★★★★☆ (4 stars)
They are six of the biggest names in rock and roll history: Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Al Jardine, Dennis Wilson and Bruce Johnston. Since the 1960s, they have been writing and playing some of the most iconic Southern California-inspired pop songs of all time and have inspired a generation of new musicians. Disney+ has now told their band’s story in “The Beach Boys.”
“The Beach Boys” chronicles the first decade of the group’s existence, starting with their beginnings as a garage band and their almost immediate success. The documentary follows their touring years and their unorthodox writing and recording methods which earned band leader Brian the moniker of genius. Eventually, their shift in musical style and subsequent wane in popularity is also shown, and ultimately their resurgence and newfound respect as serious artists.
The documentary can best be described as an interesting, comprehensive look at the band’s most active years. It tells the group’s story in a well-made way. Overall, it is a pretty good film with a lot to admire, though there are certainly elements in it that feel underdeveloped or unexplored.
The main focus of “The Beach Boys” is the band’s musical history, both as a touring act and as active recording artists. Most of the running time is spent showing their progression from their amateur beginnings to becoming masters of their craft. As outsiders looking in, the film definitely presents their time growing as artists and their rise to the top of the music world in a comprehensive and interesting way.
The movie also spends a lot of time interviewing Al Jardine, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, brief early member David Marks and other people in the band’s lives who provide insight into this period. These are probably the best parts of the movie since it is really interesting to get a more personal look at the band from those who were there.
However, this is not to say the movie is perfect, as it has a few flaws. The biggest problem is the fact that, while this movie provides an engaging look at the band’s history, portions of it feel surface-level. That is not to say what the film presents is not interesting, but there are times when it does not feel like this movie is providing a whole lot of new information.
This is probably only a problem hardcore fans of The Beach Boys will have, but at times, the movie does not have much to offer people who are already familiar with the group. It is not the untold story of the group but, more or less, a very detailed look at what fans already know.
That all being said, none of that makes “The Beach Boys” a bad or boring documentary. It does not matter if the story you are telling has been told before, but if it has been told as well as you tell it. In that respect, this documentary tells the story of the band as well as any other group of filmmakers have told it thus far.
Most of filmmaking’s smaller and oftentimes unsung elements are all incredibly well done here. On a technical level, this movie is extremely well made and makes great use of a lot of old recordings of the group as well as new material to tell the story. On top of that, the soundtrack is amazing, not that there could be any doubts it would not be.
Even though “The Beach Boys” is a documentary, the movie feels a lot like a work of fiction because the narrative it presents is incredibly engaging and larger than life. This film serves as a perfect introduction to the work of the group and the history of its members and music. Anyone who has never heard of or listened to The Beach Boys could put this movie on and get hooked within the first ten minutes.
While it may leave some fans a bit underwhelmed and could have been more in-depth, “The Beach Boys” is an overall engaging look at the history of one of America’s favorite rock and roll groups of all time. As shown in the film, the band’s music has inspired generations of musicians, and hopefully, this movie will inspire viewers in its own right.
