by Missy Thompson
STAFF WRITER
Documentaries can be extremely boring. Those are usually the ones that are shown during history class in high school. Every so often, one breaks the mold and is funny, a little sad and very entertaining.
Luckily, the documentary "Young @ Heart" -- which premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival -- is a marvelous movie that the whole family will love. "Young @ Heart" has everything I hope documentaries would be. The people in it are hilarious, without being scripted. It's heartfelt with moments of sadness mixed in to cause audiences to tear up.
At first I thought a documentary about elderly people singing "I Wanna Be Sedated" by the Ramones wouldn't turn out so well. But after realizing Young @ Heart was an actual chorus that met regularly and had some talent, I didn't think it would be so bad. Now, I know it's the best documentary I have seen all year -- although there haven't been many -- and is a really great movie all around.
The average age of the members of the Young @ Heart chorus is 80. Some are stiff and have difficulty getting around, while others are full of life. Although not all of them can sing exceptionally well, they have the drive to perform to the best of their abilities despite their advanced age.
Film director Stephen Walker first heard of Young @ Heart in London when they were performing throughout Europe. He went to Northampton, Mass. to document the chorus' journey through seven weeks of rehearsals before a major performance. Chorus director Bob Cilman tends to be the antagonist through parts of the film. At moments he seems so frustrated with the singers that he wants to give up. Yet, he knows that they will pull together at the last minute.
It's so interesting to hear old people singing "Schizophrenia" by Sonic Youth, "I Feel Good" by James Brown, and "Fix You" by Coldplay. They are all so different that hearing the tempo slow down or pick up makes it seem like an entirely new song. Some of the singers have a difficult time remember the words or getting the tempo down. And others have no problem memorizing an entire song like "I Can" by Kirk Franklin.
Walker used the music videos made by Young @ Heart as segue between different parts of the film. One video in particular of the choir singing "Stayin' Alive" is especially hilarious given the age of the choir members. Most of these videos can be found online, but combined with the rest of the film it makes watching it all together worth while.
Walker focuses on John Larareo, who has battled six bouts of chemotherapy and still comes to each rehearsal. He's in featured on the poster for their new concert, "Alive and Well." Then there's Bob Salvini and Fred Knittle both who are no longer consistent choir members but have come back for this one performance. Unfortunately, Bob passed away the night before they performed at a Massachusetts prison.
Fred can only breathe with the help of an oxygen tank, yet his singing voice is smooth, low and still very much in tune. After the death of his duet partner he has to learn all of the lyrics to "Fix You." The week of their first performance, the choir gets more bad news when they learn another member has passed away and decide to dedicate that performance to his memory.
"Young @ Heart" is a crowd-pleasing documentary that will leave you laughing, crying and knowing that no matter your age, there's still something that can keep you going.
missy@tooeletranscript.com
Grade: B+
Rated: PG
Time: 107 minutes
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