Song Sung Blue
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 2 hours 13 minutes
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson
Co-Writer/Director: Craig Brewer
Hugh Jackman’s new musical docudrama about a fondly remembered Milwaukee Neil Diamond tribute act from the 1990s could be a little shorter, the script could be a bit less maudlin, and the songs could be more seamlessly incorporated into the story.
But on the strength of knockout performances by Jackman and Kate Hudson, plus a fully committed ensemble – not to mention the diabolical earworm that is Diamond’s song catalog – Song Sung Blue will leave you humming “I’m a Believer.”
A direct line can be drawn between Song Sung Blue and Jackman’s last Christmastime film release, 2017’s The Greatest Showman, albeit a line that traverses the entire spectrum of show biz success from lavishly produced immortality to no-budget, let’s-put-on-a-show scrappiness. In that earlier film Jackman was P.T. Barnum, rising from poverty with dreams of a show biz career unmatched on the planet. Here, he’s Mike Sardina, by day a car mechanic, by night a two-bit Wisconsin State Fair singer who goes by the name of Lightning – and whose dream of glory extends no further than one day headlining at a Milwaukee area casino lounge.
On the State Fair stage, Mike meets Claire, a talented keyboardist and Patsy Cline imitator. The two hit it off – and not just because they’re both Forever in Blue Jeans: Claire offers to help Mike, who usually performs as himself, rebrand himself as a Neil Diamond tribute act. And just like that, this Solitary Man is making a Beautiful Noise with his new Heartlight.
Mike keeps the name Lightning. Claire becomes known as Thunder. And with this A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You philosophy, the two fashion a full-blown stage show, enlisting local musicians with whom Mike has worked over the years to create a mighty tight music ensemble. Before long, Lightning & Thunder – cracklin’ like Rosie and going down like a glass of Red Red Wine – are the tribute band that made Milwaukee famous.
Unspeakable tragedy ensues all too soon, with both Lightning and Thunder facing life-threatening challenges. There’s even a point where Love’s on the Rocks, and it looks like the pair’s marriage will be Done Too Soon. But love prevails, and – in this telling, anyway – Lightning & Thunder are rewarded with every tribute band’s dream: personal recognition by their real-life hero.
Jackman’s Mike is a bouncing bubble of enthusiasm with an easy laugh and a frequently choked-back sob. The star’s gigawatt smile is turned up to 11 here; his fine singing voice doesn’t really approximate Diamond’s gravelly baritone, but as Mike points out early on, this isn’t an imitation; it’s a tribute. Hudson has the more challenging role as Claire, providing endless support while navigating tough realities that exist only at the perimeter of Mike’s consciousness.
Excellent as the two stars are, it’s the large supporting cast that breathes life into the story, including longtime Scorsese and Spike Lee collaborator Michael Imperioli, Fisher Stevens (as Mike’s dentist/manager), Jim Belushi and, as the couple’s three kids, Ella Anderson, Hudson Hensley, and King Princess.
Co-writer/director Craig Brewer – who drew from Eddie Murphy a career-best performance in Dolomite is My Name – has a nice way of letting actors be themselves while also etching vivid characters. His loose director style works against him some here, as Brewer never seems quite ready to call it quits on a scene that has already wandered past one or two likely cutaways.
Still, Song Sung Blue deftly – perhaps shamelessly – toggles its audience between laughter and tears. It’s an irresistible story of appealing people making the most of what life has handed them.
Only in America. If You Know What I Mean.
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