Young@Heart
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Movie Reviews of Young@Heart
Movie Review: It's True: You Will Laugh & Cry
Summary: 5 Stars
It may sound like it, but this is no cliché: this movie will make you laugh and cry. It's true.
In a day with so much garbage being put out, this was a refreshing film to view - something true, too. It's a documentary about a group of old-timers (senior citizens, if you will) from Northampton, Mass., who tour and sing rock 'n roll. There is something absurd, outrageous, comical and entertaining about seeing an 89-year-old imitating James Brown and screaming, "I Feel Good!" What we witness in this two-hour documentary is both funny at times, but also sad. Hey, it's reality; life is hard, especially as you get older and older. Some of the members of this group die during the filming of it. The other men and women have to deal with these losses. "The show must on," as the old saying goes, but it's not easy.
The group sings rock standards and stuff that is pretty recent. It's hardly just Brown, the Ramones, Beatles, Bee Gees or Stones songs. It's also these old folks performing Sonic Youth, Coldplay, The Clash and the like.
Of all the members, one can't but be most impressed with the voice of Fred Knittle, who has to sit and sing while having an oxygen tank next to him. His voice is really, really good. Then there is 92-year-old and spunky Eileen Hall and then there six-time cancer patient Joe Benoit, probably the nicest man you'd ever meet. All the people here are interesting.
The more I watched this, the more respect I had for Bob Cilman, who directs this group. That man must have tremendous patience and a big, big heart for older people. It's frustrating when members keep forgetting their lines time and time again, but Bob presses on. He's called a "taskmaster" a few times but the group has great respect for him.
Director Steven Walker does a super job putting this film together, holding some shots and cutting others off just at the right spots so we get the full effect of the humor or drama of a particular situation. Your emotions will run the gamut watching this. The more sentimental you are, the more it will affect you.
If you have a sense of humor and compassion for people, this is one of the few movies I guarantee you will like.
Movie Review: You'll Laugh, Cry, and Maybe Even Dance a Little
Summary: 5 Stars
I watched this movie today on a Delta flight. I had seen the poster at a local theater, but hadn't heard more about it. Now, I'm really glad I got to see it after all.
The movie's a great opportunity to meet wonderful members of the choir. There's the feisty 92-year old woman, who swears she's 29, and spunkier than some a third her age. A former standout performer shows up tethered to an oxygen tank and pulls out all the stops. He also could have a career as a comedian. He's that funny.
While the scenes with many of the members are funny, the movie is also truly moving. Can you imagine performing less than an hour after hearing one of your fellow choir members has died? That performance - at a local jail - is likely to elicit tears from even the most jaded of viewers. I know it choked me up.
The interesting twist on this elder choir is that this is not a bunch of people sitting around performing old time ditties. They cover everything from James Brown to Sonic Youth to Sinead O'Connor. I'm not sure who has more fun, the performers on stage or the audience members at a sellout concert in town. As an added bonus, the film features the choir members in their own videos - even a Saturday Night Fever takeoff!
The drive to perform and do a great job is truly amazing! One member, who's at the heart of the group, has had enough chemotherapy to kill most people. He's still hoping to make the concert even after a recurrence of cancer. Another vows to come back from a severe heart attack and rejoin the group.
If you want to laugh, cry and maybe even dance a little, you should definitely see young at heart! Not only is it inspirational, it's also motivational. As an audience member says, "I will never complain about being too old again!"
Enjoy!
Movie Review: A fine documentary that focuses on the creative process
Summary: 5 Stars
In the wrong hands, Young@Heart could have been a real mawkish tearjerker. Instead, in the hands of skilled documentarian Stephen Walker and group founder and chorus leader, Bob Cilman, this film is a fabulous look at the creative process. The spine of the production is a batch of new songs Cilman brings to the group at the inception of filming, with the goal of presenting them to the public within a matter of weeks. Cilman's challenge is that for every group member like Joe - who memorizes and rips through the very complex Talking Heads piece "Life During Wartime" in a single day (wow, hats off) - there's the struggle to train members like Lenny, who - weeks in - still hasn't got down the timing nor the words to a single line of James Brown's "I Feel Good".
Of course, group demographics being what they are, mortality intrudes a couple of time during the span of filming. What Walker succeeds in doing is focusing not solely on the pain and pathos, but on what involvement meant to these members and to their families. It might be trite to say "they were doing what they loved," but Walker makes that point gently and effectively.
Despite a glut of documentaries, this one hit the mark with the public: it's grossed close to four million dollars in US box office and is still playing in select markets almost 20 weeks after its April 2008 debut. That might not sound like a lot, but I just reviewed the equally fine documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster* yesterday, and I made note of its disheartening $308k take. "Young@Heart" deservedly found an audience.
Movie Review: Charming, poignant and very funny
Summary: 5 Stars
It would be a shame if potential viewers of this wonderful movie were fooled by the cheery trailer. This is not just a cute movie about old people incongruously trying to sing rock songs. It is about people stretching beyond their own boundaries, and the boundaries imposed on them by the rest of us, to achieve results that are stirring and soulful. The "Young at Heart" Chorus is a Western Massachusetts musical phenemenon. Twenty some-odd singers, in their 70s, 80s and 90s, meet weekly or more to learn difficult and sometimes aurally painful new music. Led by young (only 53 year old) director Bob Cilman, the group has performed around the world, and also in its Northhampton home. This film follows the group in the 8 weeks prior to an Easter concert.
The film is hilarious and full of heart. There are plenty of shots of oldsters being playful and even flirtatious. But the second half of the film achieves its depth by following former members who battle illness and self-doubt as they prepare for one more shot on stage. The film includes plenty of on-the-scene shots of the chorus practicing, and a few hilarious music videos of their best songs. The "Saturday Night Fever" takeoff, shot in a bowling alley, is both a great musical achievement by these often-ailing singers, and a terrific send-up of the original.
"Young at Heart" is funny, full of genuine pathos and a crowd pleaser. How many concert movies have the audience cheering and applauding a successful performance? Bring the whole family for a great time.
Movie Review: You are only as old as you believe you are
Summary: 5 Stars
Young@heart is a mixed chorus composed of singers and band members 70 and above. If you think that means show tunes and old standards, you're wrong. Some of the songs you'll hear covered:
"I feel Good," James Brown
"Purple Haze," Jimi Hendrix
"Schizophrenic," Sonic Younth
"Fix You," Coldplay
"Yes we Can Can," Allen Toussaint
"Forever Young," Joan Baez
This is an amazing group of people. Joe, who at 86 can remember a song in one afternoon, had enough chemo to kill a person, but he was still up on stage. Fred, who has congestive heart failure must sing sitting down with oxygen at his side, is still up performing. Bob, who had a heart attack, was performing his songs from his hospital bed when he had a heart attack.
Their music is in large print. In order to learn their songs, many of them are using a compact disk player for the first time and literally didn't know which side of the disk was up.
They're consummate performers. They dance even if it hurts and they smile for the audience. Even after they'd learned a troop member died an hour before, they gave an amazing free performance at a local prison.
They've discovered the joy of music and they're passing it along to audiences everywhere. I promise you will both laugh and cry in this film. You may also be moved to try some new things. Music brings joy to many lives and it's clearly never too late to get out there and try something new.
Rebecca Kyle, June 2008