Disagree, Al has gone on record saying he wanted them to include footage from the reunion. Frank Marshall was the worst choice as director for this.

Glad you were able to weigh in on this. I wish I could have liked it this much, it left me feeling like they started to retell the story but then something interrupted them and we were given an unfinished account.

I've been a fan since the 60s. I've seen the original lineup with Brian, Carl, Dennis, Al, and Mike. I've got a feeling this documentary would only piss me off.

Wonderfully put Giggens - this band has given, and continues to give, something so unique and special with their music and harmonies, that is the most important part of their story that needs to be passed on to new generations.

Hi, Giggens. I'm glad you covered this. When I first learned of this documentary, my reaction was, "WHY?!?!" What did us loyal fans not learn when we did our homework, from various sources on film and publication? Yes, of course I'm looking forward to any new footage of videos or photos that can be available to us now. And it's always great to see brand new, fresh interviews of the survivors, no matter how brief they can be. As we watch it, we know where the particular prior footage is from, e.g. Endless Harmony, and even I Just Wasn't Made For These Times. As it wrapped, I felt like it could be a condensed version of 2000's An American Family from ABC, especially the time frame it primarily focused, as the cut off was Endless Summer. (Remember too that Disney is the parent company of ABC). As I watched it, and recognizing that I'm down to the last 20 minutes of the documentary, I was like, "but we're still discussing Smile, 1969ish, and there are 5 more decades to discuss. How are they going to squeeze it all in?" No mention of Pacific Ocean Blue, Kokomo, the Full House era, Landy, Brian going solo, and especially the 2012 reunion. We also got Disney releasing it, and we already know what happens when Disney gets their hands on something nowadays. I will always remain a loyal fan, and it was a miracle that we got some participation and presence of Brian. Now I only fantasize that if we get a 4K physical media release (Disney, you will make a profit), that it will conclude with the last 50 years of the BB legacy. Side note: Make the BB Channel permanent on SiriusXM, and have Capitol release a Still Cruisin/Summer in Paradise two-fer.

Number one giggins fan here. I didn’t know what to think of this movie before this review. Now after hearing your opinion, I too have the same opinion on this movie

One thing I was really looking forward to was the amount of restored footage they showed off in the trailer. But the documentary really let me down in that regard. The early years were fine and all but what I was really interested in were the smile years and a bit after. And when the moment came with the first shot of panning across van dyke, then the zoom out of brians fire helmet, I was in aw of the restoration. Then the first cut to stock footage. and cut after CUT! every piece of film became shorter and shorter. And the smile era footage came up to 34 SECONDS! that is ridiculously short. Overall the editing felt really jumpy and I wish the editors showed off more of the restoration work for longer rather than cutting to stock footage every 2 seconds. And I'd say the film doesn't do much to promote the underated smile album, more bad than good really. once again Mike insults van dykes lyrics and the whole sequence is just another "they did so many drugs" without actually talking about the incredible innovative music brian produced. Overall this documentary was very mike centered although its hard to get anything from brian, its still not the best since all mike wants to do is keep pushing their beach boy/surfing persona - major reason they've stayed so unhip/cool over the decades. 6/10

OMG, I could have done without the last scene. It was incredibly sad to see Brian’s condition. It looked like someone had taken Grandpa from the nursing home for an outing. I’m not sure that including this footage is the sort of thing that is going to attract a new and younger audience.

Felt like a missed opportunity. A lot of archive footage we've been long familiar with but totally take the point it serves as 'introducing the Beach Boys'. Think it may have worked better as a two or three part mini series to allow coverage of 1980 onwards. That final scene was beautiful though. Would have loved it if they'd included some footage of them talking about the past.

Awesome that you were invited to the premiere!! Congrats!

yeah it’s criminal that they skipped over the 2012 reunion and the making and significance of that’s why God made the radio

That was a great review! Pretty much agree with everything you said. I was surprised how moving i found it. When Mike had tears in his eyes talking about Brian and the ending were very emotional moments.

