Craig Brewer is a director who has made a name for himself, making films with an urban background to them. One of those films was “Hustle & Flow” from 2005. It won the audience award at the Sundance Film Festival and a song from the movie won the Academy Award for Best song “It’s Hard Out Here For A Bimp”. Music has played a big part in the movies he’s chosen to make. None so much as his latest film, though “Song Sung Blue”. It’s not exactly the same as most of his previous movies but nonetheless is equally emotional. It definitely pulls at the heartstrings. And the music of Neil Diamond will have you singing along.

Mike “Lightning” Sardina (Hugh Jackman) is a mechanic by day and a traveling cover artist/performer  by night in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. He performs at fairs, casinos, churches, and restaurants. When he decides to quit his gig as Don Ho, he notices a woman, Claire Cartright (Kate Hudson), who’s playing Patsy Kline, and they become friends. With their love of music and performing, they decided to form a cover band. They name their band “Lightning and Thunder”. They fall in love and join forces in matrimony, and their partnership is off and running. That is before a tragic accident derails their promising cover careers.

Hugh Jackman is a widely known song and dance man. He’s won Tony Awards for “Oklahoma” and has had huge musical hits in theaters “The Greatest Showman”. He even started his own one man show, which I’ve attended and loved. He’s a modern-day Fred Astaire of James Cagney. We, as film fans, don’t have many actors like him anymore. His past on the stage and singing has prepared him for his latest role as a down on his luck lounge singer. His character is a recovering alcoholic and that resonated with me quite a bit. The singing of Neil Diamond songs is right up my alley.  I am a huge fan of Diamonds work. Especially one of my fans “Sweet Caroline” which plays during the 7th inning stretch of my beloved Red Sox home games. Jackman became this man I didn’t know anything about, but by the end of the movie, I cared about immensely. Jackman continues to amaze me with each subsequent role he takes. His singing here was amazing. Along with his performance opposite Hudson. 

Kate Hudson is an actress from a famous family. Her father is Bill Hudson, and her mother is Goldie Hawn. She played a character called Penny Lane in “Almost Famous”. A film that is music adjacent. She has experience singing as well with an album to her credit. So, playing a woman who sings as other people and does cover songs is right up her alley. The dramatic scenes are the ones that took me by surprise. I always took her as a romcom actress, but now, with this role, she has become a full-fledged dramatic actress. Her character goes through quite an emotional roller-coaster in this film. She is the heart of the story, though. As she has her ups and downs, she realizes what’s important in her life. Her love of her husband and their career as performers means more to her than she ever realized. Having a family who loved and cared for her meant the world to her. The music was just a result of that love from her husband and family. Hudson is fantastic in this role. Her and Jackman are great opposites. Their singing is terrific. I wish I had seen them perform. 

I’m a sucker for a good biopic. Especially one that involves music like this movie does. The musical performances are very entertaining in this film. The hair and costumes as well as all of Neil Diamond’s song like “Holly Holy” “Cracklin Rosie” “Flower In Blue Jeans” I Am…I Said” and “Sooliamans/Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show” as well as “Sweet Caroline” and the title song “Song Sung Blue were realized in a fantastic way. I felt like I  was in the 80s watching this couple perform on stage. Covering great artists like Neil Diamond can be a challenge for most performers but not for Jackman. He owned these songs. Together, he and Hudson made me enjoy their concerts wherever they were. I felt the energy. Even though these people weren’t big-time singers like Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen, who have had biopics in recent years, their story was equally profoundly enjoyable. 

There is a supporting cast that is full of terrific actors. Jim Belushi, Michael Imperioli, Mustafa Shakir, and Fisher Stevens were terrific in their respective roles. One actress I want to single out in a supporting role is Ella Anderson. She plays Hudson’s character’s daughter. He does a lot of the heavy lifting regarding driving the plot forward. Her character plays a key role in the connection between the Hudson and Jackman characters. She does some amazing work in some key emotional scenes. The film doesn’t work as well without her. She is like a glue that ties everything together. She’s a revelation in this role. I’ve seen her in a few things like “Suncoast” and “The Glass Castle” but none of those performances are as good as this one. She’s an actress to look for in the future. 

“Song Sung Blue” is an emotional story based on real people. This film showed me how love and music can help overcome tremendous odds. The relationship between these two people, as performed by Jackman and Hudson, was very evident. Their performances were electric. As a fan of Neil Diamond, I was on board with this story from the beginning. The music had me from the beginning. The performances by the entire cast were fantastic, especially from the two leads, Jackman, Hudson, and Anderson. Brewer knows how to wrap an emotional narrative around good music &  performances. This is going to be an underrated hit this holiday season. I’m sure of it. I was an emotional wreck while watching this movie because it was that good and made me feel.

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen