Review 767: Song Sung Blue

A joyous, upbeat, charming experience that coasts along the strength of its music and two lead performances, Song Sung Blue is a charming 

Based on the documentary Song Sung Blue by Greg Kohs, Mike Sardina (Hugh Jackman) & Claire Stingl (Kate Hudson) are two down-on-their-luck musicians who form a joyous Neil Diamond tribute band, through which they experience personal fulfilment and develop a romantic relationship. 

I must confess, I knew practically nothing about this story before seeing this film 

At its core, Song Sung Blue is a film about people shooting for the stars and getting there in their way through much perseverance, in essence it's a love story. Trying to get by, working two jobs whilst all the while harbouring their dream and desire to just play music and to entertain; it's a story where two people coming together makes magic. But it's also a story about hope & optimism and joy

Then the story, for a lack of a better term, hard right turns into some very challenging and troubling directions; after Claire's accident, everything was taken away from them in terms of their career. It was all gone and the central question becomes "Can a love story survive when your own individual dreams seem possibly for a moment to be gone?" And will it break them or will it make them. 

The movie is well made. Writer/director Craig Brewer (who gave us Hustle & Flow as well as the remake of Footloose)  the costumes are colourful, the production design is 

Music is a crucial part of Song Sung Blue 

Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson are splendid in this film play Mike & Claire Sardina, they have crackling chemistry   Together, they go on this journey to become a tribute band. There are a bunch of things that happen with Mike and Clair over the course of the film that's just wild and funny. He was lightening and she was thunder. This is a very codependent couple, they're incredibly inmeshed and it works for them. They were just two working class people living working class lives, trying to get by, working two to three jobs, doing whatever, all the while harbouring a dream and desire to just play music and entertain.        After going through this turbulent period in their life, really what they're happy with is just being there for each other. What was so fun about them, not just as a tribute band, but also as a double act, is that they just lean into who they are and make absolutely no apologies about it. They made their performances feel larger than life. 

Mike Sardina wasn't a singer/songwriter, he just wanted to entertain people. He didn't want to be a Neil Diamond impersonator, he wanted to be a Neil Diamond interpreter. He was a lover of music and a dreamer, but at the same time, he's a Vietnam veteran suffering from alcoholism  

Kate Hudson delivers a career best performance playing Claire Sardina, she clears out all of the negative. She powers over how hard her life is and is constantly moving forward with spirit. She and Mike live with this fire and vibrancy and this attitude of "everything's going to get better."

Ella Anderson and King Princess (the later in her film debut)