May 15, 2008
Young@Heart - A movie that will transform you, and an interview with one of
the stars
Let’s be honest. We live in a youth obsessed
society. We boomers are fighting the aging thing like crazy, because sadly, we know we live in a society that does not revere its
elders, and often sees them as burdens, which is how they often see themselves. Well last week The Three Tomatoes
went to see a film that will forever change how we view growing older, and our elders. This amazing documentary, called Young@Heart, follows the Young@Heart
Chorus a group whose youngest member in
the film is 73 and the oldest is 92, over the course of 12 weeks. What is remarkable about this chorus, aside
from their ages, is the music they sing. We’re not talking Sweet Adeline, or a Bicycle Built for Two here,
but rock n’ roll, a little soul, and some punk music to top it all off. This mighty little film is playing in theaters
across the country, and the Chorus has appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and the Tonight Show, among
others. The film had us in laughter and tears. And best of all, we got a chance to interview one of the
stars, which is The Three
Tomatoes all time favorite interview. Here’s the story.
How Young@Heart got hip and immortalized on film
It all started with a twenty-something, music loving guy named Bob
Cilman, who back in 1982 went to work for the town of Northampton, Massachusetts, and was assigned to a housing project for the
elderly. It was there he formed the Young At Heart Chorus and started to put together productions featuring these golden-agers, most well into their eighties
and even nineties, at local theaters and venues, soon to sold out audiences. Early
productions featured the old standards and some vaudeville, until Bob had the idea of evolving the group into doing rock ‘n roll numbers, which
was definitely the start of something big.
The current chorus members whose ages range from 70 plus to
90 plus not only sing rock, but soul, blues, and punk. They play to standing room only performances, and since
1996 the chorus has gone on more than 12 European Tours, including performing for the King and Queen of Norway. It was a 2006
performance in London that got the attention of British documentary film-maker Stephen Walker, who convinced the group to let him follow them through 12 weeks of rehearsals back in Northhampton
in preparation for another European Tour. This amazing documentary was first shown on British TV to the delight
of audiences and critics alike. In 2007 the film was entered into a couple of film festivals in the U.S., including one that
caught the attention of Fox SearchLight (distributors of movies like Juno, and Little Miss Sunshine.) And
fortunately for all us, they bought the film and released it to theaters nationwide in April 2008.
About the movie
We laughed, we cried, we cried and we
laughed. In a little less than two hours of watching this movie, you will fall in love with every one of the chorus members as you see their fragilities, their
struggles with health and learning the lyrics to songs like “Yes We Can, Can” and the punk song “Schizophrenia”.
But most of all you will see their incredible strength, determination, and beauty. They cease to be old.
And you will watch Bob Cilman, still their musical director, lead them with toughness,
respect, enormous compassion, and tremendous pride. If it’s true that God has reserved some seats in Heaven, then
Bob’s name is surely on one. You’ll watch the group go through rehearsals, you’ll meet several of the
members in one on one interviews, and experience the loss, along with the rest of the chorus of two of its members over the course of the twelve weeks
that the filmmakers follow them. Interspersed, in the movie, are four fabulous music videos made by the group, which you will find on You Tube,
and include one of our favorites, the Bee Gees’ "Staying Alive” featuring chorus member Fred Knittle, in white suit and oxygen
tank.
One of the films highlights is a concert by the group at a local prison, which
includes the group’s performance of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” in honor of their departed chorus members (one of
whom had just passed away that morning). The standing ovation of these young, tough looking, incarcerated guys, with tears running
their cheeks, is a moment you will not soon forget. Of course there were tears running down our cheeks as well.
And the end of the movie will have you standing up and cheering for each and every one of these very special people.
An interview with one of the stars, Steve Martin
Thanks to our favorite brother in law, who happens to know Steve Martin, we scooped
an interview. And no it’s not that kid actor Steve Martin born in 1945, but the Young at Heart's Steve Martin who was born in 1928 in
Detroit. A former Marine (who still pumps iron 3 times a week), former Mobile Oil executive, father of two, widower for 18 years,
who now enjoys the company of his “lady friend” and loves to drive around town in his convertible. We spent the
most delightful hour on the phone with Steve, who joined the chorus eight years ago, and has loved every second of it.
Steve was one of the chorus members picked to sit on the couch and chat with
Jay Leno, where he broke into a little rap with “Yo, Yo Diddy, look at the Kid from Detroit City.” We talked about the
groups’ tours in Europe where Steve says the elderly are held in higher esteem. “When we perform, we’re
viewed as an “art form, not as a bunch of old depressed people in walkers.” Although in the U.S., some of their most
ardent fans are college kids who love their funky style. And he had us in giggles as he talked about how they all have to make a
list of all their medications when they travel, and then double check that everyone has brought their meds. As he said,
we’re making millions for the pharma companies. When we asked him how the group handles the grueling tours that often
include daily performances and two on Saturdays over the course of a couple of weeks, he reminded us that none of them had gotten to the age they are
without knowing how to take care of themselves. (Lesson learned.)
When we asked Steve how he likes being a celebrity, he said it’s like a
comet. It’s a one time thing, but as he said, he’s sure enjoying his 15 minutes of fame. But the
best part of being in Young@Heart , he said, is inspiring other elderly people not to give up and become vegetables, but to make a real effort in life
and get the most out of your days.
Sitting on a Rainbow
To us, perhaps the most special moment in the film is when 92 year old Eileen
Hall was asked how the group was able to go on after losing two of its members, she said because they’d want us to go.
“If I go tomorrow, I’ll be up there sitting on my rainbow, looking down and smiling on them.”
So here’s to rainbows, comets, beautiful wrinkles, white
hair, no hair, age spots, bended bodies, and spirits that soar out of them. Here’s to life!
‘til next week,
The Three Tomatoes
Copyright©2008. The Three Tomatoes, Inc. All rights
reserved.
