Pick that up. Pick that up. Is Mommy very sick? What do you mean? Sometimes she drinks a lot of medicine and then goes to sleep on the couch. Medicine, huh? Hmm. Well, you know, Francine... ...sometimes that medicine makes Mommy really tired. Daddy, do you love me? Of course I love you. But do you like me? Do I like you? Are you crazy? Yes, I like you. I like you more than the stars and the moon and the sun... ...and everything all thrown in together, okay? Will you go to sleep now? Sing me. SINGING # My eyes adored you # # Though I never laid a hand on you # # My eyes adored you # # Like a million miles away from me # # You couldn't see how I adored you # # So close # # So close and yet so far # Here. Like this. -You cosy? -Mm-hm. Okay? Good. FRANKIE: Be good. Okay? -Mm-hm. Come on. Thanks, Francine. It's a puppet who's a mouse with an accent. I don't get it either. You are not playing to the house. You're playing to the camera. Don't move around too much. And don't look down. And smile. Hey, it's Ed Sullivan, not a funeral. One minute. NORMAN: Hey, Frankie! You guys are fabulous. You guys just keep getting better and better. -Thanks. -Is Tommy around? Who wants to know? Norman Waxman, Frankie. A friend of Tommy's. -Listen. What's this about? -Money. -Listen, Mr.-- -Waxman. Norman Waxman. You got business, talk to our attorney. Excuse me-- No, no, no. You got a little success now, right? You got the records, the TV, the personal appearances. We're all very proud of you. Excuse me. You can't be here. NORMAN: Tommy's put me in this awkward position. I've stalled my people as long as I can, but he's in too deep. They want their money. Now. Before something unfortunate happens and it all goes up in smoke. This is bullshit. How much does Tommy owe you? -150 large. -Excuse me? -$150,000. -Jesus. Hey. Did you think I wasn't gonna make it? Hey, Normie. -What's up? -Hey, Tommy. MAN: You're on. The guy said we had 5. BOB: Well, we're on now. For all of the youngsters in the country, The Four Seasons. So let's have a pleasant intro for them. APPLAUSE CHEERING BAND PLAYING "WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU" # I'll be working my way back to you, babe # # With a burning love inside # # Hey, I'm working my way back to you, babe # # And the happiness that died # # I let it get away # # Been paying every day # SINGING Bob will tell you it was smooth sailing... ...right up until we hit the iceberg with Tommy and the $150,000. That's Bob. He was always looking so far into the future... ...he never saw what was going on under his nose. Fact is, the trouble didn't start at the Sullivan Show. It started long before that. # Oh, for every day # # I made you cry # BAND PLAYING "DAWN (GO AWAY)" # Ooh, Dawn, go away back where you belong # # Girl, we can't # # Change the places where we were born # CHATTERING # Before you say # # You say # # That you want me # # I want you to think # # -Think, think # # -What your family would say # # -Think, think # # -Think what you're throwing away # # Now think what the future would be with a poor boy # # Like me # # Me # # Dawn # # Go away, I'm no good for you # # Dawn, go away # ALL CHEERING Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. We'll see you again next year. Wonderful time. -Great show, fellas! BOB: Thank you! -Welcome to Cleveland! -Thank you! You're under arrest. -What? -For what? OFFICER: Defrauding an innkeeper. -What? You fellas played here last year? TOMMY: Yeah. You stay at a Holiday Inn? -I don't remember. -Well, they do. You skipped without paying the bill. -You owe $120. -For crying out loud-- A minor oversight. I can take care of that right now. Take that up with the judge. Come on, officer, can't we deal with this privately? You wouldn't be offering a bribe, would you? TOMMY: All right, all right. My friend, my friend, my friend. Every man is looking for a queen. Where is she? Oh, with another man. What're you gonna do? It happens. We're all winners here. That's 40 you owe me. Hey, Nicky, you remember when we couldn't get arrested? When was that? When you were 3? TOMMY: All right. Calm down, genius, huh? It's not the end of the world. We'll be out in a couple of days. This may come as a shock to you, but I don't have a police