“Beastie Boys Story,” though, is polished legacy
burnishing that doesn’t quite suit the rappers
of “So What’cha Want” let alone “(You Gotta)
Fight for Your Right (To Party).” At times, it feels
perilously close to the rough draft of a jukebox
musical to come.
But if the framework is less inspired, the story
remains grand. Their arc is a spectacular one,
starting as a wannabe punk band (“We were
Monty Python as much as we were Black
Flag,” one recalls); being molded by Russell
Simmons into a cheap MTV act; picking up
instruments and taking control of their musical
destiny; turning from party anthems to socially
conscious activism.
It’s a journey not so unlike The Beatles or The
Who, starting as a novelty act and turning
artistically adventurous. “It’s not so much that we
grew up. We wised up,” says Horowitz.
But where the Beastie Boys differed most from
the standard music-stardom cliche is in how
tight they remained, brothers to the last -- a
perpetual three-man weave with the comic
timing of Moe, Larry and Curly. And it’s in
the heartfelt remembrances of Adam Yauch,
the band’s musical and spiritual leader, that
“Beastie Boys Story” breaks into sometime more
authentic and memorable. Even the deficiencies
of the movie become a kind of tribute. Early on
Mike D says it simply: “The two of us will do the
best we can because one of us isn’t here.”
“Beastie Boys Story,” an Apple TV Plus release,
is unrated by the Motion Picture Association of
America. Running time: 119 minutes. Two and a
half stars out of four.