Hollywood maybe obsessed with youth, but every now and then it delivers a surprisingly insightful look at those living in their golden years. Usually it’s played for laughs though, especially when you think of the two standout examples of TV’s The Golden Girls and the big screen twins of Grumpy Old Men and its sequel Grumpier Old Men. Now that’s not to say that there aren’t tremendous laughs in Young @ Heart, the documentary about a group of senior citizens from North Hampton, Mass that sing rock ‘n’ roll songs, but what there is collectively in the film is just straight up humanity.

By the time British filmmaker Stephen Walker catches up with the choir, they’ve already toured the US and Europe bringing their unique arrangements of rock, both modern and classic, to sold out audiences everywhere. The group, whose average age is 81, is preparing a new series of songs with about seven weeks of rehearsal in order to learn standards like James Brown’s “I Feel Good” and Sonic Youth’s “Schizophrenia.” Walker’s cameras capture the various singers as they try and wrap there pipes around music that’s as many as three generations removed from where they came from. He also gets to know them personally, hearing their stories and what keeps their spirits and energies so high.

And high energy is what this documentary is all about. Like that annoying Dennis Hopper commercial for retirement planning, these seniors are not going out in a rocking chair and are as spirited and alive as anyone closer to the other end of the century mark. Even the sicker ones, or perhaps especially the sicker ones, it’s still easy to see an inner youth and vitality. Walker takes time to make these characters known to us, highlighting individual performers that stand out in the choir.

We don’t trudge through their pasts, but we do learn about the various relationships and talents among the choir members. Like Joe Benoit and Lenny Fontaine who are best friends, and Eileen Hall who, at 91, is the only resident of her retirement home with a key to the front door since she occasionally comes home late from practice. Joe and Eileen carpool with Lenny to practice because, of the three, Lenny’s the only one whose eyesight meets the minimum requirements to hold a driver’s license in Massachusetts. Lenny drives down the highway like a demon, and again, looking at this 86 year old, you wouldn’t know that he has a need for speed.

But there are some sad stories too, and out of them one gets a better understanding of the strength and resiliency of this group. Two retired members of the chorus return after bouts of bad health they’re still struggling with, and in a way, both men know that this will very likely be their final performance. The group also suffers a couple of deaths in the weeks leading up to the show. Again, the nature of the subjects makes you forget that these people are, relatively, close to death and loses come like a sucker punch. Still the spirit of the thing shines through, and following one of the loses, the choir does a performance at a nearby prison that brings the house down. And these are hardened criminals mind you.

Young @ Heart is a passionate film that highlights one’s zest for life need not retire when you do. And besides that, there’s a lot of great music, from the Talking Heads to Coldplay, these guys do everyone justice with unique arrangements and tremendous talent. This film is a true crowd pleaser in every sense and features equal amounts of humour and pathos, making it an incredibly rewarding audience experience. You’ll certainly never listen to The Clash the same way again.