Song Sung Blue is the newest biopic featuring stars based on a documentary (Greg Kohs’s 2008 documentary of the same name), but it feels like it didn’t need the Hollywood spin. It tells the true story of Mike and Claire Sardina, a Milwaukee couple who found success as the Neil Diamond tribute band “Lightning & Thunder” despite (many) personal struggles. The problem is, these personal struggles aren’t 100% accurate in the film adaptation of their life.
Song Sung Blue feels the need to dramatize the Sardinas’s life even more, taking away from the real-life story of overcoming adversity to follow your dreams. The result is an over-the-top drama that feels unrealistic and hard to follow.
Kate Hudson shines as Claire, both in her performances (first as a Patsy Cline impersonator and later as ‘Thunder’) and in her more subtle moments, and Hugh Jackman effortlessly embodies Mike as he impersonates (sorry — interprets) Neil Diamond. The songs are truly great and entertaining to watch, but tonally, the long scenes of their concerts don’t match the tragedy that blankets most of the other scenes. Rather than holding these two parts of the Sardinas’s lives in tension, the film gives the audience emotional whiplash as it tries to show the joys of performing alongside the heaviness of life.
Director Craig Brewer struggles to find a throughline to focus on, a problem many biopics struggle with, but which doesn’t excuse it. He doesn’t seem confident committing to creating a rom-com, musical, or drama, instead dramatically shifting between tones from scene to scene. The result is that we don’t get enough of any single genre to delve deeply or create a cohesive film. Brewer attempts to end the film on a high note—albeit somewhat implausibly—implying that the characters are once again happy despite their extreme trauma. However, the viewer will likely leave the film feeling sad and uncomfortable, while “Crunchy Granola Suite” tries to convince you that you’re happy.
The film’s saving grace, funnily enough, isn’t the star-studded headliners, but the three somewhat unknown actors playing the couple’s children. King Princess makes her acting debut as Mike’s daughter, Angelina, bringing an excellent performance in her minimal scenes. Claire’s youngest kid, Dayna, a young boy still coming into his own, is played by Hudson Henley, who embodies both the timidness of a young boy and his confidence as he takes on more responsibility. But the genuine star of the film is Ella Anderson as Claire’s oldest child, Rachel. Anderson brings a depth to every scene that grounds the film in both its fun moments and the more intense ones. Without her, the film very well could have morphed into a cheesy made-for-TV drama.
Unfortunately, Song Sung Blue isn’t the feel-good Christmas movie it’s marketed as, nor is it the shameless Oscar bait that, while not subtle in its intentions, is still entertaining to watch. If you want “Sweet Caroline” stuck in your head for the next few days, this may be the film for you; otherwise, I’d steer clear.
