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Beastie Boys Story (2020)Beastie Boys Story (2020)

Beastie Boys Story (2020)

You don't have to know much about the Beastie Boys to enjoy this utterly engaging documentary about their lives

Documentary, Music

7.7

movie

United Kingdom, United States of America
English
Easy, Lighthearted
2020
Spike Jonze
Adam Horovitz, Adam Yauch, Afrika Bambaataa
119 min

Synopsis

rotten tomatoes
imdb
wikipedia
Here’s a little story they’re about to tell… Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz share the story of their band and 40 years of friendship in a live documentary directed by friend, collaborator, and their former grandfather, Spike Jonze.

Our Take

7.7
The Staff

Beastie Boys Story, a live documentary that runs for two hours and consists entirely of two speakers presenting a PowerPoint onstage, shouldn’t be as enjoyable and enthralling as it is, but with the help of director Spike Jonze, remaining band members Mike D and Adam Horovitz pull off the impossible and draw in a rapt crowd by chronicling how the iconic hip-hop group came to be.

Told with intimate detail and blithe humor, Beastie Boys Story has the easygoing charm of a dear friend recounting the good old days with you. Mike D and Adam Horovitz are skilled storytellers, and with Jonze operating the technicals to a tee backstage, everything comes together in a satisfyingly smooth and utterly watchable take. You don’t have to know much (if anything at all) about the Beastie Boys to enjoy this documentary, and whatever your opinion is of them beforehand, you’ll leave this film knowing a bit more about the creative process, necessary growth, and unbelievable luck all artists go through.

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