record. Oh, no? Well, it's never too late to start, right? Hey, who knows, maybe you guys come up with a hit song out of it. Right, Frankie, huh? SINGS # Oh, me, oh, my-o # Come on, Frankie. SINGING # Did some time in old Ohio # Tommy, can it. Come on. Calm your friend down. He's about to shit his pants. I'm not gonna calm down. I'm in a jail cell with a-- --person. TOMMY LAUGHING NICK CHUCKLING AND TOMMY WHOOPING Hello. GIRL: Over here. TOMMY: Hey, hi. Thank you very much. You have a very nice jail. Bob never forgave Tommy for that weekend. Me, I let it slide because the group comes first. We're all in this together, right? Here, beautiful. Right. TOMMY: Thank you. Thank you very much. -Of course, of course. BOB: We love Ohio. INDISTINCT CHATTERING We shouldn't be drawing on this account. We gotta set something aside for Uncle Sam. Lou, this is November. April's what, nine months away? -Six, actually. -And that's why you're the accountant. Yes. And that's why I think it's important-- Don't think. I'm the client. Twenty thousand, Bellevue Apartments, I.N.C. What's "GAVA"? -It's a fruit, like your brother. -Hey. Bobby and Frankie's partnership. -What partnership? -Some kind of cockamamie partnership. About what? Frankie sings, Bobby writes, some kind of split. -And you knew about this? -Yeah, so? So when were you gonna tell me? All right. Don't make a braciola, uh? Doesn't cut into your share. I don't know. A group is a group. It's not two guys with a side deal. And I agree with you. You think it's gonna work with those two egos? NICK: I think I should start my own group. -You're not starting anything. -Why not? You gotta wake up before noon to start your own. Lou, you're a gentleman. So I let that slide too. I mean, we were doing good. Concerts, club dates, cover of Cashbox. Six more weeks at number one, that covered a lot of sins. Until we hit Detroit. This reporter comes to do a feature on us, and Frankie falls hard. So tell me a little bit about where you grew up. I'm from Belleville, New Jersey. Right outside of Newark. Mm-hm. Here, look. I got some pictures here. That's my mother. Best meatball sandwiches in all of America. Five-foot-two, but don't mess with her. LORRAINE CHUCKLES She really wanted me out of that neighbourhood. Course, she's still right there in the same projects, but I can't get her out. She doesn't wanna leave her friends. I tell her: "Take them with you, I'll move them all." She says no. Send her cash, it goes in the drawer. The washing machine breaks, she won't spend money. Goes to the laundromat. Tells everybody she's Frankie Valli's mother. People think I'm the kind of son that makes his mother go to a laundromat. CHUCKLES What else you wanna know? Then she interviewed Tommy. Thing about Tommy is... ...he was only used to dealing with a certain class of woman... ...so when he went up against Lorraine, it was like, no contest. TOMMY: What did Frankie say about me? Not really much. More about him and Bobby. How the group never took off till Bobby came along. TOMMY: Did he tell you that I hired Bobby? He said it was more like a group decision. -Oh, he said that, huh? -Mm-hm. Did he tell you that before I took him on he was studying to be a hairdresser? -No. -Oh, yeah. The kid was lost. Between you and me... ...and don't print this because he doesn't want it out there... ...I taught him everything he knows. -Really? -Everything. -Ah. -But not everything I know. Aah. I even had to get him laid the first time. Give him a little tutoring. Well, you tutored him very well. Why don't we cut to the chase here, Lorraine. How do you mean, Tommy? Well, I can see you're a big girl. Look, when you get tired of high school... ...you let me know when you wanna check out the graduate course. BOTH CHUCKLE Okay. He hit on you? Only, like, with a sledgehammer. That son of a bitch, I'm gonna kill him. -It was funny. -It's not. You don't do that. -He's pathetic. Leave it alone. -You don't do it! Now I'm supposed to go on stage with him? Sing with him? Make jokes? What is he, crazy? He might be stupid. Ever think of that? Tommy's not stupid. He's evil. Did he put his hands on you? No, of course not. This is bad. -Fuck! -Jesus. What is the matter with you? Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Pick a card, pick a card. No? Mr. Big Shot over here. Hey, everybody, that's Frankie Valli. He's freezing' me out. I mean, what did I do so terrible, huh? Take him off the street? Put him in the group? Hustle with him all these years. Take him in like this, Nicky. Like this. Make him a star. And now he won't even look at me. Like Tommy DeVito's a fucking stain. Gimme a break. For what? For what, I ask you, huh? A piece of ass? For that? Get the fuck out of here. I mean, is there an ounce of good that I did? One ounce? Hand me that, will you? There's no more towels. Hand me the fucking towel. BLOWING NOSE Am I right, or am I right? I want Bobby to handle cash from now on. What? I want Bobby to handle the cash. All right, let me explain something. When I leave this group... ...or they carry me out... ...Bob can handle whatever you want Bob to handle. While I'm in this group, he's not gonna handle a dime. You understand? Not a fucking dime. Get that through your fucking head. NICK: Maybe we should put it to a vote. -What? What was that? -Maybe we should put it to a vote. TOMMY: A vote? All right. I see. I see. Now we got a democracy. All right. Let's put it to a vote. Should Bob handle the money, yea or nay? Huh? -Huh? BOB: Hey, hey! TOMMY: Well, that's my vote. Anybody else? -Tommy-- BOB: Let it go. What? Oh, looks like the nays have it. Tommy won that one, but it was the beginning of the end. Something just snapped and after that it was just a long slow slide. Until Norm Waxman showed up backstage at the Sullivan Show... ...and blew the lid off... ...we had no idea how deep in he was. SINGING # With a burning love inside # # Yeah, I'm workin' my way back to you, babe # # And the happiness that died # # I let it get away # # I let it get away # # I'll be workin' my way back to you # CHEERING You'd think after everything that went down... ...Frankie would have cut Tommy loose right then. If that's what you think... ...you're not from Jersey. FRANKIE: Hey, Gyp. -Tommy's in a little trouble. -How little? Hundred and fifty thousand. Oh. Why isn't he standing here talking to me? Because he can't sing "My Mother's Eyes" like I can. You take care of family, Frankie. I like that. Yeah. I'll see what I can do. . GYP: We're here to resolve a problem. We're all gentlemen. We will act in a civilized manner. ALL SPEAK IN ITALIAN IN ENGLISH How much are we talking about? As of noon today, including the vig: One hundred and sixty-two large. What were you thinking, Tommy? I don't know, Gyp. It, uh-- It always felt like I was playing catch-up. It just crept up. I'm surprised he's still walking around. I'll be honest with you, Gyp. We like their songs. Anybody else, he'd already be in the hospital. Come on. Gimme a break, huh? What are you gonna do, huh? You fuck. -Sic one of your goons on me? -Man is trying to work with you. -Hey, whose side are you on? -Mine. TOMMY: Of course you are. -Asshole. -I'm an asshole? You are. -From day one. -Fuck you. -Fuck you. Fuck you, Nicky. Gentlemen, our friend Mr. Waxman has a legitimate point. Excuse me. All due respect. He opened it up. I'm gonna say something. I've been rooming with this guy on and off for, what is it, 10 years? This was not a walk in the park. This was a sentence. A 10-year sentence. The man is a personal nightmare. He wears the same underwear three days running. He takes no pride in his appearance. In the simple amenities of life. -You wanna talk about towels? -This isn't the time-- The man cannot be in a hotel without using all the towels. I'm talking face towels, bath towels... ...the bathmat, the little washcloths. Like he's living alone. You need a towel, you know where it is? In a pile on the floor. -Nicky, please. -I come back to the room one time the man is pissing in the sink. -I never pissed in the sink. -Right in the fucking sink. I say, "Tommy, what's wrong with you? There's a toilet." He says, "This was closer." This is what I'm dealing with. The man is not properly socialized. Frankie doesn't have to deal with it. Gaudio doesn't. I've had to deal with it 10 years! Okay, Nick. Thank you for sharing that. Now, Norm and me... ...we're gonna take a little walk, work things out. I want you boys to put your heads together. See what you can come up