The Song Sung Blue Review: A Musical Homage Story Receives a Sweet Treat from Hollywood Courtesy of Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson
Here is a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable real-life tale emerging from the American entertainment world; a lovable crowdpleaser with its uplifting tone does little to warn you for the way the plot frequently and brutally turns like an unsafe fairground ride. I actually had my eyes closed with my jaw agape during several crucial moments, while clutching the seat in front of me with both fists.
The Unbelievable True Tale
The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, terrifically played by Jackman and Hudson, were spouses from Milwaukee who had children from previous relationships that during the 1990s formed a kitschy Neil Diamond tribute act named Lightning and Thunder; they grew into an underground sensation in their home state and even opened for Pearl Jam, with the band's guitarist Eddie Vedder amiably accompanied them on stage for an encore.
However, life was not easy for them, and this movie contemplates how tough it is 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 about this stranger-than-fiction world, a movie that relied heavily reliant on the family's personal collection of homemade recordings. It’s fair to say that the documentary puts more emphasis on the delusional and absurd aspects of Mike and Claire’s life.
But that’s not how taken by this movie from writer-director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. He, Jackman and Hudson transform the mockery into shared amusement. Jackman absolutely crushes it 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 in the big league but who undoubtedly possesses the talent (and the vocal cords) to carry a show.
Standout Performances
Hudson is also excellent, performing her own vocals as Claire, who prior to partnering with Mike in the Neil Diamond tribute world had a thriving act as Patsy Cline. The film depicts her belting out Cline numbers, even though one particular Cline standard that this film interestingly misses out.
Michael Imperioli plays a Buddy Holly impersonator called Mark, and Mustafa Shakir is a James Brown act known as 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 – with their developing friendship serving as another subtle element of the film’s likability.
The Core Narrative
Irony and satire have been meticulously excised from the account of Mike and Claire's heart-stoppingly eventful life stories, and in their place Brewer substitutes those attributes which the pair personally would have recognized: the vulnerability and loneliness of trying to make it in the margins of the music industry, or indeed making it anywhere and within any profession.
It is a tale of relentless perseverance and its cheerful optimism makes it a calorific Christmas treat.
The film "Song Sung Blue" releases on 25 December in the United States and 1 January in Australia and the United Kingdom.
