Young @ Heart

Stephen Walker' and Sally George's Young @ Heart is not the best documentary I've seen lately, but it's one of the most enjoyable.

From Ben Folds to Glee, choral groups are turning up all over the place, very frequently in unexpected places--and for some reason, singing pop songs. Young @ Heart is one of the more unusual choral group -- their average age is 80, and they sing songs by The Talking Heads, James Brown, the Stones, Coldplay, etc. And they do so pretty well, I should add (for example, the cover of "Nothing Compares 2 U" has a greater emotional impact than Sinead or the Symbol could've ever hoped for--partly given the performance, partly given the timing in the film).

They've toured in the US and Europe repeatedly. And this film follows the group as they prepare for their new show, and eventual tour--with a couple of music videos and a concert at a prison thrown in along the way.

Given the demographics of the group, the impact--and increased possibility--of serious health issues and death is greater than it would be in similar groups. But it's through these issues and struggles that we see the real spirit, the real joy that music and their camaraderie brings the group.

It's not a perfect movie--the filmmakers intrude a bit more than I'd like, and I do question the sense of filming these singers while they are driving so much (that would go for singers in their 20's as well as in their 70's for the record), and a few other minor issues. But they were all very easily forgivable given the film as a whole.

It's more than trite to call a movie about senior citizens "life affirming." But sometimes things are just that trite. Young @ Heart--is horribly life affirming, and fun, and inspiring--a lot like the performers it profiles.