with. And, you. Hey! Stay out of my bathroom. Pff. Maybe Gyp can talk sense into this guy. Forget sense. Forget sense. I got a couple of things. I could work something out. Pull a job? Roll a 7-Eleven, like the old days. Shut your trap, all right, and drink your wine! DeCarlo's not running this group, I am. I don't know what we're doing here, begging for help. You make me look like an asshole. -You do that all by yourself. FRANKIE: Can we talk about--? You know what'd be nice? Since I was here before any of you? Respect. For what? Getting 162 in the hole? You know something? At least I tried, huh? You think it's easy running the group? Dealing with the club owners, the managers, the record companies? Everybody trying to fuck you five ways from Sunday? You don't care how it gets done, Nicky. I took care of it! Me! Sit down. Sit down. Sit down. All right. Let's get it all out, right? Crucify me, right? Come on. Right, Tommy. All right. You don't give a shit about the group. Never have. It's always been whatever it is you got going on, and then the group. Never rehearse, drive Nicky to drink, put Bob through the wringer. Forget trying to mess with my head, which you've done from day one. -You don't know what you're talking about. FRANKIE: Be quiet for once. You know what the shame of it is, Tommy? You're not a bad musician if you give a little time. But, nah. You're too busy shooting your mouth off or buying apartments to keep girlfriends in. But no more. All that bullshit is over. This is how you talk to your friends? Friends, right. Not one Christmas present. Not one Christmas card. Not one time we go for a meal and you pick up the check. Not one time do you ask me how my kids are doing, how I'm doing. God help me, Tommy, part of me would really like to see you hurt. Hey! Hey! Don't! Come on! Tommy! TOMMY: You talk to me that way? NICK: Come on! Get off him, get off! Schoolkids! Leave that outside. GYP SPEAKING IN ITALIAN IN ENGLISH: All right? Here's how it's gonna go down. Excuse me, Mr. DeCarlo. The group-- We've come to a decision. We have? We're gonna pay back every penny Tommy owes. -Wait a minute. -Let me handle this. It's a lousy few hundred grand. We got something, it took a lot of work and years. -So? -The group takes the debt. This is his problem. Why do we take his debt? Because we're not gonna let it come apart. Is that good enough, Tommy? For what? Frankie's singing was never good enough. His ideas were never good enough. Nothing was good enough. The kid who was never good enough is bailing you out. So is that good enough? It's a little more complicated than that. Why? NORMAN: My people are very angry. -They want a message sent. -What message? You're moving to Las Vegas. What for? NORMAN: Your health. We're gonna keep an eye on you. We see you outside of Nevada, it gets ugly. No way. No way. Not Nevada. Better throw me in the river. Your choice. -Wait a minute. For how long? NORMAN: Till it's paid off. -But we're in the middle of a tour. -Best I could do. -But what happens to the group? -I'll tell you what happens. Nothing. Why? Because it's still on paper that I own 25 percent. So suck on that. I got a better idea. A clean break. We buy him out. What? No, no, no. You don't buy me out. I buy you out. With what, Tommy? All right. Fine. Buy me out. It's over anyway. How many more hits you think you're gonna write? All right, wait a minute. Anything else we don't know about? I maybe borrowed a little from the tax account. How much? Half a mil. -In that neighbourhood. -Oof. We're gonna take that too. -What are you--? -I said let me handle it. The loan, the taxes... ...we take it all. All right. That's it, then. Norm. Tommy. Excuse us. Hey, Frankie. Frankie. It's that bad, huh? Frankie... ...you are digging a million-dollar hole for yourself. Tommy took me off the streets, Gyp. What's that worth? You'll be on the road till you're 90. You want, I could arrange a loan. Thanks, Mr. DeCarlo... ...but I don't want anybody involved in our future besides me and Frankie. Hey, I just realized something. I don't wanna be in this group anymore. FRANKIE: Not now, Nicky. -No, forget that. I wanna go home. What are you talking about? I wanna go home. Good idea. After the tour, we all take a break. No. Now. I