Old People's Home for 4-Year-Olds: Christmas, review: shamelessly sentimental but by golly it was effective
Six months on, the camera crews returned to Nottingham’s Lark Hill retirement village for Old People’s Home for 4-Year-Olds: Christmas (Channel 4) in a postscript to the series proper, bringing the 10 children with them to see if the beneficial effects of their 12-week experiment upon both children and the elderly had continued. The signs were broadly positive and some pairings, touchingly, had stayed in close contact.
It puttered along pleasantly with tree decorating, charity donations, preparations for the Lark Hill Christmas party, and a gentle reminder about offering companionship to those whose human contact is limited to pets and occasional carers.
Matters, though, took a chilling turn when Alfie Boe crashed the party to belt out Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. The kids covered their ears – they thought “it was far too loud,” he speculated afterwards, optimistically.
But even Boe’s hamming couldn’t diminish the impact of a montage of photos of the residents in their youth. Shamelessly sentimental, of course, but by golly it was effective. Then there was resident Victor, crooning White Christmas with startling control and range. “I hope I’m doing that at 97,” marvelled Boe. I can think of a few children who might beg to differ.
There was stage management aplenty, a bit of guff about the spirit of Christmas and some massaged narratives. But the heart of this series simply cannot be faked, as anyone who has tried to persuade a child or elderly relative to do anything against their will, will be well aware. The reactions were as authentic as the bonds that have so clearly been formed.
Perhaps the ultimate vindication of the series came from Victor, who said he was “enjoying my second childhood where you go forward and make new friends”. Getting a near-centenarian, who’s understandably prone to dwelling on a 66-year marriage to his late wife, to look forward was a remarkable achievement. It was outrageously manipulative but utterly irresistible, just like the average four-year-old.
