Song Sung Blue (2025) - What I’ve Been Watching Lately, Part 2

 By Len Weiler

As I’ve been out of town a lot and/or otherwise engaged for several weeks, I haven’t gone out to the movies. But there are a bunch of films I meant to write about earlier that are worth telling you about, some of which I’ve seen again in the interim. Some have been nominated for Oscars or have already received othet awards.  All are now available for home viewing, so I think they’ll be of interest. This is the second of a series of several posts about such movies. To see Part 1, about Sentimental Value, click here. 

Three keys to why the new film Song Sung Blue is such a winning movie to watch are (a) the romantic, melodramatic  story, (b) the assured direction by Craig Brewer [Hustle and Flow (2005)] and especially (c) the strong, lovely acting of its two lead actors Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson. They play a middle aged  Milwaukee couple in the 1990s - Mike, an auto mechanic and recovering alcoholic, and Claire, a single mom  - musicians both, who gig around in various oldies shows (her specialty being a swell Patsy Cline impression). When they meet cute, fall for each other and pair up to form their own act, Lightning and Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute band, they become -  eventually (and surprisingly) - a local sensation.  

It seems a rather sappy proposition but it works!  Partly because we know it’s a poignant true story and partly because it’s done so exceptionally well. What really puts the story and the movie across is terrific acting: the two leads, Hudson in particular, are great; in fact, Hudson has been nominated for the best actress Oscar for her performance here.  Also terrific are the quirky but likeable ensemble around them.  There is also the palpable chemistry between the Jackman and Hudson, so realistic that  it reportedly created tension between Jackman and his wife. I was also surprised by the story arc in Song Sung Blue  especially the ups and downs of Mike and Claire’s life together which is  by turns uplifting and tragic, verging on the melodramatic except for the fact that, as I’ve said, it’s a true story.   

Neil Diamond was known initially as a prolific songwriter, having composed a number of tunes for  The Monkees [“I’m A Believer”] and others. His commercial success as a solo act came in the late 60’s and early 1970s, with songs like Sweet Caroline, Song Sung Blue, I Am…I Said, and Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon – material which was not at all “cool”, but got a lot of radio airplay in an era where top-40 radio was a big deal. His music was  “great, pretentious, goofy pop”, according to Rolling Stone’s Lester Bangs. His audience may not have been hip, but he sold an awful lot of records.     

Important note #1: You definitely do not have to love Neil Diamond’s music to enjoy this film. Myself, I’ve never been a fan, even though (or maybe because) Diamond rose to prominence in the mid-60s and early 1970s, when I was in my late teens and early twenties, and deeply into the heady countercultural music scene of those days. Definitely not Diamond’s milieu. But somehow the story and even the music sucked me in. 

Important note #2: The movie is not about Neil Diamond; in fact, he is not even a character in the movie. His music is featured less because of its merit than because of its nostalgic allure to his fans. So the performance of  his hit songs by Lightning and Thunder winds up being both adoring and campy. Jackman and Hudson perform both aspects well.

All in all, Song Sung Blue turns out to be a very beguiling, entertaining movie. And a heartwarming,  engaging one as well.

2 hours 12 minutes

Grade: B+

Now rentable at premium prices  ($19.99) on Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, and a few other pay-per-view platforms; it’s expected to start streaming on Peacock in mid-February.