My dear, neglected reader(s): Over the holidays I had an opportunity to catch up with a few streaming offerings, and I shall provide some reviewlets for anyone who may be interested.
Our first theme is music documentaries, and my first priority (of course) was Beatles ’64 (2024), another view of the Fab Four’s first visit to America. The magnitude of the Beatles’ fame being what it is, and these events being 60 years in the past, the challenge here isn’t necessarily presenting new material, but presenting existing material in fresh ways to engage a new audience. Beatles ’64 chooses to focus on the fan frenzy around this momentous trip. Certainly there’s plenty of footage of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, but this is the story of the people who first heard the songs on American radio, the girls who waited outside hotels, and the (now) senior citizens whose lives were ever changed by being Beatles-adjacent. It’s not the most well-crafted film, and there is some weirdly awkward footage (fans listening to the Beatles on the radio while side-eyeing the camera) but Beatles ’64 does a nice job of communicating the excitement of this particular bit of history.
Beatles ’64 clocks in at 106 minutes and is unrated. There is a LOT of smoking, some drinking, and a bit of colorful language.
Beatles ’64 is a fun and well-paced rehash of a familiar story. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Beatles ’64 gets seven.
Beatles ’64 is now streaming on Disney+.
Next up was The Making of Do They Know It’s Christmas (2024), an updated BBC documentary celebrating the 40th anniversary of the ubiquitous holiday hit. This one feels more like a home movie than something recorded with any intention of making a proper documentary, but it is still terrific look inside the REAL greatest night in pop. The biggest stars of the day (mostly) put egos aside for a worthy cause. Interviews are fairly casual, and most of the artists seem like old pals and fans of one another’s work. If you’re around my age and can still picture every minute of the original music video in your mind, it’s lots of fun picking out the pieces of this film that ended up in that final cut. Sure, some of the lyrics are cringeworthy in 2024, but four decades later Do They Know It’s Christmas continues to raise millions of dollars to alleviate world hunger, and that’s something worth celebrating.
The Making of Do They Know It’s Christmas runs 74 minutes and is unrated, with basically the same warnings as Beatles ’64: smoking, drinking, some coarse language. (Hey, they’re rock stars!)
It’s not polished, but The Making of Do They Know It’s Christmas is a wonderful, sentimental look inside one of pop music’s defining moments. Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Making of Do They Know It’s Christmas gets eight.
The Making of Do They Know It’s Christmas is now streaming on YouTube.
The final installment in my music doc trilogy was Yacht Rock: A Documentary (2024), which chronicles the rise, fall(ish), and ongoing influence of the sort of mellow gold perpetrated by artists such as Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, and Toto.
Yacht Rock gets away with what it does largely due to the unironic regard it has for its subject matter. Historically, it’s been pretty easy to make fun of this music and these artists, but that’s not happening here. Even comments made in jest are good natured and never mean. There are extensive interviews with many artists who made and have been influenced by these iconic tunes, and the movie doesn’t miss an opportunity to remind viewers just how good the songs are, with plenty of clips. The documentary attempts to pinpoint Steely Dan as the sort-of genesis of this brand of music, and I (as well as Donald Fagen, apparently) don’t wholly agree there, but because the material is treated so respectfully, it’s hard to take offence. For me, anyway. Fagen is another matter entirely.
Yacht Rock: A Documentary clocks in at 95 minutes and is rated TVMA for mild profanity.
Yacht Rock: A Documentary is a laid-back look at a laid-back genre that has not only endured, but today has spawned a whole new generation of fans and tribute bands. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Yacht Rock: A Documentary gets seven.
Yacht Rock: A Documentary is now streaming on MAX.
Stay tuned for part two of my holiday mini-reviews: Christmas movies!
