Last year’s documentary Young @ Heart is being adapted into a feature film by Working Title Pictures. Although no director has been signed to the project, the production has brought on board Will Reiser, a former producer of Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Ali G Show, to script.
Director Stephen Walker and Sally George’s film follows a senior citizens’ choir that specialized in rock songs. We get to know several of the members of the group as they prepare several new songs for an upcoming concert. And while they don’t overly manipulate the pathos that is found in their stories, if you don’t tear up, then you may want to check your pulse.
Honestly, I don’t care who is writing this, as I think it is a terrible idea. Nothing can be more dramatic than real life and the rising trend of turning documentaries into fictionalized features only emphasizes that. A fictionalized retelling only serves to build an air of artifice around the actual drama, laughter and heartbreak that the documentary captured so effectually. Sure, there have been plenty of films that have been “Based on a true story,” but why make a film based on a true story when there’s already a film that directly documents that story?
