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Movie review: Young at Heart: Grandma
Cheerleaders 青春啦啦隊
Veteran director Yang Li-chou’s latest documentary follows a group of elderly
cheerleaders who are having the time of their lives
By Ho Yi / Staff Reporter
The subjects of Yang Li-chou’s
Young at Heart: Grandma Cheerleaders aren’t too old to have a good time.
Photo Courtesy of Flash Forward Entertainment
They cheer, sing, and shake their booties,
but most of the time can’t quite manage to keep a beat. Forty elderly
cheerleaders are the bouncy subjects of veteran documentary filmmaker Yang Li-chou’s
(楊力州) latest work, Young at Heart: Grandma Cheerleaders (青春啦啦隊).
Shortly after making The Long Goodbye (被遺忘的時光), a tear-inducing documentary
about senile dementia, Yang aimed his lens at the buoyant side of old age. In
the film, he follows a group of elderly cheerleaders — the average age is 70 —
who spend months preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime performance at the World
Games 2009 in Kaohsiung. With smooth editing and animated camera work, the
lively, fast-paced documentary spins an engaging yarn that is packed with
laughs.
Hsing Chuang (邢莊), an 88-year-old grandmother, is the oldest in the group, but
has the high spirits and energy of an 18-year-old. Grandpa Ting (丁), 86 years
young, is a great grandson of Ting Jih-chang (丁日昌), an eminent official and
scholar during the Qing Dynasty. He likes to use proverbs when he talks and
looks particularly coquettish when performing in drag.
The friendship between the team and the director, who is often seen conversing
with his subjects, adds a personal, intimate feel to the work.
Noted for his narrative-driven style, Yang is adept at weaving together dramas,
conflicts and tension to create a fluid story line. In Grandma Cheerleaders,
emotions build as the team members work hard to plan their act as the big show
draws near, and there are plenty of comic moments along the way. One such
incident involves a young body builder trying to teach the senior gentlemen how
to pose amid giggles from the ladies. There are also times for sober reflection
when the team members face loneliness, disease and the specter of death.
The documentary successfully breaks the stereotype of how our elders live by
focusing on senior citizens enjoying the sunset years of their lives.
Grandma Cheerleaders is a good example of socially responsible filmmaking.
Profits from the film will be donated to United Way of Taiwan (聯合勸募). The
nonprofit organization will use 80 percent of the donation for care of the
elderly care, 10 percent will go to helping children and another 10 percent to
supporting documentary filmmaking. For more information about the social welfare
project, visit
www.unitedway.org.tw/oldya.
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