I’m going to put up a few links to some reviews and thoughts on the movie Young @ Heart so here they are.
First, a site that I linked for “Wall-E”, Past the Popcorn, has some good stuff. Here is his review on the movie, and here is an interview with the chorus director, Bob Cilman, which I thought was very interesting. Part of the interview I especially liked dealt with the chorus attempting to be serious artists – and I think it speaks a lot to why the film worked for me, as well as why the story works for me. Here it is (Bob Cilman’s answers are indicted by “BC”).
You know, when people hear about this film, I think they’re probably going to be thinking, “I know what to expect here. The quality of the music isn’t going to be that hot; but it’s going to be a novelty act and I’ll enjoy it quite a bit.”
BC: We’ve been fighting against that for years; but you’re exactly right.
But then you get to the performances themselves, and as with the little mini-concert at the prison demonstrates, there’s an honesty and truthfulness to the whole thing that really connects with people.
BC: Well, thank you for saying that. I think they work really hard to have it not be a novelty act, to always challenge themselves and choose interesting projects—to keep them real and not just about cute little songs.
Another site I linked last time, hollywoodjesus.com has a review here.
Here’s a link to a good review by Stephen Hunter from the Washington Post. I’m linking it mostly because I like this line:
So when Dora Morrow dodders to the microphone and lets out with James Brown’s famous cry of “I feel good,” or when Stan Goldman, who looks like a cross between Don Rickles and Alan Arkin, answers Morrow with a “Yeeee-oww,” guess what? You’re the one who feels good.
And here’s the Stephen Holden review that I cited in the group discussion.
Finally, here is a link to a youtube posting of Fred Knittle singing “Fix You” – this is the clip that made the rounds on the internet a couple of years ago, although this particular entry is not the same one. In regards to the music, Greg Wright from “Past the Popcorn” writes this, “Fred still makes special appearances with the chorus, the click of his oxygen supply acting as its own metronome, ticking away an odd alternate tempo while his basso rumblings keep audiences on the edge of their seats.” I thought that was an accurate and neat take on the music.
Anyway, enjoy these and hopefully they are thought provoking.