quit. You can't quit. I got his attention. Hi, Bob. Nicky, Nicky, we're in the middle of a tour. Yeah. You know, I always hated the touring. Fucking hotels. Those tiny little bars of soap. You're supposed to wash with that? Can't even see it. You're talking crazy. Calm down and we'll figure it out. I already figured it out. I'll make it easy for you. I don't want money. I don't want side deals. All I want is out. You're right about the soap. Hey, Nicky. Nicky. BOB: Nicky! We're in the middle of a damn tour! Are you crazy? GYP: Nicky, wait. Wait up. Let me understand. You put in all this time, you have all these hits... ...and yet, you're gonna just walk away? That is crazy. Me and the wife had a little trouble last year, so you know what I did? I put the kids with my parents. And then I told them, my own kids... ...I made up this thing where I told them I was really their uncle. Uncle Nick. I don't understand. So I could screw around, you know. Do what I wanted. I figured if I wasn't home to put them to bed, they wouldn't feel deprived of a father. I don't know what to say, Nick. All due respect, Mr. DeCarlo... ...you sell a hundred million records, see how you handle it. Frankie and Bob, they're gonna take this hard. I'm not worried. Those guys, with all their talent... ...they'll never even know I'm gone. You want me to go out there by myself? Are you nuts? Look, there's a lot of great backup guys out there, right? There's Joe Long, Charlie Calello. We find two more and put you in front. Get a great drummer. A horn section like we talked about. Like Basie and the Kenton band. -What do you do? -Write and produce. I don't like it. -Why? -You're crapping out on me. -I thought we had a handshake. -We do. I wake up in the middle of the night, I don't know where I am. I think, "What the hell happened? What's gonna happen? Everybody leaves." Why does everybody leave? Frankie. This is your time. How do you do that? What? Get me to agree to stuff. It's a gift. SINGING # You're only holdin' out your heart in sympathy # FRANKIE: So while Bob's at home with his family... ...I'm on the road 200 nights a year, doing anything I can dig up: Night clubs, hotels, private parties, anything. SINGING # I'll be blue and I'll be cryin' too # # But, girl, you know I only want what's best for you # # What good is all my pride # PHONE RINGING Yeah, you and me both, pal. MAN: Mr. Valli. You got a collect call from New Jersey. -Where is she? MARY: You tell me. She's your daughter. She never knows if you'll visit, it's always last minute. I'm an entertainer. Things get moved! -She needs a father! -How about a mother? Pull yourself together. PHONE RINGS Shit. Hello. Hello? Can I talk to Mommy? Francine. Where are you, sweetheart? Your mother and I are worried sick. I'm in the city, okay? Don't have a cow. FRANKIE: Sweetheart, you can't disappear... ...off the face of the earth. Leave a note. Don't yell at me, Daddy. Look. I just took a plane halfway across the country. You got money for a cab? Just get in a cab and come home. So now you're gonna be a father all of a sudden? It's two lousy days, Daddy. You disappear for months at a time. -That's different, Francine. -I know. You're working. You're slaving away so you can give us a good life. I've heard it a billion times. Give me a break. -Can I talk to Mom? -Don't talk to me like that. I'm your father. Francine? Shit. Good job, Dad. MAN: Francine? -Yeah. -Your father, he'd like to see you. -Oh, can I help you? No. Come on. Who the hell are you? Get lost before I snap your neck. It's okay. I'll call you. Thanks, Johnny. Anytime, Frankie. Sit down, Francine. How'd you find me? I got friends who have friends on the street. You mean your friends in the Mob? You want something? Coke. -Can we get a Coke over here? SERVER: Sure. Listen, Francine. I made some mistakes. I wasn't around enough. Your mother.... We both know about her. I should have stepped in... ...but it's hard to balance the home and the work. Maybe someday, you'll have a family and you'll understand that. Hey. All right. Gimme that. You wanna be a singer, first thing is you stop that. You could be a great singer. You got my chops, you got your mother's beauty. You could have everything you want. But you gotta get it