Kyle Smith

Kyle Smith

Movies

‘12-12-12’ documentary makes for unexpected keepsake

How do you start up a charity concert? Sandy relief show “12-12-12” producer Harvey Weinstein explains: You just call up Paul McCartney. He always says yes, and then every other celebrity in the world wants to participate.

This doc is both more and less than a concert film centered on last Dec. 12’s Madison Square Garden blowout, which brought together many of rock’s biggest names, including Billy Joel, The Who and the Rolling Stones. Much of the movie is spent backstage (where staffers were dealing with an overload problem on the Web site for donations, when Google titan Eric Schmidt walked in), on images of Sandy’s devastation and with first responders sharing their memories.

Touching and unexpectedly funny moments (such as McCartney busting out the theme song from “The Monkees”) mingle with highlights from the show for an unusually compelling keepsake from what might well be the last time many of these ’60s rockers perform together.