‘Beastie Boys Story' Isn't A Sure Shot, But It'll Do

Little was predictable about the Beastie Boys in their three-plus decades of making music. They were spontaneous, always evolving, off-the-cuff pranksters who turned pro without ever losing the punchline.

- 

Even seeing ahead to the end of a rhyme was impossible. Their lyrics took circuitous, hysterical routes. “I’ll stir fry you in my wok/Your knees’ll start shakin’ and your fingers pop/Like a pinch on the neck of Mr. Spock.”

So why is “Beastie Boys Story,” a documentary of Mike Diamond and Adam Horowitz’s staged show, so predictable? “Beastie Boys Story,” which arrives Friday on Apple TV-Plus, is billed as a “live documentary experience.” And with Spike Jonze, who so memorably directed the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” music video presiding over both the theater show and the film, one could reasonably expect — whatever “live documentary” means — something alive. Maybe even something “off the hook like Latrell Sprewell” or popping “like a pinch on the neck of Mr. Spock.”