together. What's wrong with you? Running around like this? Look, I know how hard it is. You got something you wanna share with the world and nobody gives a shit. But then things turn around. You have to have patience, and you gotta keep working. We're gonna turn things around. All right? I'm gonna help you. I'm gonna get you in singing lessons. You're gonna start eating right, gonna start exercising. I set it up with Bob Crewe, he's gonna record you a demo. Four songs. All you. We're gonna get out of this nightmare. You can do this. This is what you want, right? Right? Come here. I believe in you. I'm glad you're here with me. . You know, it's funny... ...back in the day, we almost left Crewe because he wouldn't record us a demo. Four songs. And now he's doing it for Francine. I swear, that kid, she was going under. You know what it's like out there with kids and drugs. And her mother, you think it's about the kid? No. It's who's winning, who's wrong, who's right, who screwed up. I mean, this woman-- People turn into something. -Frankie. -What? I can't do this. What do you mean? This is a small apartment. There's not enough room for your whole family. Can you stop that for a minute? What's the point? I gotta be out of town next week... ...then I come back and you're on the road. -I don't see you for weeks. -I'm working. It's not a vacation. -It goes on. Nothing changes. -I need these dates. -I got a million-dollar hole. -That you dug for yourself. He was screwing things up. We had to get him out. -Don't talk about things you don't know. -He used you. He ridiculed you. He did everything he could to destroy the group. -And you take his debts? -He couldn't help himself! Oh, my God. Saint Francis, is that it? Kind to animals? I thought if you could get out of the neighbourhood maybe we'd have a shot. But you're never gonna get out, are you? What if we got married? You and Tommy? I don't think that's legal in Nevada. -You don't give an inch, do you? -I'm never gonna be first in line. I'm always gonna be standing behind Tommy and Bobby and Nicky and Joey. Look, I gotta go. Go tomorrow. Come to Boston. We'll spend the weekend. I can't. I got things. Yeah, I know. Family and work. And what's left, Frankie? Don't do this. Not now. Why? So we can have a drink? Go around one more time? I'm sorry, sweetheart. I gotta get off the merry-go-round. It's no fun any more. Fourteen nine, 14,950, 15,000. Okay, we're good. Everybody's whole now, right? Frankie, you know it was nothing personal. GYP: Norm... ...say goodbye. Take care, gentlemen. I told you, if you do the work, everything follows. Heh. Thanks. -Long life. -Long life. Long life. PHONE RINGING Ah. It's my daughter Francine. She calls every Friday at 10. That's good, Frankie. She's playing Victoria's in Plainfield. Francine, just a second, okay? Just a minute. Okay. -All right. Call me later. -All right. Thanks again. Francine, you'll never guess who was just here. -Excuse me? OFFICER: You the father of Francine Valli? Yes, this is her father. This is the New York Police Department. Is something wrong? Is she all right? PRIEST SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY SOBS For this is our God, forever and ever. Get you a plaque on this booth. How you doing? Never better. Yeah. I got something I think belongs to you. Open it. Crewe and I got together. SIGHS Bob, I just buried a child. You want me to sing a love song? You gotta climb out of this, Frankie. It'll kill you. She had a bigger range than me. Did you know that? And in here, she had it. What was I supposed to do, put her on a leash? Chain her to the bed? They grow up, they go out... ...and some stu cazzo with a bottle of pills is waiting and it's over. Don't blame yourself. Really? Who, then? All right, look. Do me a favour. Just take it home. Look at it. There's something not right in the release. Maybe you'll have an idea. -Bob, I don't know. -Just look at it. Here. Wear this, would you? We don't need you catching pneumonia too. PHONE RINGS Yeah. You know, the problem is you're modulating up after the bridge. -I don't think you should. You listening? -Yeah. Go ahead. Yeah, you know, your music... ...and Crewe's lyric, they're working really well together. You know, you goose it up too much, I