Review: Beastie Boys Story: A Spike Jonze Live Documentary

Release date: April 24, 2020
Running time: 119 minutes
Starring:  Adam Horovitz, Mike D

Beastie Boys Story is a filmed live documentary featuring Adam Horowitz and Mike Diamond, the two remaining living members of the iconic group.  The film is a recording of one of a series of live shows that the two did to recount their story.  More along the lines of a theater production, the Beatie Boys Story has the two on a stage recounting their careers and experiences as the group rose to quick fame, burned out, and then slowly climbed back up to reclaim their image and voice.  The benefit of this format is that you get a truly intimate, unfiltered experience that would normally be reserved for a private audience.  

The best part of this film is how honest it is.  Mike D and Adam Horovitz, with the benefit of age and time, are introspective and blunt about their past.  They don't sugar coat over much of it; they give a blunt, heartfelt description of what happened to them as they rose a little too quickly through music stardom.  They are very frank with some of the incidents that happened during this rise, some of the things that they themselves did, or that were done to them.  And this is all helped by some really wonderful archive footage, pictures, and music from the time.  It must have been a challenge for the duo to relive those times with the benefit of hindsight, but it really makes for a compelling story.  And the story telling, despite being a live show, really flows together well.  You can see the influence of Spike Jonze in this aspect as the clips, stories, script, and random (probably planned) mistakes all contribute to a very real, polished show, while keeping both the Beastie Boys and Spike Jonze's senses of humor.  

One thing I wonder is whether some of the points made by the two were benefiting too much from hindsight; like certain actions were easily condemned or explained by the pair.  However, if this did happen, it doesn't happen a lot and is simply human nature after all this time.  There is plenty of true emotion in this film, especially when the pair speak about their former bandmate Adam Yauch, a major creative and musical influence on the pair.  And another thing I really appreciated was seeing the full story of a band that I had so many memories of growing up.  It was a real treat to put together the experiences of the band with the songs that I had heard on MTV.  Pretty much everyone will know a couple of Beastie Boys songs, but hearing / seeing the whole story was a whole different experience.  It will reconnect you with not only their music, but music of the 90s and the events of that time.  The recording is a truly special experience that should not be missed.

Beastie Boys Story is simply a treat; an unfiltered emotional journey through the iconic band's history while offering insight and experiences from the Beastie Boys themselves. 

Watch it.