The Beach Boys (film)

Last updated
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys poster.jpg
Digital release poster
Directed by
Written byMark Monroe
Produced by
  • Frank Marshall
  • Irving Azoff
  • Nicholas Ferrall
  • Jeanne Elfant Festa
  • Aly Parker
Starring
CinematographyErnesto Lomeli
Edited by
  • Jake Hostetterr
  • Robert A. Martinez
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release dates
  • May 21, 2024 (2024-05-21)(Los Angeles)
  • May 24, 2024 (2024-05-24)(Disney+)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Beach Boys is a 2024 musical documentary film directed by Frank Marshall and Thom Zimmy focused on the American rock band the Beach Boys. Featuring interviews from band members Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, David Marks and Bruce Johnston, as well as archival footage of Carl Wilson and Dennis Wilson, the film examines the band's history beginning with their formation up until the mid-1970s. The film also features appearances from Janelle Monáe, Lindsey Buckingham, Ryan Tedder and Don Was.

Contents

The Beach Boys held its premiere in Los Angeles on May 21, 2024, and was released on May 24, 2024, as a Disney+ original film. It received positive reviews from critics, who considered the film to be friendly towards newcomers and nostalgic. However, it received criticism for skimming through much of the band's history, and its tone was considered by some to be superficial.

Synopsis

The film chronicles the band's rise from their modest family origins to becoming a revolutionary force in pop music. It begins by detailing the formation of the band with brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. The film explores the band's early days, creating a harmonious sound that became synonymous with the California dream.

As the narrative progresses, the documentary delves into the creative process behind their iconic album Pet Sounds , highlighting the influence of Brian Wilson's musical vision and the band's friendly competition with the Beatles, which spurred both groups to new heights of musical innovation, in addition to Capitol Records' hesitance to promote the album in North America. Brian attempts to follow up the album with Smile , but ends up shelving the project out of fear that nobody would understand it. The film reveals the existence of two distinct groups within the band: the recording group, led by Brian Wilson, who focused on songwriting and production, and the touring group, which performed live shows.

The documentary features interviews with surviving band members and other music industry figures, offering insights into the band's dynamics and the challenges they faced. It also touches upon the personal struggles of Brian Wilson, including his limited involvement in the band due to his conservatorship, and Dennis Wilson's connection to the Manson murders. After a string of commercial duds such as Surf's Up and Holland , the compilation album Endless Summer helps rejuvenate the band's image and renews their commercial success. The last thing brushed upon is the series of lawsuits between Love and Wilson that occurred in the 1990s, and the film ends on a reunion between the surviving band members.

Interviewees

Music

The Beach Boys: Music from the Documentary
Soundtrack album by
The Beach Boys
ReleasedMay 24, 2024 (2024-05-24)
Genre Pop rock
Length100:00
Label Capitol/UME
Producer
  • The Beach Boys (original recordings)
  • Daniel Nigro (Baby Blue Bathing Suit)
The Beach Boys chronology
Sail On Sailor - 1972
(2022)		The Beach Boys: Music from the Documentary
(2024)
Singles from The Beach Boys
  1. "Baby Blue Bathing Suit"
    Released: May 16, 2024

The film's soundtrack was released digitally by Capitol/UME on May 24, 2024, the same day as the film. [1] Alongside a collection of classic Beach Boys songs, the soundtrack also includes the original song "Baby Blue Bathing Suit" by American singer-songwriter Stephen Sanchez, which was released as a single on May 16, 2024. [2] A reissue with a shortened track listing was released on Apple Music.

