Las Vegas Weekly

Young @ Heart

Despite its title, Young @ Heart has nothing to do with Frank Sinatra. Rather, the documentary follows a group of Massachusetts-based retirees (with an average age of 80, the director informs us) who have formed a unique sort of chorus. Although the members admit that they prefer classical music, their repertoire consists of classic and contemporary rock, pop, punk and R&B covers. Nothing represents more of a do-it-yourself aesthetic than a 92-year-old woman belting out songs by The Clash.

For a while it appears that it’s a one-joke premise. We watch with amusement as a pair of members debate which side of a CD plays the music, and another struggles to read the lyrics to a song despite the use of both bifocals and a magnifying glass. It’s an idea that goes a surprisingly long way (a series of music videos dispersed throughout the film is consistently hilarious), but hardly enough to support a feature-length film.

Like in most performance-based documentaries, we also get an inside look at the creative process—these are not simple covers, as each song is given a new arrangement, sometimes radically different from the original. There’s also the running gag of one member forgetting the same line to a certain James Brown song without fail. And of course everything predictably leads up to the climactic concert.

Along the way, however, British director Walker captures something much less perfunctory. By focusing in on the abrupt health problems of a few select members, the picture suddenly takes on an unexpected dramatic weight. One could argue that this was contrived, but seeing as the project was only planned to follow a seven-week rehearsal period, it’s quite doubtful.

The same songs we were laughing at before all of a sudden morph into powerful metaphors for the human spirit. Strong friendships within the group are exposed and reinforced. An inspiring optimism and the healing power of music shine through, as the members of Young @ Heart live up to their name.