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Did you hear? Clint Eastwood’s big screen adaptation of the hit musical Jersey Boys is hitting theaters this weekend. You didn’t hear about it? Don’t fret, you’re not alone. Don’t worry if you neglected to carve out space in your calendar for a trip to the movies to see Jersey Boys this weekend, because there are a bunch of good ole “Jersey Boys” —from Tony Soprano to Henry Cavill—that you can catch on streaming this weekend.
The Sopranos
For many people, The Sopranos is the apex of what television can be. The drama hooked viewers in the late ’90s, early ’00s, and made HBO the television titan it is today. It’s got James Gandolfini at his finest, David Chase at the top of his game and the state of New Jersey as its dramatic backdrop. New Yorkers like to think that they corner the market on Northeastern culture, but The Sopranos proves that New Jersey is just as capable of producing drama of Shakespearean proportions.
The Sopranos is available on HBO GO and Amazon Prime.
Clerks
You can’t mention New Jersey and cinema without paying respect to Clerks. Whether you love or hate Kevin Smith, you’ve got to give the New Jersey-bred filmmaker props for bringing independent cinema to the suburbs. He wasn’t making esoteric art for a privileged film festival scene; he was making movies about the people and places he knew. Clerks is what started it all, and what spawned the producer’s homegrown empire.
Clerks is streaming on Netflix & Amazon Prime.
The Wedding Singer
If box office flops like Blended have you feeling sick and tired of Adam Sandler, then it’s time to turn back the clock and re-watch The Wedding Singer. Sure, the film is set in 1980s New Jersey, and both of those settings are used for cheap gags, but the real draw of the film is Adam Sandler’s chemistry with Drew Barrymore. Here, Sandler is at his most charming self and Barrymore is at her most luminous. The Wedding Singer is a sweet and silly ode to true love that deserves your full-attention, and none of your snarky ire.
The Wedding Singer is available for digital rental on Amazon Prime & Google Play and for digital purchase on iTunes.
Not Fade Away
If you’re hankering for a film about Jersey boys chasing their dreams of being music stars in the 1960s yet don’t feel the need to throw down money to see Jersey Boys in the theater, you can always check out Not Fade Away. David Chase, the mastermind behind The Sopranos, wrote and directed this excellent film about a Jersey teen (John Magaro) determined to be a rock star. James Gandolfini also stars as his father, and oh boy, the ending is one that will have you talking for days.
Not Fade Away is streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Man of Steel
Yes, Man of Steel takes place in a fictional world where there is no New Jersey, but it turns out that the film’s star, Henry Cavill, is the original kind of Jersey Boy. Cavill was born and raised on Jersey in the Channel Islands. You know Jersey? The island between France and England? From whence New Jersey gets its name.
Man of Steel is streaming on HBO GO until June 30. You can also digitally purchase it on Amazon Prime, iTunes & Google Play.
Jersey Boys hits theaters nationwide June 20.
