Review: ‘Beastie Boys Story’ on Apple TV+ examines the growth of the iconic band – The Oakland Press

"Beastie Boys Story" is available to stream on Apple TV+.

More memorial and a laugh-fest than a concert movie, this is a spirited chronicle of the memories and reflections from the Beastie Boys' surviving members Michael Diamond (Mike D) and Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock).

Director Spike Jonzes Beastie Boys Story takes place in front of a live crowd in May 2019. Diamond and Horovitz take the live audience through their punk and hip hop influences to its roots, exploring the origins and giving vivid insights into their controversial lyrics, songs and personas. They discuss the late Adam Yauch, give personal details in what led to their success and talk about being represented by Def Jam executive Russell Simmons, who saw instant opportunities in the young kids. The film gives a soulful, conscious side to the Beastie Boys' love and passion for hop hop. The film keeps things lively, with wit and banter on camera, punctuating the acts with archival footage and gags, while always maintaining the viewers' interest.

Jonze does allow the material to meander as some of the pacing suffers past the one hour mark. But the material and personal insights triumph throughout. It would have been great had they performed a live song together in tribute to Yauch even if they hold a principle of never performing again without him.

The best explorations in Beastie Boys Story is the growth this iconic band endured from their youth through adulthood not just in their music, but in character too. The band started off rowdy with their misogynistic spectacle of go-go dancers and their giant penis prop.They could have just become a one hit wonder type of band as their first pop hit, 1986s Fight for Your Right, became an instant smash hit on the billboards.

Their style from their debut album Licensed to Ill was very novice with basic metal riffs and minimal beats, which led to them improving and experimenting, with far lesser success on their sophomore album Pauls Boutique a commercial flop that would later be hailed as their masterpiece. At this point, their music had a wide range of different styles and samples, which led them back to their punk influences with the early-90s hit Sabotage," which put them back into relevancy. The music video of that song was also directed by Jonze.

The live concert film is inspired by the book Beastie Boys Story," in which Diamond and Horovitz published a collection of essays from friends and music critics that also examined the bands fascinating history with photos and prose. Beastie Boys Story holds up to the task of being a compelling watch. One of the highlights of the film is when it examines the original drummer Kate Schellenbach, who was eventually phased out of the group for being a girl. This shows the attitude towards women in an era that viewed females more as a sex objects. At the time, their egos couldnt allow a girl to be in a group with Boys in their name. They also criticize and regret writing the song Girls," which certainly holds chauvinist attitudes. This is how the Beastie Boys make reconciliation for their sexism.

The Beastie Boys broke apart in 2012 after the death of its founding member Yauch. In the film, Diamond and Horovitz pay great respect to Yauch, who they admit was the driving force of who and what they are today, both spiritually and artistically. The Beastie Boys ended up making amends with their art, in which the documentary points out Yauch was confronted for being a hypocrite after he stands up for women in the 1994 Sure Shot." Yauch refuted, I would rather be a hypocrite than the same person I was before.

The Beastie Boys ended up growing wiser over the years as they drifted away from hedonism and more towards advocating for progressing humanity forward.Yauchconverted to Buddhism and developed a friendship with the Dalai Lama, which led to him becoming an activist for peace over bloodshed during Chinas rule over Tibet, elevating the bands public image in the 90s. The third act of the film becomes an outright tribute to Yauch to his role as a great activist, collaborator, and most importantly a friend. The film becomes mournful and therapeutic as Diamond and Horovitz open up and reveal their repressed emotions and grief.

Though Jonze defies conventional shot composition and blocking, with a few reaction shots from the crowd, inter-cut with archival footage, there is a sense of space and timing in the film that unravels well with the way it flows and connects together. Between Jonze, Diamond, and Horovitz examine the healing power of art and the relationship between music and friendship. The end result is very absorbing and undeniably moving.

Rating: 3 of 4 stars

Robert Butler is an award-winning filmmaker from Ortonville whose most recent feature length movie, "Love Immortal," won Best Horror Feature Film at the 24th annual Indie Gathering International Film Festival. For more of his reviews, visitdefactofilmreviews.com.