Track listing (First release)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Don't Go Near the Water (A Cappella)" Mike Love, Al Jardine 2:36
2."Fun, Fun, Fun (Live / Remastered 2000)" Brian Wilson, Mike Love3:13
3."Their Hearts Were Full of Spring (Demo / Mono / Remastered 2013)" Bobby Troup 2:37
4."Surfin' (With Session Intro / Mono / Remastered 2013)"Brian Wilson, Mike Love2:26
5."Surfin' Safari (Original Long Version / Mono / Remastered 2013)"Brian Wilson, Mike Love2:17
6."Surfin' U.S.A. (2021 Stereo Mix)" Chuck Berry, Brian Wilson2:27
7."Little Deuce Coupe"Brian Wilson, Roger Christian 1:40
8."Surfer Girl (2021 Stereo Mix)"Brian Wilson2:28
9."In My Room (2021 Stereo Mix)"Brian Wilson, Gary Usher 2:17
10."Please Let Me Wonder (2007 Stereo Mix / Remastered 2012)"Brian Wilson, Mike Love2:48
11."Don't Worry Baby (2021 Stereo Mix)"Brian Wilson, Roger Christian2:51
12."Girl Don't Tell Me (Remastered 2012)"Brian Wilson2:20
13."Do You Wanna Dance? (2021 Stereo Mix)" Bobby Freeman 2:34
14."I Get Around (2021 Stereo Mix)"Brian Wilson, Mike Love2:13
15."Help Me, Rhonda (2021 Stereo Mix)"Brian Wilson, Mike Love2:48
16."California Girls (Mono / Remastered 2001)"Brian Wilson, Mike Love2:46
17."Wouldn't It Be Nice (Remastered 2012)"Brian Wilson, Tony Asher, Mike Love2:33
18."God Only Knows (Remastered 1996)"Brian Wilson, Tony Asher2:55
19."Good Vibrations (2021 Stereo Mix)"Brian Wilson, Mike Love3:43
20."You're Welcome (2011 Smile Version)"Brian Wilson1:07
21."Vegatables (Remastered 2012)"Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks 2:10
22."I Can Hear Music" Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector 2:36
23."Forever" Dennis Wilson, Gregg Jakobson 2:44
24."Long Promised Road" Carl Wilson, Jack Rieley 3:32
25."Don't Go Near The Water (Remastered 2009)"Mike Love, Al Jardine2:40
26."Here She Comes (2022 Mix)" Ricky Fataar, Blondie Chaplin 5:10
27."Wild Honey (Live at Carnegie Hall)"Brian Wilson, Mike Love5:38
28."California Saga (Big Sur) [Remastered 2009]"Mike Love2:56
29."Surfin' U.S.A. (Live)"Chuck Berry, Brian Wilson2:48
30."Don't Worry Baby (Live)"Brian Wilson, Roger Christian3:12
31."Good Vibrations (Live)"Brian Wilson, Mike Love4:48
32."A Day in the Life of a Tree (Track & Backing Vocals)"Brian Wilson, Jack Rieley2:56
33."Darlin' (2021 Stereo Mix)"Brian Wilson, Mike Love2:14
34."Baby Blue Bathing Suit (Bonus Track)" Stephen Sanchez, Daniel Nigro, Amy Allen 3:15
Total length:100:00

Other songs featured in the film not included on the soundtrack album include "Sloop John B," the Ames Brothers' "Rag Mop," Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock," The Four Freshmen's "It's A Blue World," "Long Tall Texan," the Ronettes' "Be My Baby", "Carl's Big Chance," "Warmth of the Sun," "Dance Dance Dance", THEM's "Baby, Please Don't Go", Glen Campbell's "Dream Baby", "Salt Lake City", "Hang On to Your Ego," "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times", "I'm Waiting for the Day," ", "Surf's Up", and the Beatles' "She Loves You" and "I'm Looking Through You." "Kokomo" is played during the film's end credits.

Release

The film was released on May 24, 2024, on Disney+. Its streaming release was preceded by advance screenings in select IMAX theaters on May 21, 2024, featuring a Q&A with the filmmakers and special guests broadcast live from its premiere in Los Angeles. [3] It is the first film to open with the "standard variant" of the 2022 Disney logo, introduced the year before for the studio's centennial anniversary.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 89% of 54 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.90/10. The critics' consensus reads that the film is "An overview of The Beach Boys' history that wraps all the essentials up in a warm blanket, The Beach Boys is a straightforward jam of greatest hits that congeals into a compelling harmony." [4] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [5]

