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‘Beastie Boys Story’ a pure celebration of collaboration

By Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service
Published: April 26, 2020, 6:02am

Now available on Apple TV+, Spike Jonze’s new documentary, “Beastie Boys Story,” is an unconventional rock doc about the trio of merry hip-hop punksters who created their own sound over the course of three decades and became a generation-defining band. Much like the Beastie Boys themselves, the film is a blast of energy, humor and catharsis, a sheer joy that’s imbued with poignancy and pathos. And in its nontraditional form, it reveals something essential about the Beastie Boys and the key to their unique, ever-evolving sound: collaboration.

Filmed in front of a live audience at the Kings Theater in Brooklyn, the documentary is a filmed version of a staged storytelling show hosted by Mike D (Michael Diamond) and Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz), the surviving Beasties (Adam Yauch aka MCA died of cancer in 2012 at the age of 47). It’s a casual, fun slideshow with Mike and Adam, who share the story of their friendship and their career, along with photos and archival footage. Their hits rock the house as the two MCs recount the tale of how the Beastie Boys came together as young punk kids growing up in New York City in the early ’80s and found their sound over years of experimentation, trial and error, and painful periods of growth.

Early on, a production goof becomes a running gag, as Horovitz calls out Jonze for failing to project a visual punchline, and Jonze comes on over the PA system as a “voice of God,” discussing whether or not to include it. It’s a clever, deliberate acknowledgment of the filmmaking apparatus, revealing the cameras and teleprompter screens, reminding the audience that this is a construction in its own imperfect way.

Revealing the film’s own “made-ness” falls in line with the story’s thesis, which is in large part about the Beastie Boys’ struggle to find and establish their own voice, especially after the runaway success of “License to Ill,” shepherded by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, driven by goofball party rock parody hit “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party).” Recoiling from the industry, they found it by jamming together, following their muses and riding waves of creativity. The Beasties used what was around them to shape their sound: deep cut samples, pop culture references, inside jokes, different instruments and vocal styles, spiritual quests, and at the center of it all, their friendship and the respect for each other that created the safe space for experimentation and growth.

The live performance becomes a crucial element in the film’s exploration of memory, nostalgia and regret.

The doc is so much more than the story of the Beastie Boys: It’s a treatise on the tragedy and beauty of time, loss and memory, and one of the purest celebrations of friendship and creativity.

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