It is time to be honest. The thought of rushing out to the theater to see a musical docudrama about a bunch of old people putting on a concert isn't at the top of the fun list, right?

It isn't at the top of mine either, but it is the one springtime offering that is going to afford us the rare chance to see a chorus full of real-life golden girls hoofing it up and singing their hearts out to the tunes of some of the most popular musical groups of the modern era.

The infectious spirit of the big-screen musical is one of the most durable staples of popular film and is one of the hardest acts to pull off. In the last decade alone, the popular success of "Chicago" and "Moulin Rouge!" has opened the door for a smorgasbord of non-traditional musical adaptations and there is nothing more non-traditional than the sight of cheerful octogenarians performing the music of their grandchildren's generation.

The dread-inducing premise of "Young@Heart" isn't as high-concept as it sounds. It is a musical celebration of marching to a different drummer and triumphing against the rigors of age. There are a good deal of life-affirming clichés to be found here, but the message that being old is not equal to being dead is a profound one, and it could be enough to turn it into a sleeper hit for the boomer generation. 

The titular chorus - a group of Northampton, Mass. retirees turned senior pop singers - spend their time not on the golf course or tuning into soap operas but touring the U.S. and abroad re-interpreting the catalogues of The Clash, Prince and Coldplay to the delight of sold-out audiences.

The iconoclastic seniors here are not about to go into that gentle night. The fact that most of them prefer opera and classical music to the harder-tinged music of their act is no matter since all of them appreciate the unique challenges the songs present and there is a real sense of camaraderie among the group.

The musical numbers do succeed in bringing a smile to our faces. I'd need to be Scrooge himself to suggest that it didn't. It is hard to begrudge them their turn in the spotlight since their personalities are full of so much surprising good cheer and optimism.

Its greatest accomplishment is that it captures the cross-generational appeal of the music it is highlighting. The fact that the median age in this chorus is 85 is daunting enough in itself, but their commitment to the music is contagious.

The non-singing portions feel flat-footed in comparison. It is a shame since the chorus members are an engaging group of good people and I became more interested in their collected personal histories than in seeing them rehearse "(I Got You) I Feel Good" for the umpteenth time. The common thread among all of them is the fact that performing has created a refuge from hospital rooms, absent families and the harsh realities of getting old.

There is a significant cute factor to the proceedings and it should come as no surprise that the chorus members indulge in a great deal of mugging for the cameras. It is an affable motion picture that intermingles concert footage, onstage antics and an all-access director's pass at the rehearsal process, but can't quite sustain itself as a feature film.