The Beach Boys

Because The Beach Boys are such a long-tenured musical institution and feature the requisite history (good and bad) to go along with that longevity, one could do a 5-part doc and probably still leave some topics on the cutting room floor. What this Disney+ doc accomplishes in just under two hours, however, is an excellent summation of the group that primarily focuses on the family aspect and the timelessness of the music they created. Plus, it is a positive-focused doc--albeit one that doesn't completely shy away from some of the more controversial material.

In terms of general chronology, "The Beach Boys" focuses on the group's creation through roughly the late-1970s--plus a sort of "where are they now" coda that is extremely moving. As mentioned, the material largely revolves around two themes:

-Family: The Beach Boys are extremely unique in that they were mainly populated by three brothers (Brian, Carl, & Dennis Wilson), a cousin (Mike Love), and a close friend (Al Jardine). Very few other music groups can boast such a tight-knit family bond--highly credited with keeping the ship afloat during the rough patches.

-Music: The group created harmonies that have proved to be timeless as new generations keep discovering them. While Brian may have been the composing genius behind the scenes and Mike the perfect "front man", this doc makes it clear that every Beach Boy (even the "fill-ins" along the way) was vital to the overall sound and success of the group.

Is this a positive and upbeat doc befitting of its Disney roots? Of course--and that's almost certainly the right approach to take with "America's Band"! But director Frank Marshall also doesn't completely shy away from the more sensitive topics: the influence of Murry Wilson, Brian's turbulent mid-70s period, and Mike's legal suit for songwriting credit among them. But such material simply is not dwelled upon.

All things considered, "The Beach Boys" seems like the perfect doc for its length, subject, and audience. Deeper-dives can easily be done via large tomes or specific docs/movies on other Beach Boys topics--but this doc is an excellent summation of why their music is so magical and where it all came from.

After finding out a new Beach Boys documentary was going to be released this year I naturally got quite excited and looked forward to enjoying it. "The Beach Boys" is a pretty compelling documentary on the legendary band. Featuring interviews of the band members, their families, associates and fans including footage of home videos, live performances and the times the film chronicles a memorable and dramatic story of a trio of siblings who formed a band with friends and relatives and, seeing the potential their times and surroundings promised as a rich source of inspiration went on to fame and fortune with trials and tragedy serving as a dark counterbalance.

Beginning with a shaky start on an abrupt introduction to the Wilson household the doc charts the band's formation and their tapping of the popular surf craze in Southern California during the early - 1960s. With bassist, vocalist and main songwriter Brian Wilson emerging as a major songwriting and production talent the boys came up with a string of great songs that topped the charts which have since become classics and standards of Rock and Pop Music. The pressure of fame, drugs, competition from the other side of the pond led by four young and talented men from Liverpool and changing times brought the group's winning streak to a halt. A compilation album of their hits from their peak years hit #1 leading to a revival of the group's fortunes and they've been coasting on that success since.

From the start the flaws of the documentary are apparent. As mentioned above the film starts too immediately with the formation of the band without giving a necessary background to the band, their place and the times. The Beach Boys is one of the most influential bands in music history but only a scanty number of prominent figures are featured in the film to justify the band's important and enduring legacy. Don Was, Lindsey Buckingham and Janelle Monae (!) are the only notable figures included. Finally the film is too short with it ending in the '70s without including Brian Wilson's controversial relationship with his therapist at the time, Dennis and Carl Wilson's passing and the other major comeback they had with the huge hit "Kokomo". There's no final summary and conclusion to the band's inestimable legacy although it's nice to see the surviving members get together at the end of the film. This is one tribute that should have been at least another hour long.

Flawed but watchable, "The Beach Boys" is a good artifact of a great band, a great time and great music which is what it all boils down to. When snippets of the band's great tunes buoyed from the speakers I felt that instant automatic rush and high I always feel when I listen to their masterpieces. Watch this release and celebrate the power of art and music to uplift life and make it truly worth living.

Ignore the negative Nancy's that choose to share their lonely views ; if you're a Beach Boys fan, you are in for a treat. I treasure these interviews, this documentary in general. I was second wave BB aficionado, discovering the Beach Boys in the Endless Summer era, long after the surfing extravaganza. Their music is truly an American genuine gift to the world and besides being infectious, the melodies are part of your fabric, your life's soundtrack. I loved the entire piece and if you're even the slightest fan, you will ,too. Watch and enjoy, and remember when things were simpler and a great sonf on the radio or from an LP, made you smile.

I am a bigger fan of The Beach Boys, but this is incredibly light in terms of what's actually happen.

Part of me gets it because they are still real people who have to live out their lives. But their stories are so old and long forget that it shouldn't be this clean.

I knew it was trouble immediately when I saw it was produced by Disney. From there you can always tell it's going to be very clean. But too clean.

They don't get into their family drama, how the father Wilson was controlling it all and causing rifts between the members and him. Like others pointed out, no talk about Brian and the state he was in when he was younger using drugs and whatnot.

Just felt like there was more than what most wanted out of this story and the fact people are happy with the little they got is disappointing. They should want more, even if they are uncomfortable with the material, that is their story.

A recent Disney + documentary on arguably the greatest American rock 'n' roll band we ever produced. Culling interviews from the surviving members (since brothers Carl & Dennis Wilson have passed & any interviews w/Brian are archival since he's gotten a recent mental decline diagnosis) gives us the soup to nuts of the band w/the usual trajectory of them being the preeminent surf band until Brian's intense studio time (prompted by his distaste & mental unbeing for the road) took him into infinitely more experimental & interesting places even though their father wanted none of that. Tracing a good chunk of the later half of the doc on the revolutionary Pet Sounds recording pretty much shows why that record is what it is & why the world loves it so. Some time director Frank Marshall (Congo/Alive) does the material well but being there are so many docs made on the band (at one point I think he clipped a scene of Brian Wilson being interviewed in bed from one made in the 70's or 80's which I remember seeing when I was young) especially a recent one about the Pet Sounds follow-up Smile which Brian & Van Dyke Park reunited to finish & later perform on stage, this film feels fresh for the uninitiated but for those in on the know, not so much.