If you think rock 'n' roll is dead, you've never seen the Young@Heart Chorus -- with an average age of 80 -- sing the heck out of the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go."
This documentary feels like a joke at first, as it follows this internationally renowned chorus of mostly nursing home residents from Northampton, Mass., preparing for their new show. But gradually, this often hilarious, occasionally heartbreaking little movie wins you over.
Filmmaker Stephen Walker first became fascinated with Young at Heart when he heard them sing in London.
According to Young@Heart's wryly humorous music director Bob Cilman, the chorus began as a vaudeville troupe -- until one 90-something member launched into an impromptu version of Manfred Mann's "Doo Wah Diddy" in the middle of a performance.
Songs like The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated" and the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" take on a whole new meaning when every concert could easily be your last.
The personalities in the band are unforgettable. There's Fred, carting around an oxygen tank, whose soulful, world-weary take on Coldplay's "Fix You" makes everyone in the audience tear up. Then there's Joe, a World War II pilot and cancer survivor, who can memorize an entire song in an afternoon, and his buddy Lenny, who struggles with remembering two lines of James Brown's "I Feel Good."
Their main antagonist is mortality, and the chorus must cope with the declining health of some of its most important singers.
Walker's sensitive treatment and his subjects' sparkling personalities makes the documentary a moving testament to the regenerative power of music, friendship and perseverance.
• The Manor, Squirrel Hill
Additional Information:
'Young@Heart'
Rated PG for mild language and thematic elements 