Hey Giggens. I've been a Beach Boys fan since the 80's and have appreciated watching your videos for a long time. I also appreciate your attempt to put a positive spin on this one. It is good that you noted that this is maybe a doc for new fans, but I do have a couple objections...the latter albums from Sunflower through Holland even to TWGMTR in 2012 have been receiving the re-evaluation that they deserve in the last few years, but were more or less glossed over or not even mentioned. Honestly this is a surprising missed opportunity given the state of the recent box sets and their availability. Furthermore, if the ending scene was not for us to see, then they shouldn't have used it in promotion through interviews trailers etc. that set an expectation. It's not like they were having a private Dinner at Mike's house. The scene was filmed for the Doc. The doc was just OK, but I honestly think Endless Summer is better, even for today. Just my 2 and a half cents.

Nice review, Giggens. I especially liked your take on the ending.

Watched it last night and completely agree with this. It's now THE definitive introductory documentary for people who have no exposure to their story. I also felt it was a trip too, and that phrasing of "watching this movie reminded me of all those feelings" is so spot on. I think I cried three or four times throughout, just with how something clicked, how something resonated, or just the last 5-10 minutes in general. Unexposed fans will watch the ending and likely think it's so lovely that they're all chilling together, no dramas! But we all know the truth... the unsaid weight behind it all. The lost love, the lost music, the lost brothers and friends. So much loss from a band who has given us so much beauty. So yeah, I loved it and would recommend it to any newcomer - with the caveat that if anything AT ALL peaks your interest whilst watching, know that there's a plethora of videos, blogs, music, sessions and lore to dive in to should you want to. Impossible to fit everything into 90 minutes, but a diving board to start from should you wish you dive deeper. Love and Mercy to you Giggens xx

Your take on this is refreshing. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but couldn't help feeling a little bummed at the end when there was no more. However you have some very valid points for sure and you are definitely correct. I caught it in Tampa and I'm so glad I did!

Loved your take on this honey! As someone who was initially a little upset with the ending, I think it was well done - especially considering your points of how this band has given us everything, literally everything - we don't need this too, it's for them 😊 thank you Beach Boys for the music and thank you Giggens for being the ultimate supporter of this amazing band that brought us together ❤️❤️

Cool poster! I haven't seen it yet but your views seem to match those I saw on the forums; it's for the new fans and not for the current die-hards like most of us. I was so happy to see the group reuniting for publicity stuff, especially because they invited Blondie. I just got done listening to the tie-in digital album which had some interesting choices but not as much variety as I would have thought. Thanks for the insight!

I agree with Giggens. The producers accomplished what they set out to do. For me, the real bummer is that they were so limited by time that they had to make the tough choices in the first place. The Beatles Anthology was TEN HOURS. The BBs deserved equal time, and maybe more, since their music was so much better (Ha!)

"The Definitive Look at America's Band" - Not at all. I was hoping it would be a celebration of the band's music, but it's not that either. The documentary trashed the band's catalogue post-SMiLE, focusing instead on insulting the group, ignoring the music, emphasizing commercial failure, being "has beens" and not fitting in with the times. What they SHOULD have focused on, is changing the narrative to highlight the IONS of UPPER ECHELON pop music created in true collaboration thru Friends, 20/20, Sunflower, Surf's Up, Holland, Love You...etc. Instead they re-affirmed the common narrative that the band became nothing more than an oldies act. They are, but their catalogue sure isn't, and this documentary works hard to reaffirm negative and false stereotypes about the greatest eras of the band. They worked so hard to build a Mike Love-esque vision of "band equality" and "camaraderie", but left out its greatest evidence of the band working together in ignoring their more collaborative work. The title screen left me full of excitement and hope, and as the end credits rolled, I turned my TV off with a pit in my stomach. What a horrible insult to The Beach Boys, to their legacy, and to the fans. EDIT - Much respect to Giggens for highlighting the positive aspects of the documentary - I can totally agree that this doc can achieve in introducing new fans to (some of) the band's work!

