TV Reviews : Documentary Pays Tribute to Teens

Need a dose of optimism? Watch “Cool Moves--Teens Together,” Sunday at 6 p.m. on KCET Channel 28. It’s an upbeat documentary profiling some young people who don’t think the nation’s ills are incurable; they’re making a difference now.

“Cosby” kid Malcolm-Jamal Warner is the host, while celebs such as Kathy Lee Gifford, Matt Frewer, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Phylicia Rashad contribute advisory sound bites. But mostly it’s the young people who speak. Among them:

* High schoolers in an affluent Washington town who organized a community recycling program, solicit contributions weekly for the local food bank and spend Saturdays playing with children at a homeless shelter.

* Members of Los Angeles’ anti-gang “Clean and Green” program, who remove graffiti, clean up streets and plant trees.

* African-American, white, Asian and Latino children who play together in a Dorchester, Mass., sports program designed to alleviate racial tensions.

* Arizona high school students who, along with teens from around the country, are working directly with the National Park Service to create a Free Speech Museum to honor First Amendment rights.

There are other examples in this low-key presentation, each a lesson in reaching out. As a fellow viewer, age 13, said, “Why don’t they show this in every school? Then, all kids will know they can help and make choices that make a difference.”