Young@Heart is a 2007 documentary about a choir of senior citizens who perform contemporary pop and rock music.
The titular Young@Heart chorus from New England is a gathering of 22 elderly people with an average age of 80. In preparation for a community concert, the group spends two months learning new material from the likes of James Brown, Sonic Youth and Coldplay. At first, the task is daunting for them and a nuisance for their director. But when two of their members die in a short period of time, they become more determined to succeed, and their concert makes an impact on their community.
Tropes seen:
- Cool Old Guy: The choir themselves are both this and Cool Old Lady because they perform contemporary pop and rock music and have good senses of humor.
- Died During Production: Sets off the film's many Tear Jerker moments, perhaps most notably the Un-Duet described under that trope.
- How We Got Here: The film starts with an old woman covering The Clash's Should I Stay Or Should I Go during the concert, and then goes on to detail the moments leading up to the concert with several other performances during it in-between.
- Oscar Bait: Big time. For various reasons it couldn't win the Oscar or Emmy, but it did win its main target (the Palm D'or) and a slew of other prizes at film festivals, only occasionally losing to Man on Wire.
- True Companions: The choir sticks together even when they lose a few of their own.
- Un-Duet: Two guys are planned to duet on the song "Fix You", but one of them dies, so it has to be done as a solo with the remaining member.