Thanks Giggens... at the end of the day, I agree----thank you Beach Boys!❤🎼. It's all about the love they have and shown through their music.

the "introducing the band to a new audience" thing could work a couple of ways: 1) this doc is perfectly fine as is & serves its purpose, thus new fans may decide to explore further & do a deeper dive... or 2) if the intent is to introduce the band to new listeners & raise the profile of the b(r)and, why not take the multi-part/mini-series approach & push the story past '74/Endless Summer?

I put this documentary in the same group as Bohemian Rhapsody; as one that tells the basic story from beginning to end, without going into too much depth, with the aim to get the next generation into the group. However, as a long term fan, I was pretty disappointed. My favourite documentary about the band, or specifically is Brian, is Brian Wilson: Songwriter. I like how it went through songs' structures and explained what was so special about them. But with this one, I just feel like it's glossed over and acts more as an introduction to the group, rather than an in depth analysis, which I was hoping for since it's the 60th anniversary. Pet Sounds deserved an hour at least, but instead we hear the most well known tracks and then we move on. Brian's health decline was also barely touched on, and yet this is something that has made his music that bit more special, since he really has suffered to make that great art. I didn't particularly get that feeling here. I like that the surviving members got to talk to camera, but the 'guests' were very unremarkable compared to Brain Wilson: Long Promised Road. The reunion at the end would have been nice if we could actually hear what they were saying! I was also disappointed by the less than two hour run time, as I thought they could have easily had it run an hour of two longer, since it's streaming, and people can just stop watching whenever they like, unlike if it was theatrical release. People can pop in and out when it comes to streaming, so I'm not sure why they felt they had to keep the run time palatable. I would have preferred a series format of, say, five or six episodes, each running an hour or so; let it run at it's own pace and have the guys tell their story in their own time.

I agree with you Giggens on it being more for Beach Boys new /casual fan- a sort of rediscovery. I fall between fan & hardcore fan (especially for Smile sessions & history). When my brothers back in the 60’s brought home California Girls & 409 on that Capitol 45 record I loved it- a magical sound. Mike Love seemed to give Brian respect & cousin togetherness, also mentioning his own writing credits. Nice new home movies- and how about Murray Wilson getting some kudos from Marilyn about how he protected & really promoted the Boys & that there would be no Beach Boys if it were not for him! On the down side David Marks Quitting The Beach Boys on the spot because of Murray- but the big blow was Murray selling Brian/Beach Boys songs- what a tremendous mistake & causing family fall apart! The ending at the Beach quick & I get it - I know Brian was wishing Carl & Dennis were there w/them for sure. In this documentary I did pickup some things I didn’t know (no deep dive understandably) & overall a decent landscape history about The Beach Boys, I enjoyed it. Im sure when the dvd-Blu Ray comes out bonus footage will be on it including the reunion Enjoyed your accurate review.

Great review, Giggens!! Love it!!

As a huge fan and someone that got into The Beach Boys from Summer Days and Endless Summer I really thought they did a great job. Every generation needs their entry point for the band and if they're musically curious they'll look and find more. But as a longtime fan I really loved the additional interview segments from old interviews we've seen, the way it flowed, the footage we've never seen and how they painted the picture of the band. So definitely agree with your take! I also really appreciated how they highlighted over and over from different people that they are special because of every member, not just Brian.

Nice review! I haven’t seen the film yet - the BBs deserve a really good film or documentary on the same level as the Love and Mercy movie - the BBC in the early 1970s did a BBs weekly radio documentary series that was really good - if the BBC did an updated and in depth film documentary series along the same lines there would be a good audience for it! Best wishes! Daniel

Big missed opportunity here. They really stop talking about the music at 67. They don’t even mention that Smile was released to universal acclaim and won a Grammy. And the era which is being reevaluated in deluxe sets (Sunshine Tomorrow, Sunflower/Surf’s Up and Holland) were not discussed. Seems like maybe 10 more minutes or so would’ve corrected some of this. Very strange that it’s under two hours. A three-part series would have made it appear a little more substantial. Very strange.

