Song Sung Blue Review: An Neil Diamond Tribute Story Receives a Heartwarming Boost from Hollywood Thanks to Jackman and Hudson
This film presents a startlingly strange, undeniably entertaining true-life story emerging from American showbusiness; a lovable crowdpleaser whose feelgood flavour won’t prepare you for how the plot frequently and brutally turns like an unsafe fairground ride. Personally, I found myself shutting my eyes with my jaw agape at certain key points, and was grabbing the seat in front of me with both fists.
The Unbelievable True Tale
The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, superbly portrayed by Jackman and Hudson, were a Milwaukee married couple with kids from previous relationships that during the 1990s formed a kitschy homage performance to Neil Diamond called Lightning and Thunder; they became a cult hit in their home state and even opened for Pearl Jam, with the band's guitarist Eddie Vedder good-naturedly joined them during their performance for an additional song.
But things were not easy for them, and this film broods on the difficulty that arises when misfortune's bolt hits repeatedly.
From Documentary to Drama
The film is actually based on a prior documentary film of the same title created in 2008 from filmmaker Greg Kohs concerning this surreal reality, a film that was heavily reliant on the family's personal collection of home video. It’s fair to say that the original documentary puts more emphasis on the delusional and absurd aspects in the lives of Mike and Claire.
Yet this is not the approach this film from writer-director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. He, Jackman and Hudson turn the laugh-at into laugh-with. Jackman absolutely crushes it portraying a Neil Diamond tribute artist, sounding almost like him, and looking almost like him. He is entirely believable as an individual not destined for in the big league but who clearly has the chops (and the pipes) to carry a show.
Standout Performances
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. The film depicts her powerfully singing Cline's songs, although there is one iconic Cline tune that this film interestingly misses out.
Actor Michael Imperioli portrays a Buddy Holly impersonator called Mark, while Mustafa Shakir appears as a James Brown act called Sex Machine. Ella Anderson plays Claire’s teen daughter Rachel, and King Princess portrays Mike's daughter Angelina who is around the same age – with their developing friendship is another underplayed aspect 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 experiences, and in their place Brewer substitutes those qualities that the couple themselves would have been aware of: the fragility and isolation of trying to make it in the margins of the music business, or for that matter succeeding in any field and within any profession.
It is a never-say-die story and its cheerful optimism renders it a calorific Christmas treat.
The film "Song Sung Blue" is out December 25th in the United States and 1 January in Australia and the UK.
