I saw Young@Heart premier at the 2008 Philadelphia Film Festival, where its director Steven Walker and some of its senior stars had shown up to promote the movie. I had been skeptical of seeing this film about an elderly rock choir since I’d seen its trailer months and months before. I thought, perhaps, this was the sort of thing that must be synonymous with an elementary school Christmas concert, that watching both the very young and the very old chorus classics is bound to produce the same sickeningly sweet effect.

Before the movie, Mr. Walker took the stage for a brief synopsis of how he went about creating the film. Quite humorously, he told the audience that when his wife first suggested they see the Young@Heart choir, a group of elderly singers ranging in age from 72 to 93, Walker was most unsure. His wife convinced him rather craftily: “Oh come on, it will only be one night of your life,” but when Walker heard 93 year old Eileen belt out a fearless, hardly foolish, rendition of “Should I Stay or Should I Go” at the beginning of the performance, “One night turned into two and a half years.” Hearing this, I knew I would immediately love this movie.

What most surprised me about this film, and this choir, was the profound dignity it directed toward its subjects. This movie could have all too easily become a geriatric circus, exploitative of it elder, and certainly more vulnerable stars. Yet I felt such a fantastic level of respect for the members of the Young@Heart choir and the passion with which they performed their songs. Theirs is a show I would love to see in person, not because it would be ‘cute’ but because it would be filled with grace.

Young@Heart was formed in 1982, when its musical director took on an extra job in the meal department at a home for the elderly. When a woman who played piano asked him to get together some musicians, he did, and after a dozen or so mature music lovers assembled, the result was astounding and the rest was history. Now, New England’s WWI generation choir travels all over the world, especially Europe, where they are particularly well received. And they don’t just sing old time tunes; Young@Heart is known for its take on a whole assortment of songs from James Brown’s “I Feel Good” to Coldplay’s “Fix You.”

I fell in love with the stars featured in Young@Heart. 81 year old Fred, though he was hooked up to an oxygen tank, had one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard. 93 year old Eileen had one of the sassiest perspectives on life I’ve ever enjoyed. Walker called his movie a ‘rock opera’ for the elderly, and sure enough, as there was comedy, there was tragedy; two of the choir’s most beloved members passed away just days before their big finale show. During the end of the movie, there really wasn’t a dry eye in the theater, and mine were no exception.

As far as documentary film goes, Young@Heart stuck to the relatively standard format, following the chorus at its 3 times weekly practices for two months before a particularly stand out performance before a jam packed crowd of 1000 people. Some of the most enjoyable and creative moments in the movie were actually mini music videos where chorus members dressed up under bright lights and belted out their favorite songs. I have a bit to critique about the style of the film; Walker puts himself in several scenes in the beginning, yet he is completely absent from the rest of the movie. He does narrate the entire piece though, a job I wish he would have left to one of the members of the choir.

Liz Licorish
LizFlix@ElitesTV.com