Song Sung Blue

Hollywood has churned out a lot of music biopics in recent years (“Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Rocket Man”), and one great time capsule of a moment when an influential singer rocked the world (“A Complete Unknown”).  Now, director Craig Brewer (“Hustle and Flow,” “Dolemite Is My Name”) has churned out “Song Sung Blue,” which is not – repeat not – a biopic of Neil Diamond.  Instead, it is the story of the 1990s Neil Diamond tribute band Lightning & Thunder.  And no, Neil Diamond does not appear in “Song Sung Blue.”

The story

At the 1987 Wisconsin State Fair, Mike Sardina (Hugh Jackman) is part of a group of musical impersonators.  Others portray Buddy Holly, James Brown, Elvis Presley, and the like.  But Mike refuses to come on stage as his assigned singer, Don Ho.  So, he quits the gig just as he witnesses a fabulous Patsy Cline performance by a lady named Claire.  She’s played by Kate Hudson, who was so great in “Almost Famous,” but that was 25 years ago.  Mike and Clare “meet cute” following her gig and really hit it off back at her house when she suggests he channel his talent as a Neil Diamond impersonator.

But Mike can’t really “do” Neil Diamond in the traditional sense of a musician impersonator.  So, the two opt to form what they call a “Neil Diamond Experience,” in which they each sing some lead and some backing vocals in support of the other.  Mike looks and sounds somewhat like Neil Diamond, but their act is more a tribute than it is a replication.

Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman would seem to be the logical choice to play Neil Diamond.  He’s already proven his musical talent in “Les Miserables” and “The Greatest Showman.”  And he does look somewhat like Neil Diamond.  He handles Diamond’s voice admirably, but he really shines in his display of Diamond’s stage presence.  Diamond has always been a performer who comes alive in front of an audience.  Jackman captures that excitement perfectly.

Kate Hudson

But Kate Hudson is practically in a league of her own here.  Claire’s optimism and vibrancy is the ideal antidote to Mike’s more realistic (read “negative”) outlook on life.  With Kate, there is always a proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.  And Hudson’s spot-on Wisconsin accent makes her enthusiasm seem downright cute.  As with Jackman, Hudson has already proven she can sing; but her vocal work (as Patsy Cline and with the Lightning & Thunder band) is absolutely dynamite.  “Song Sung Blue” simply wouldn’t work nearly as well without Hudson.  And Jim Belushi, of all people, provides comic relief in the film’s funniest supporting performance.

Following some initial success, Mike and Claire get married and combine their families.  They each have an older teen daughter in that cynical, “my parents are so weird” phase, and Claire has a supportive younger teen son.  Some of the best scenes in “Song Sung Blue” take place between the teen daughters, as they share their opinions and views on their parents.  For such a happy, almost saccharine, set-up as Brewer’s original screenplay gives us, the daughters force us to see their parents’ relationship through a slightly more jaded lens.

A darker turn

And that’s the arrangement for what many Neil Diamond fans have been hoping for since he appeared in the semi-autobiographical film “The Jazz Singer” clear back in 1980.  But let’s stop there with the comparisons.  While “The Jazz Singer” was a true feel-good movie featuring many of Diamond’s most beloved material, “Song Sung Blue” takes a dark turn when Claire is hit by a car while gardening in the front yard.  Her rehabilitation results in what we are led to believe is an addiction to painkillers, which causes her to (a) hallucinate, and (b) lose interest in her life as a mother, singer, and performer.  Meanwhile, Mike – who is 20 years sober and still attending AA meetings – suffers from a heart condition that he doesn’t want to share with anyone.

Check-off list

If this film has one misstep, it’s that the screenplay begins to feel like the “check-off list” common to so many true stories.  In other words, first this happened; then this; then this.  That approach doomed the Whitney Houston biopic “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”  And Brewer starts down this road during the narrative’s heaviest moments.

Brewer manages to balance the weightier material with a light touch, but “Song Sung Blue” is never a walk in the park.  There is a gloomier component at play here.  That’s neither bad nor good, but we need to know that going in, to temper our expectations.  As might be expected, Claire is eventually able to recapture her spark, but “Song Sung Blue” does not necessarily provide the happy ending some viewers might be expecting.  Still, it’s always great to hear Diamond’s expansive repertoire, and these two are more than able to do it justice.

Go along for the ride

Because of the darker tone, “Song Sung Blue” is not as super-sweet as might be expected.  And in a way, that’s what saves it from being nothing more than a mere appreciation of Diamond’s music.  This is the true story of a Neil Diamond tribute band, fronted by a couple who went through some tough times.  Is it the year’s best?  No.  But I enjoyed going along for the ride, and I believe many others – particularly Diamond fans – will too.

 

 

 

 

 

Andy Ray‘s reviews also appear on https://townepost.com/tag/film-reviews/