September 16, 2008 -- “Young@Heart” is a crowd-pleasing documentary that is both moving and funny, and the music is not bad, either. True to its name, it wears its heart on its sleeve. It is clumsily manipulative with its built-in music video numbers and its inherent tragedy of loss. Even so, there isn't a dry eye in the house when the aged chorus sings a heartfelt version of Alphaville's “Forever Young,” a song they dedicate to a chorus member who died shortly before this performance at a jail. It works as both a concert film and as a case study in people who literally live for music.

The film follows the chorus of 80-somethings as they rehearse for an upcoming concert tour. The chorus is trying to learn several new songs for the tour and it isn't easy for them. At the screening I attended the audience applauded when the chorus performed a song in concert that they had struggled with during practice and rehearsals. Everyone in the audience knew how much work went into that performance. There are plenty of senior choruses around, but few perform the kind of music this one does, songs by Coldplay, Sonic Youth, The Clash Prince and other artists who don't belong to this generation of senior citizens, the oldest of which are in their 90s.

While it looks like this movie is putting seniors on display to show off their cuteness, the way one might view a grade school play, it becomes evident that the seniors love being on stage. For some of them, performing music is life itself. Music seems to be what is keeping some of them alive. The director of the chorus, Bob Climan, seems worried about the health of a couple of chorus members who have very serious medical problems. One chorus member even goes on a European tour against his doctor's advice. Although Climan is concerned about their health, ultimately he leaves it up to the chorus members to make their own decisions about whether or not to perform. Those decisions sometimes have tragic consequences, but as one Chorus member says, they are all going to die sometime, why not die doing something you love doing? I still got the uncomfortable feeling that people may have been put in needless jeopardy during the making of this movie.

Several members of the chorus stood out. One was Fred Knittle, a former Chorus member returning to sing a duet with Bob Salvini, another former Chorus member. Both men had been among the best performers in the long history of the Young@Heart Chorus. Both Knittle and Salvini were seriously ill with heart problems. Knittle has a very good voice despite his age and fluid in his lungs from congestive heart failure. Knittle is also a charismatic guy with a good sense of humor. He comes up with some of the funniest lines in the movie. Eileen Hall, 92 at the time of filming, was sharp, funny and upbeat, one of the livliest, most outgoing characters in the film. During the film, she reveals she was painfully shy as a child. Perhaps the funniest of the music videos in the film is the seniors' hilarious rendition of the Ramones' “I Wanna Be Sedated.” It takes on a whole new meaning, given the age of the singers.

As others have pointed out before, director Stephen Walker is way too willing to put himself in front of the camera, when he should stay behind it, and the music videos don't really blend all that well with the rest of the film. The story of the chorus members is so strong, and they are such a winning bunch, that the film overcomes these drawbacks. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2008 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at .