Young at Heart

I know you've been on the edge of your seat waiting for my review of Young at Heart! If you're not familiar with the premise, it's about a choir whose mean age is 80 yet sing songs by Sonic Youth, Coldplay and Jimmy Hendrix.

Sound hokey? I wasn't sure either and as the lights dimmed I whispered to Pat "This is either going to be really good, or really bad! Sorry!"

In the end, we both really enjoyed it. I laughed, cried, and smiled throughout the whole film. You can imagine what kind of characters would be in such a choir. I really fell in love with the singers, especially three chorus members who rode together to rehearsal in a mini car and dubbed themselves The Three Musketeers!

The movie really inspired me about how to enjoy life. These seniors were truly living their golden years to the fullest. One of the members of the Three Musketeers (the one still able to drive) had activities each night of the week which included riding a ten speed in a biking club on Sundays! The stories were all inspiring, especially the singers who had been ill yet returned to the choir because they loved it so much.

I found the songs and their meanings really intensified by having the elderly sing them. They interviewed the members about what music they enjoyed themselves: mostly classical, opera and show tunes. I was thinking afterwards that if this choir continues on, eventually it won't be such a novelty to have the paradox of old people singing rock songs! In our golden years it won't be unusual to see old folks singing along to Britney Spears and Fall Out Boy!

My only criticism were these odd music videos that were intertwined into the story. They were really distracting and I felt took away from the momentum of the film. Other than that, I give it a thumbs up!

If you're into documentaries, I also caught part of a documentary on HBO called Hear and Now It was about a deaf couple who at age 65 decided to get Cochlear Implants. The film was directed and written by their daughter so it is a pretty raw look into their decision and life after the implants.