One of the biggest criticisms the film faced was the omission of much of the band's history following the end of the 1970s. Brian Tallerico gave the film a two-star review on RogerEbert.com, calling the film superficial, fast, and difficult to determine who it is made for. He wrote, "The problem is that The Beach Boys too often seems content to tell the story of the band that its music has already told. A documentary should produce more than what would result from just listening to a band's collected discography." [6] The film was also noted for not following the chronological order of the timeline of events. Writing for The New York Times , Nicolas Rapold spoke of the film's deviations from the timeline of when things really went down, saying that "the movie traces a fruitful competitive streak with the Beatles." He defended this, stating "Any deviations from the film’s obligatory timeline tour are very welcome." [7] Robert Lloyd of Los Angeles Times described the film's depiction of the band as "a swift, compact telling, with surprisingly little in the way of music and whole swaths of recording history skated over, additionally noting that "The film checks out early in their ongoing, competitive careers, before the Beach Boys became Mike Love's band and Brian a solo artist, and surprisingly omits their 50th-anniversary reunion tour and final studio album, [...] That's Why God Made the Radio . [8]

In his review of the film for The Guardian , Alexis Petridis pointed out several missed key moments of the band's history in the film, such as Brian Wilson's relations with psychologist Eugene Landy, the many legal troubles the band got into in the 1990s, and Brian Wilson's solo career. Speaking on the omissions, he suggested that "The film would need to be twice as long to cover them, and the second half would feel more like a particularly lurid soap opera than a music documentary. But it seems more likely it’s out of a desire to append a happy ending on to a story that doesn't really have one." [9]

Band's response

Speaking for Variety, Mike Love praised the film for representing everyone, noting the film's depiction of Brian Wilson by stating that "for the end of the film, he was great. We sang together. We talked together. He was 100% present with the long-term memory and everything." [10] In the same interview, Al Jardine compared the film's portrayal of the band's history to prior retellings, staying that "it's always a challenge because, first of all, there have been so many articles, books, movies, and I always try to find stuff that's never been seen before. But once I got to know everybody and say, "Have you got any home movies under (the bed)?" And sure enough, there'd be a shoebox with 8mm film, and that's how we got Dennis. Both Carl and Dennis's families were great in helping us represent their dad and their husband in the right way. So it was like a little treasure hunt where there's gold bullions every once in a while." [10]

Accolades

At the 76th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the film won the Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction Program (Single or Multi-Camera). [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Beach Boys</span> American rock band

The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by its vocal harmonies, adolescent-oriented lyrics, and musical ingenuity, the band is one of the most influential acts of the rock era. The group drew on the music of older pop vocal groups, 1950s rock and roll, and black R&B to create its unique sound. Under Brian's direction, it often incorporated classical or jazz elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Wilson</span> American musician (1946–1998)

Carl Dean Wilson was an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's de facto leader in the early to mid-1970s. He was also the band's musical director on stage from 1965 until his death.

<i>Sunflower</i> (The Beach Boys album) 1970 studio album by the Beach Boys

Sunflower is the 16th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on August 31, 1970 by Reprise Records, their first for the label. It received favorable reviews, but sold poorly, reaching number 151 on the US record charts during a four-week stay and becoming the lowest-charting Beach Boys album to that point. "Add Some Music to Your Day" was the only single that charted in the US, peaking at number 64. In the UK, the album peaked at number 29.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Jardine</span> American musician (born 1942)

Alan Charles Jardine is an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist, background vocalist, and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as "Help Me, Rhonda" (1965), "Then I Kissed Her" (1965), "Cottonfields" (1970), and a cover of the Del-Vikings’ "Come Go with Me" (1981). His song "Lady Lynda" was also a UK top 10 hit for the group in 1979. Other Beach Boys songs that feature Jardine on lead include "I Know There's an Answer" (1966), “Vegetables" (1967), a cover of Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue” (1978), and "From There to Back Again" (2012).

<i>15 Big Ones</i> 1976 album by the Beach Boys

15 Big Ones is the 20th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released July 5, 1976, by Brother/Reprise. It includes a mix of original songs and renditions of rock 'n' roll and R&B standards. The LP was the band's first album with production credited solely to Brian Wilson since Pet Sounds (1966). As such, its release was accompanied by a controversial media campaign that declared his comeback as an active member of the Beach Boys' recording and touring group.

<i>The Beach Boys Love You</i> 1977 studio album by the Beach Boys

The Beach Boys Love You is the 21st studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released April 11, 1977, on Brother/Reprise.

<i>M.I.U. Album</i> 1978 album by the Beach Boys

M.I.U. Album is the 22nd studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on September 25, 1978. Characterized for its easy-listening sound, the album was produced by Al Jardine and touring member Ron Altbach during one of the most acrimonious periods in the band's history. It sold poorly, peaking at number 151 in the U.S, and was met with confused reactions from critics and fans.

