The Song Sung Blue Film Review: A Musical Homage Act Receives a Heartwarming Boost from Hollywood Courtesy of Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson
This film presents a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable real-life tale from the heartland of the American entertainment world; a lovable crowdpleaser with its uplifting tone won’t prepare you for the way the plot repeatedly and savagely twists similar to a precarious carnival attraction. Personally, I found my eyes closed with my jaw agape during several crucial moments, while clutching the chair ahead with both fists.
The Unbelievable True Tale
The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, terrifically played by Jackman and Hudson, were spouses from Milwaukee with kids from prior unions who in the 90s formed a kitschy homage performance to Neil Diamond called Lightning and Thunder; they grew into an underground sensation within their state and even opened for Pearl Jam, whose guitarist Eddie Vedder good-naturedly joined them during their performance for an encore.
However, life was far from simple for the pair, and this movie contemplates the difficulty that arises when the lightning of ill fortune hits repeatedly.
Adapting a Real Story
It is in fact adapted from an existing documentary bearing the identical name created in 2008 by Greg Kohs concerning this surreal reality, a film that was heavily reliant on the couple’s family archive of homemade recordings. It’s fair to say that the documentary puts more emphasis on the delusional and absurd aspects in the lives of Mike and Claire.
Yet this is not the approach taken by this movie from writer-director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. He, Jackman and Hudson transform the mockery into shared amusement. Jackman delivers a masterful performance portraying a Neil Diamond tribute artist, vocalizing in a remarkably similar manner, and looking almost like him. He’s perfectly plausible as someone who isn’t supposed to be the major leagues but who clearly has the chops (and the pipes) to carry a show.
Standout Performances
Hudson likewise shines, doing her own singing as Claire, who before she joined Mike in the Neil Diamond tribute world enjoyed a successful career as Patsy Cline. She is shown powerfully singing Cline's songs, even though one particular iconic Cline tune is curiously omitted from this movie.
Actor Michael Imperioli portrays a Buddy Holly impersonator called Mark, while Mustafa Shakir appears as a James Brown performer called Sex Machine. The role of Claire's teenage daughter Rachel is played by Ella Anderson, and King Princess is Mike's daughter Angelina who is around the same age – and their burgeoning friendship is another underplayed aspect of the film’s likability.
The Heart of the Story
Irony and satire have been surgically removed from the account of Mike and Claire's dramatically packed life stories, and replacing them Brewer installs those attributes which the pair personally would have been aware of: the fragility and isolation of trying to make it on the fringes of the music business, or for that matter succeeding in any field and in any business.
It is a tale of relentless perseverance and its bright hopefulness renders it a calorific Christmas treat.
Song Sung Blue is out on 25 December in the US and 1 January in Australia and the United Kingdom.