don't know, it gets cheesy. Maybe a few notes here and there. All right. Well, uh.... Why don't you come over tomorrow and we'll talk about it? Check my schedule. Good idea. Okay, people, take five. Five-minute break. I sprung for the session. What else do you want? Release the song. I don't know what to do with it. It's too hard for pop, too soft for rock. But, Al, it's a new kind of song. You're the president of a record company. Do the right thing. Find the next thing. Why are you busting my chops? You drag me down to hear some art song that's never gonna get airplay. Listen to me. Frankie's going through hell. We've made you a lot of money. Come on. Do the right thing. Because deep down, very, very, very deep down... ...I know that you are a decent human being. I'll be candid with you, my friend. Frankie's okay. He's no Neil Sedaka. Then I want out of our contract. And I'm taking you to court to get back our masters. You don't have the balls. Try me. Okay. Call me sentimental. Here's the deal: You get some stations to play it, I'll release the damn song. They say no... ...you take your work of art and stick it where the sun don't shine. Thank you, Al, you're a class act. It's very nice. Say hi to the kids. Merry Christmas. ENGINEER: Okay, folks, we're back. -So how did that go? -Good. Very good. Noise. So where do you wanna break the song? -Detroit. The Roostertail. -Detroit. That's WJR. I know that guy. Marty something. Mr. First Nighter. Three hundred pounds. Disgusting. So we get him in there... ...we lay on the food, we lay on the booze, we give him the full treatment. The guy's a moron, but he's not stupid. He hears the crowd, you'll get airplay. Don't worry. -That's just Detroit. -Let me finish. So we follow up. Philly, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco. You start a little movement. People start talking. They talk more. It's a chain reaction. "Where did you find that song?" All right. Stations start getting calls. "We wanna hear that song." "Where is that song?" "What is wrong with you people?" Okay, everybody. "Play the fucking song already!" BAND PLAYING "CAN'T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU" # You're just too good to be true # # Can't take my eyes off you # # You'd be like heaven to touch # # I wanna hold you so much # # At long last love has arrived # # And I thank God I'm alive # # You're just too good to be true # # Can't take my eyes off you # # Pardon the way that I stare # # There's nothing else to compare # # The sight of you leaves me weak # # There are no words left to speak # # But if you feel like I feel # # Please let me know that is real # # You're just too good to be true # # I can't take my eyes off you # # I love you, baby # # And if it's quite all right, I need you, baby # # To warm the lonely nights # # I love you, baby # # Trust in me when I say # # Oh, pretty baby # # Don't bring me down, I pray, oh, pretty baby # # Now that I've found you stay, and let me love you, baby # # Let me love you # # You're just too good to be true # # Can't take my eyes off you # # You'd be like heaven to touch # # I wanna hold you so much # # At long last love has arrived # # And I thank God I'm alive # # You're just too good to be true # # Can't take my eyes off you # # I love you, baby # # And if it's quite all right, I need you, baby # # To warm the lonely nights # # I love you, baby # # Trust in me when I say # # Oh, pretty baby # # Don't bring me down, I pray # # Oh, pretty baby # # Now that I've found you stay, and let me love you, baby # # Let me love you # # You're just too good to be true # CHEERING CROWD SHOUTING AND CAMERAS CLICKING CROWD CHEERING Wow. Nothing's changed except for Frankie, right? Hey, hey. So you guys haven't sung together in how long? NICK: Twenty-five years. -Twelve years. -Since 1912. -Now that you sing your songs... ...what's different? The keys. They're a little lower. Not for you, but for us. Are the songs tougher, more meaning, different meaning? This is the first time we've sung together tonight in a long time. So we'll find out tonight. -Good to know. Thanks. MAN: Is that Tommy? Hey, there's Tommy. JOURNALIST: There's Tommy. BOB: Hello, sir. -Good to see you. -Bobby, good to see you. -Tommooch. -Machoch. Good to see you. So I haven't seen these guys in ages. Good to see you, Frankie. How's life, Tommy? I can't complain. Here. All right. All right, Tommy. CROWD CHATTERING Let's go inside. CREWE: It's been over 20 years... ...since these guys have appeared on the same stage together... ...and what better stage for a reunion than this one? Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome... ...my old friends and brand-new Hall of Famers: The original Four Seasons! AUDIENCE CHEERING SINGING # Rag doll, ooh # # I love you just the way you are # # Hand-me-down # # When she was just a kid, her clothes were hand-me-downs # # Hand-me-down # # They always laughed at her when she came into town # You know what I do now? I work for Joe Pesci. Little Joey Fishes. Same kid I used to smack around. Couple of months ago we're driving through the old neighbourhood. He says, "Hey, Tommy, how do you remember yourself back then?" I says: "I think I was a pretty stand-up guy." He says, "I gotta be honest with you. You were a total prick. Nobody would have put up with your shit except we all needed something." Everybody remembers it the way they need to, right? People always ask the same question: "Why'd you do it, Nicky? Why'd you walk away?" Well, let me clear that up. It wasn't the side deal. It wasn't the touring. It wasn't the bad food or rooming with Tommy. It just came out of my mouth. Once I said it... ...I knew it was what I wanted. I wanted to go home. They ask you what was the high point? Hall of Fame? Selling all those records? Pulling "Sherry" out of the hat? It was all great. But four guys under a streetlamp... ...when it was all still ahead of us... ...first time we made that sound... ...our sound... ...when everything dropped away and all there was was the music... That was the best. I'm not drawn to the old neighbourhood... ...my life never revolved around the old neighbourhood... ...I don't give a fuck about the old neighbourhood. I'm from wherever I happen to be. And these days, that's Nashville, Tennessee. Just me... ...my beautiful wife... ...and a good cigar. Quiet and peaceful... ...in the knowledge... ...that none of this could have happened... ...without me. By the way... ...you're ever in Vegas, go to any casino, say the name Tommy DeVito. My hand to God... ...you'll be out of there in about 12 seconds. All right, I'll be honest with you. It could have been an ego thing. Everybody wants to be up front. But if there's four guys... ...and you're Ringo...? Better I should spend some time with my kids. Like that bunny on TV with the battery, I just keep going and going and going. Chasing the music. Trying to get home. BAND PLAYING "WHO LOVES YOU" SINGING # Who loves you pretty, baby? # # Who's gonna help you through the night? # # Who loves you, pretty mama? # # Who's always there to make it right? # # Who loves you, pretty baby? # # Who's gonna help you through the night? # # Who loves you, pretty mama? # # Who's always there to make it right? # # Who loves you? # # -Who loves you, pretty baby? # # -Who's gonna love you, love you # # Who's gonna love you, Mama? # # Who loves you, pretty baby? # SINGING # Sherry # # Sherry baby # # Sherry # # Sherry baby # # Sherry # # -Sherry baby # # -Baby # # Sherry baby # # Sherry, can you come out tonight? # # Oh, what a night # # Late December back in '63 # # What a very special time for me # # As I remember what a night # Hey, Joey! You owe me five bucks. # Oh, what a night # # You know I didn't even know her name # # But I was never gonna be the same # # What a lady, what a # # Oh # # Oh, I # # I got a funny feeling when she walked in the room # # Yeah, and I # # As I recall it ended much too soon # You look marvellous. # Oh, what a night # # Why'd it take so long to see the light? # # Seemed so wrong, but now it seems so right # # Sweet surrender, what a night # # I felt the rush # # Like a rolling bolt of thunder # # Spinning my head around, and taking my body under # # Oh, what a night # # Oh, what a night # # Oh, what a night # # Oh, what a night # # Oh, what a night # # Oh, what a night # # Oh, what a night # # Oh, what a night # # Oh, what a night # # Oh, what a night # SHERRY BABY PLAYS www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2017