Ryan McNeil
When I was 16-years-old, I was an average student, couldn’t ask a girl out to save my life, and had style that was spotty at-best. Around this time, a rap-rock group completed an amazing comeback. Soon they started blaring from my radio and my headphones making me jump around like a happy idiot and forget about my various shortcomings.
I’m a better version of myself than the kid who first discovered The Beastie Boys. Watching BEASTIE BOYS STORY on Apple TV, it’s clear that the remaining Beasties are better versions of themselves too.
The Beastie Boys are a rap-rock trio from New York. Collectively, they are Adam “MCA” Yauch, Michael “Mike D” Diamond, and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz. They caught lightning in a bottle during rap’s early foray into music’s mainstream with their debut album “Licensed to Ill” and its frat boy anthem “Fight for Your Right to Party”. After nearly burning-up crashing back down to earth, the band spent another half-decade trying to find itself, before becoming a rap/rock/indie/alternative powerhouse by the mid 90’s with albums like “Check Your Head”, “Ill Communication”, and “Hello Nasty”.
Yauch passed away from cancer in 2012, officially ending The Beastie Boys’ time on the musical landscape. BEASTIE BOYS STORY brings Diamond and Horovitz on to a New York stage to recount their tale once more, and pay tribute to their fallen friend.
This documentary isn’t the sort of film that will appeal to many people who don’t consider themselves music fans or fans of the band. The very best rock documentaries find ways to transcend the subject matter – this isn’t one of those films. Even as an anthology details are missed, since a full decade of music remains on the table undiscussed.
That’s not to suggest that the film isn’t enlightening, or entertaining – merely that it doesn’t broaden out enough to tell a story with greater themes, or become a more comprehensive document.
The shame of this is that the film’s director Spike Jonze is such a visionary, that it’s surprising he chose not to paint a portrait of his friends with a more interesting brush. This, after all, is the man who gave us a portal into the mind of John Malkovich, and had a man fall in love with his phone’s OS.
While it’s lovely to hear Horovitz and Diamond tell the story in their own words and interact with the audience…one can’t help but believe that someone as imaginative as Jonze couldn’t have turned this into “more”.
BEASTIE BOYS STORY is not without merit though.
One interesting detail of the film is the way we can see how much all three men evolved and became better over the years. Yauch and his legacy is the easiest “Exhibit A”. He was so forthright with his belief in buddhism, often adding his voice to a push for a free Tibet back in the 90’s.
On the stage, Diamond and Horovitz speak with gained perspective and regret on the men they were, the friends and early-career bandmates they abandoned, and even the lyrics they once sang. While no man deserves a cookie for eventually coming around to a more inclusive view, such candour in such a public forum is still something to respect.
What can sometimes hold a documentary back is the fact that the last man standing gets to tell the tale. This can lead to a narrative slanted towards one artists point of view, painting over their own shortcomings or failures in the eyes of their brethren (Consider the 1995 Beatles Anthology and its lack of perspective from John Lennon). What’s beautiful to see, is that BEASTIE BOYS STORY doesn’t get caught in that snare.
For starters, Diamond and Horovitz and quite forthright with their own shortcomings as artists and young men. Their band had to evolve to remain relevant – further, their band had to evolve not to be seen as a one-album novelty. They both readily admit that what started as them telling a joke became a bad joke they were living-out. This is certainly a timely message in an era of trolling.
Further, the story Diamond and Horovitz tell us isn’t one that truly requires Yauch’s added perspective because the perspective these two men present is “This man was a beautiful human being and an artistic force. He made us better people, and we miss him dearly”. There is no argument Yauch needs to settle; no point he needs to counter.
BEASTIE BOYS STORY is a rock & roll eulogy and a hip-hop benediction. As the film cuts to black, we see the words “In Memory of Adam Yauch”. Ironically, the dedication is unnecessary: we can feel the dedication in our hearts.
Despite its shortcomings, BEASTIE BOYS STORY is engaging and sweet. It is filled with humour, introspection, exuberance, and rhythm. It’s a fitting film to arrive into our homes at a time where many of us are looking back longingly at what we once had…and who we once were.