Star-studded film is packed with nods to the Beasties’ past and present. By James Montgomery John C. Reilly, Will Ferrell and Jack Black in the “Fight For Your Right Revisited” video Photo: Capitol Records By now, you’ve probably watched — and subsequently re-watched — the Beastie Boys’ new “Fight For Your Right Revisited” film, which premiered at midnight Thursday morning (April 21) on MTV2, mtvU, VH1 Classic and Palladia. In theory, it’s a tongue-in-cheek retrospective on the Beasties’ early License To Ill days, picking up where their sublimely stoopid “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)” video left off, following Mike D, Ad-Rock and MCA — as played by Seth Rogen, Elijah Wood and Danny McBride, respectively — on a drunken spree that culminates in an epic dance battle against their future selves (John C. Reilly, Will Ferrell and Jack Black, just in case you’re keeping score at home). But really, it works just as well as a rather-involved exercise in cameo spotting, as seemingly everyone in the universe pops up for a frame or three. Thankfully, the Beasties were nice enough to include a list of co-stars in the closing credits. Our favorites include Susan Sarandon and Stanley Tucci as the bewildered parents who interrogate the Beasties post-party, Will Arnett as a businessman who gives a shout-out to “Arrested Development” (“COME ON!”) and Orlando Bloom’s inexplicable three-second cameo as a window washer in a Def Jam windbreaker. But there seems to be a batch of uncredited cameos too — we’re pretty sure we saw Danny Masterson and Zach Galifianakis in there. In fact, outside of some of Michael Jackson’s biggest videos (“Liberian Girl” and “Remember the Time” come to mind), “Fight For Your Right Revisited” might very well be the most celeb-heavy video of all time. But, as we said, “Fight For Your Right” is also so much more. And while you were busy trying to keep track of all the cameos, you probably failed to notice some of the film’s subtler moments — nods to the Beasties’ past and present, the majority of which pass by with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it speed. Here are five we’ve noticed. And while we’ve watched the thing no less than a dozen times, we’re sure there are some we missed. Let us know in the comments below! Chateau Ted el Michel D
