Every film festival, there are so many films from which to choose that I inevitably miss seeing something I really want to see, and this year at Sundance was no exception. One of the films I kept hearing positive buzz on, both from other critics and on the shuttles from fest-goers, was Young@Heart. The doc chronicles a chorus of senior citizens who, since 1982, have been entertaining audiences with their unique renditions of rock songs -- and this isn't your granny's music. These seniors learn and perform songs from The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" to Sonic Youth, to James Brown.
The film (from what I've heard -- trying to get my hands on a screener, or at least see if it's playing another fest I'll be hitting before it opens April 18) is a heart-warming, touching and, yes, rocking story about life, aging, and the refusal of the group's members to just slow down and sit in a rocking chair in their golden years. Fox Searchlight snatched up the pic at the Los Angeles Film Fest next year, so it will be coming to a theater near you.
To whet your appetites for the film until we get off our own aging butts and get you a review, the film's one-sheet is right here (click the image to get a larger view), and you can check out the film's official website, where you can participate in a poll on what you want your own golden years to be like, or just watch the trailer, where you can see the Young @ Heart crew rehearsing, learning tongue-twisting lyrics, and bringing a group of convicts at a prison to their feet. Rock on, oldsters (and I say that as someone edging ever closer to my own golden years ...)!
