Sundance Film Festival 2026: ‘The Best Summer’ is Millennial Catnip
Have you ever thought to yourself, “Hey, I wonder if the director of Billy Madison has a bunch of concert footage of ’90s alternative bands lying around?” Who hasn’t thought about that, right? The Best Summer at Sundance Film Festival is a documentary that answers the question. And while nobody may have asked for these materials, one cannot deny that they could be considered catnip for the generation raised in the 1990s.
A short while ago, I found myself on YouTube stumbling upon old video footage of Mazzy Star performing the transfixing ballad “Fade Into You.” There was nothing cinematic about the home video; it simply gave the sense of being transported back to a different time.
Most of us millennials, arguably, think of that decade with rose-colored glasses while forgetting that the Rodney King riots and police brutality were still a massive problem in that period. But at the same time, the ability for younger adults to afford a house was not an issue.
Even so, the footage of the Mazzy Star performance felt raw and unpolished, like a personal home video. The Best Summer invokes the same feeling, and that is what gives the experience personality.
Filmmaker Tamra Davis takes us on a nostalgia tour
The documentary cuts together a series of personal recordings by filmmaker Tamra Davis (Billy Madison, Half Baked), who, at the time of the recordings, was in a relationship with Mike D of The Beastie Boys. The footage follows a series of bands The Beastie Boys toured with in the summer of 1995, including Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Pavement, Rancid, Beck, The Amps, and Bikini Kill.
Nothing in the footage is coordinated or scripted; it’s simply the band members being themselves in a relaxed atmosphere, with small moments from their live performances woven in. Throughout the conversations, the lead vocalist of Bikini Kill acts like the interviewer for Davis, asking most of the lineup the same set of questions while throwing in some random banter here and there. The common question was whether their stage persona was any different from their real-life persona. And aside from a few people, the common response was that they preferred authenticity to an alter ego.
Despite Hanna giving these interviews backstage with Davis, it’s evident that no one expected these discussions to become a film. The interviews have a spontaneous, carefree nature, like friends simply chatting about their professional lives at the height of the ’90s alternative rock era.
The execution sometimes feels voyeuristic yet never intrusive. There’s nothing present that would ever humiliate a band member or serve as overly revealing. It’s simply band members living their best lives and having a great time together on stage and behind the stage.
As a fan of the Foo Fighters, one of the better discussions is Hanna’s conversation with Dave Grohl, who, at the time, comes off as delightful and endearing. He seems completely unaware that he is a rock star in the footage and gives the most wholesome responses to Hanna.
The Bikini Kill vocalist asks him about insecurities and personas, and Grohl, infectiously, discusses his nervousness about talking to a crowd, how he tries to avoid talking onstage, and his focus on performing. There is also a fun exchange about Grohl’s reluctance to create a stage persona, rationalizing it as a burden to maintain in public. Also, the footage shows Grohl making a cameo on stage with The Beastie Boys to perform “Sabotage,” which, as a millennial, made my mind melt.
The Best Summer at Sundance is imperfectly perfect
The footage also showcases another remarkable moment with the tour departing for Indonesia, where the city of Jakarta faces aggressive police, unkempt conditions, and various signs of poverty. The beauty of it all is seeing how music is universally therapeutic, as the Jakarta attendees mosh to bands like The Beastie Boys, whose lyrics carry an anti-authority subtext.
Overall, The Best Summer could be one of the best at Sundance this year because of its unapologetically imperfect execution. It has the same quality control as a garage band performing for a group of thirty people, giving the documentary a front-row feel during one of the greatest eras in alternative rock. It’s about as aesthetically pleasing as a worn-out mixtape found in a shoebox hidden in an attic, and you will be grateful you found it.
Also check out Sundance Film Festival 2026: Josephine is Fearless and Brilliant Storytelling
