Doc Corner: Spike Jonze's 'Beastie Boys Story' + 'Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert'
Thursday, April 23, 2020 at 3:00PM By Glenn Dunks
If live experiences are one of the things you are missing most about being in isolation, then documentaries can be one small way of getting that groove back. Beastie Boys Story and Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert probably won’t be enough to recreate the experience—certainly, both are limited in their creative and technical scopes, nor are they the sort of concert extravaganzas that the subjects have released before—but for music-loving watchers, they may just offer at least something that approximates the joy of being among the throngs of others enthralled in musical rapture.
Beastie Boys Story in particular feels like a greater missed opportunity given it is directed by none other than Spike Jonze (he also directed the stage-show that it captures). But the band at its core are so interesting in their history and captivating in their stage presence that is almost doesn’t matter. Almost.