Song Sung Blue Review: An Musical Homage Act Gets a Sweet Treat from Hollywood Courtesy of Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson
This film presents a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable real-life tale from the heartland of American showbusiness; an endearing hit with its uplifting tone does little to warn you for how the narrative frequently and brutally turns like an unsafe fairground ride. I actually had my eyes closed and mouth open at certain key points, while clutching the chair ahead tightly with my hands.
The Stranger-Than-Fiction Story
The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, terrifically played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were spouses from Milwaukee with kids from prior unions that during the 1990s created a cheesy homage performance to Neil Diamond called Lightning and Thunder; they grew into a cult hit in their home state and even performed before 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 the difficulty that arises when misfortune's bolt hits repeatedly.
Adapting a Real Story
It is in fact adapted from a prior documentary film bearing the identical name created in 2008 from filmmaker Greg Kohs about this stranger-than-fiction world, a movie that relied heavily reliant on the couple’s family archive of homemade recordings. One could argue that the original documentary puts more emphasis on the delusional and absurd aspects of Mike and Claire’s life.
Yet this is not the approach this film from director Craig Brewer reimagines their tale. He, Jackman and Hudson transform the mockery into laugh-with. Jackman delivers a masterful performance as a Neil Diamond impersonator, vocalizing in a remarkably similar manner, and looking almost like him. He is entirely believable as someone who isn’t supposed to be the major leagues but who clearly has the chops (and the pipes) to headline a performance.
Notable Acting
Hudson likewise shines, doing her own singing in the role of Claire, who before she joined Mike in the world of Neil Diamond homage had a thriving act as Patsy Cline. She is shown belting out Cline numbers, although there is one Cline standard is curiously omitted from this movie.
Actor Michael Imperioli portrays a Buddy Holly tribute artist named Mark, while Mustafa Shakir appears as a James Brown performer known as Sex Machine. The role of Claire’s teen daughter Rachel, and King Princess is Mike's daughter Angelina who is around the same age – and their burgeoning friendship is another underplayed aspect contributing to the movie's charm.
The Core Narrative
Irony and satire have been meticulously excised from Mike and Claire’s heart-stoppingly eventful life stories, and replacing them Brewer substitutes those qualities that the couple themselves 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 never-say-die story and its bright hopefulness makes it a calorific Christmas treat.
Song Sung Blue is out on 25 December in the US and 1 January in Australia and the UK.