100% agreed. I was waiting for your thoughts on this. I think you come at it from the best perspective. When I saw the trailer for it, I knew exactly which periods of time they would focus on. I also recognized pretty quickly that it was made for a casual audience. Like you say, that's not a bad thing in the slightest. You're right that some people and younger fans who are discovering the band for the first time don't know their story. If you know nothing about the Beach Boys, this documentary does a good job at teaching you about their cultural importance. I was disappointed that Carl and Denny's deaths were glossed over, but I imagine they wanted to focus on the positives and not dwell too much on the tragedy (of which there is a surprising amount to be found in the full Beach Boys story). Did I love it? No, but that's because I'm a music nerd and BB fan who already knows most of this stuff. I also recognize that this wasn't made for me, and that's okay. It doesn't take away from it. I still think it's well-made and if people learn more and fall in love with the group because of it, then the documentary did what it was designed to do. There's also other sources beyond this documentary if you're looking to fill in the gaps. I was happy you brought up how the box sets and releases that have been highlighting their lesser known eras over the last few years. As a guy who loves their 70s work (warts and all), that's the stuff I've been eating up with glee. Those releases are for a guy like me who is deep in the trenches, not someone who heard "Feel Flows" for the first time at the end of Almost Famous and is wondering who that song is by. Those things exist for the person who saw this documentary, got hungry for more, and sought it out. Ultimately the best way to describe this documentary is that it's a gateway to everything else. You're an oldhead music loving tween with Disney+ who happens to stumble upon this, watches it, loves it, and then learns there's a giant rabbit hole for you to jump down in and explore. Just like you said, this is gonna serve as somebody's Endless Harmony and that's a good thing. Loved this.

One thing I caught at the end was the pet sounds stats. In 2000 it finally went platinum. I think us fans should push to have it re certified by capital. It has to be multi platinum by this point and I hope Brian could see this before it’s too late. Anyone’s thoughts? I also want to send this to Beach boys talk and steves Beach boys basement channel to see there point of view.

I do appreciate the argument that this is for the new fans, and there was a lot of stuff to like in the documentary. I always enjoy hearing from Al Jardine, for example. However, I do feel that the perspective of one specific band member was too dominant. The suggestion that Pet Sounds should maybe have been a Brian Wilson solo album was repeated multiple times. The idea that the Beach Boys' most important work came out of Brian Wilson's collaboration with one particular individual was also very prominent. I don't like the idea of that being the first perspective that new fans receive. Also, Ryan Tedder?! Seriously, RYAN TEDDER?! Nevertheless... I enjoyed watching it, for the reasons Giggens so ably explains in the video.

Endless Harmony did more of a deep dive than this documentary. While I felt this documentary was well done, I feel that a sequel is needed. Something that starts with Smile and goes to the 2012 reunion. Then a 3rd documentary on Brian's solo career! At least that's my wish. It is frustrating to me, after the last 20 years of making the post Pet Sounds era of the Beach Boys relevant and more known, that they went back to an 80s and 90s representation of that period! Having said that, I think they played some good songs while talking about 67-73 era of the band. Shocking that the 2011 Smile Sessions and the 2012 reunion weren't mentioned! But a part 2 would be a wish come true!

Great review, Giggens!

I really can empathize with how the band is in your DNA. IT'S the same way with me and Kiss. I think the book is my favorite thing that has recently come out, because books are just my favorite! I am just so thankful the guys are here and able to participate in something like this. It's the last chance and they grasped it. Like I mentioned in my own review, I hope Disney puts this out on disc release like they did for Get Back. It will be a collectible piece in the future.

Great review!!

I liked it too. There're only so many ways you can tell a familiar story, plus it's aimed at the general public. There's some cool home movie footage. But this is just the cherry on the top of those box set releases and the book. When I think back to being an obsessed fan back in the '70s, these are just incredible times we're living in.

What the documentary lacks, Endless Summer Quarterly has in spades. Thank God it exists.

I’m not upset - it’s always great to get new BB content! I’m just puzzled why this was created in the first place since there are already many great documentaries that cover the band’s 60s era. Most docs present the band as an act that flourished in the 60s, hit some rough patches, put out a greatest hits album and became a legacy act. But I think including even an additional 30/45 min exploring the 70s era and the reunion in 2012 would make this project a bit more warranted. It would show that the band continued to grow and evolve, even with minimal input from Brian at times (looking at you Holland)! This is something that isn’t apparent to casual fans but is interesting and should be known. To be fair, I’m only around 45 min in and plan to finish it tonight.

Yeah this was cool but I was definitely blown away by how even the covered material was presented but I suppose decisions had to be made they just often each seemed such unideal choices for any of the various instances that could come to mind, nonetheless they pulled off a good watch. It was great though; and I agree with much of what you said, but to skip over what in my opinion are some pretty notable Beach Boys narrative highlights both ups and downs from the 80s-90s, never mind their decades long run as truly “America’s Band” felt like a weird choice to avoid but again maybe there’s a reason why, it certainly may just be a nice Beach Boys gateway drug for new fans-to-be. It was very good !

Have always loved the channel. And will continue to. While I agree that anything beach boys is awesome. I have got to disagree on the paradise cove stuff. I think at this point we just need to let Brian be. I think it was unfair given his current health and think, hasn't he given us enough? . But we all get to have a discussion about this and you know I respect your opinion on it giggens. Love and Mercy mate

There was already an indirect connection between Frank Marshall and the Beach Boys before this documentary. Frank's father Jack wrote television themes such as "The Munsters Theme," and also the theme for the short-lived sitcom "Karen," sung by the Beach Boys: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oJmfkpaavcyvgmg.html

I think Giggens got it right. Although this documentary is lacking in sooooo many ways, it makes sense to me that gaining new fans was the target strategy, NOT appeasing us hardcore fans who were hoping for a comprehensive documentary from 1961-1980. If that's the case, I can forgive the omissions. Like it or not, gaining new fans is essential for The Beach Boys legacy to live on. I only hope there is a comprehensive documentary sometime in my lifetime. They deserve it.

If you want to watch a really good deep dive on the band I would recommend the multi part series from pop goes the 60s.

Perfect review

I liked it a lot. I have watched it twice now. I think it’s a great tribute to the band and a vehicle for casual fans to take the deep dive!

I listen to the Beach Boys every day. They are the GOAT.

Well said 👌🏻😃👍🏻

People will find this strange, if it wasn't for their embarrassing episode on Baywatch, I would not have heard of Beachboys. That's when got into Pet sounds, smile and favourite beachboys album Sunflower 🌻. But is this like their other beachboys documentaries like Endless Summer and beachboys E. true hollywood story?.

Fab review

They must be paying you for this.

Sounds like you booked a trip to Cope-omo, lol. No, you make a good point here. I look forward to watching it.

Hard to call it a 10/10 when it’s objectively missing so much of the bands story, and has a heavy bias on Mike Love’s vision of the band.

Hi Giggens,i was very disappointed with it,do you think,it was made for just the American audience,because as we know,they lost interest,once the cars-surf & girls songs stopped,I noticed when the Mike love band plays here,the audience are there for the hits,when Brian played here,the crowds were different,we loved the songs that weren’t just the hits.Do you think that Mike,had a big say in what to show,& what to ignore?

Beach Boys Lite. Disappointing in a big way. And the soundtrack is only available on download. Do Beach Boys fans do downloads? I doubt it.

Huge disappointment. SOOOOO much left out ... and it wasn't a mere matter of time available.

A totally inadequate and embarrassing documentary. Also just BORING.

Not a fan of this documentary. I have been a Beach boy fan for 50+ years and know more than most. Your making a documentary for new fans. Is that a Joke! I Especially don't care people talking about the beach boys like Janelle Monae and member of OneRepublic! like they have any insight to the Beach Boys or ever will. Frank Marshall and Disney were both wrong for this. Disney Ruins everything they touch or get involved in. One day someone will make a true great Beach Boys documentary. This is NOT it!!

Half the "review" is an explanation of the marketing, the rest is pandering. This is what happens when newspapers shrink, qualified journalists lose jobs and people on the internet take the position of being "journalists" when they are not.