Beastie Boys Story

As a somewhat old sod i grew up with Beastie Boys and this inside story told by sadly the only two of the boys still with us made me laugh and brought a tear to my eye...more that once i might add. Its rare to see a friendship like those 3 guys had and the 2 still with us still have....very touching and quite emotional to watch. So if you have even the slightest interest in Beastie Boys you owe it to yourself to watch this :-)

Although this made me feel really old, I liked that the remaining members acted their age and didn't embarrass themselves by pretending to be 22 again. This was a genuine attempt to be honest and tell an amazing story with humour and emotion. The music will always sound fresh and original. It also seems to serve as a tribute to Adam Yauch and its obvious how much he was pivotal to the bands creation.

There are so many negative reviews, I need to balance it out. Some of the reviews miss the big picture. Yes, it is a live narration in front of an audience. Is it unusual? Yes, it is and may have generated some people to feel a certain way about it vs a traditional documentary. But it was put out by artists and is the way the artists wanted to present their story, this is the whole purpose of art in the end; creativity and evoking emotion. Also, because it is live does not mean it was supposed to be "unscripted", nor do the Beastie Boys pretend that it is, they mention the teleprompters several times and even pan to them at one point. I enjoyed the live "living history" feel of the documentary. I didn't feel like it was contrived or egocentric.

As far as the content, it is the history of the band. They didn't delve into the personal lives of the band members but told the story of their friendship and the band's history. Diamond and Horovitz don't avoid, or hide their past, they address it. It's part of the story, they grew as musicians, they grew as humans. There is one recurring theme, Adam Yauch was the moral compass of the group, the creative force, and the strength that held them all together.

Beastie Boys was a MAJOR part of my childhood and early teenage years, this documentary brought back many great memories. So many great photos and great clips, charmingly narrated and super entertaining. I guess its fair to say that Adam Yauch was somewhat of a pioneer for the DIY / creative director / designer thing in hiphop found in current acts like A$AP Ferg etc. Admirable how they stayed at it and stayed friends through all the years while making great music and challenging themselves and exploring their sound all along. 10/10

I'm glad I caught this documentary/live show on Apple TV. My eyes have definitely been opened and I see the Beastie Boys in a whole new light.

Literally had tears in my eyes from the laughs and the stories about Yauch. What a class act he was - all of them actually. Stellar job Spike Jonze!