The Open Road: America Looks at Aging

According to the old saying, retirees used to kill time before it killed them, but with an estimated 77 million Americans from the Baby Boomer generation hitting the age of retirement in the near future (one in five will be 65 or over by 2030), many will--either by choice or necessity--remain in the workforce well into their golden years: a period that could last for 30-40 years thanks to longer life expectancy. Narrated by Michele Norris (NPR's All Things Considered), Emmy-winning filmmaker Nina Gilden Seavey's PBS-aired The Open Road essentially strings together interview clips and footage of retirees engaging in a wide variety of activities, from driving a cab to make ends meet, to Winnebagoing down the "open road." Interspersed throughout are comments from author Abigail Trafford (My Time) and various heads of civic volunteer organizations (sadly, due to various bureaucratic hurdles, it's estimated that 50% of nonprofits can't use retirees in meaningful work). At its best, the program introduces viewers to some very interesting characters, including Bob Levey, forced into retirement after 36 years at the Washington Post (whose brutally honest "I'm terrified" is certain to resonate with viewers in a volatile workplace environment); Richard Friedman, a "retired" doctor who volunteers in a pay-what-you-can medical clinic; and Helen Glawe, a 92-year-old former schoolteacher who now works with Russian immigrants. Disappointingly, The Open Road sidesteps the darker issues surrounding retirement, not raising the specter of bad times ahead until some two-thirds of the way into the documentary (with the observation that Social Security is expected to dry up by 2030, an unsubstantiated remark that is not followed up on at all). Nicely filmed and always engaging (if not nearly as hard-hitting as it might have been), The Open Road also features a bonus short (essentially excerpted from the film itself) and a list of resources. Recommended, overall. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)