<i>All Summer Long</i> (album) 1964 album by the Beach Boys

All Summer Long is the sixth album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released July 13, 1964 on Capitol Records. Regarded as their first artistically unified collection of songs, as well as one of the first true concept albums, it marked the Beach Boys' first LP that was not focused on themes of cars or surfing. Instead, the songs are semi-autobiographical and relate to the experiences of a typical Southern Californian teenager, a theme encapsulated by the title track, "All Summer Long", and the often-imitated front cover, a modernist style photo collage depicting the band members fraternizing with young women on a beach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Help Me, Rhonda</span> 1965 song by the Beach Boys

"Help Me, Rhonda" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys, appearing first on their 1965 album The Beach Boys Today! and subsequently in re-recorded form on the following 1965 album Summer Days . It was written by Brian Wilson, with additional lyrics by Mike Love. Band member Al Jardine sings the lead vocal, a rarity for this era in the Beach Boys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Do It Again (The Beach Boys song)</span> 1968 single by Beach Boys

"Do It Again" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was released as a standalone single on July 8, 1968. It was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love as a self-conscious callback to the group's earlier surf image, which they had not embraced since 1964. Love and Wilson also share the lead vocal on the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surfin' Safari (song)</span> 1962 single by the Beach Boys

"Surfin' Safari" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Released as a single with "409" in June 1962, it peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also appeared on the 1962 album of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surfin'</span> 1961 single by the Beach Boys

"Surfin'" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys that was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. It was released as the debut record by the Beach Boys in November 1961 on Candix Records and was included on the October 1962 album Surfin' Safari.

"Susie Cincinnati" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was recorded during the sessions for their 1970 album Sunflower. It was written by Al Jardine about a female cab driver from Ohio.

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Michael Edward Love is an American singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the Beach Boys which he co-founded with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bass-baritone singing, Love has been one of the band's vocalists and lyricists for their entire career, contributing to each of their studio albums and serving as their frontman for live performances. During the mid-1960s, he was one of Brian's main collaborators, contributing lyrics to hit records such as "Fun, Fun, Fun" (1964), "I Get Around" (1964), "Help Me, Rhonda" (1965), "California Girls" (1965), and "Good Vibrations" (1966).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Beach Boys live performances</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Beach Boys' 1968 US tour with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi</span> 1968 concert tour by the Beach Boys

In May 1968, the American rock band the Beach Boys undertook a concert tour of the United States with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, their Indian meditation guru. The tour preceded the release of the Beach Boys' Friends album, which similarly reflected the influence of the Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique on the band, and was a commercial and critical failure. The program comprised a set of songs by the Beach Boys, followed by a lecture from the Maharishi on the benefits of meditation. Twenty-nine concerts were originally scheduled, many of them in college venues, but the venture was abandoned after three days of low ticket sales and hostile audience reaction to the Maharishi's segment. The guru's commitment to making a documentary film about himself, for Four Star Television, was cited as a further impediment.

References

  1. ↑ ""The Beach Boys" Trailer and Key Art Available Now". Disney Plus Press. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  2. ↑ "Go Behind-the-Scenes with Stephen Sanchez for the Making of His New Beach Boys-Inspired Song 'Baby Blue Bathing Suit' (Exclusive)". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  3. ↑ "IMAX". IMAX. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  4. ↑ "The Beach Boys". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  5. ↑ "The Beach Boys". Metacritic. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  6. ↑ Tallerico, Brian. "The Beach Boys movie review & film summary (2024) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com/. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  7. ↑ Rapold, Nicolas (2024-05-24). "'The Beach Boys' Review: How to Make Good Vibrations". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  8. ↑ "Review: 'The Beach Boys' is a sentimental documentary that downplays the band's squabbles". Los Angeles Times. 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  9. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (2024-05-24). "The Beach Boys review – rather too sunny account of 60s pop legends' story". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  10. 1 2 Willman, Chris (2024-05-26). "The Beach Boys and Director Frank Marshall on the Band's Disney+ Doc: 'We May Not Have Been Great Surfers, but We Sang About It Really Well'". Variety. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  11. ↑ "Outstanding Sound Mixing For Nonfiction Programming Nominees / Winners 2024". Television Academy. Retrieved 2024-07-20.
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