“Song Sung Blue” is feature film about a Milwaukee couple, Mike and Claire Sardina, who formed a popular Neil Diamond tribute act (Lightning and Thunder) back in the late 1980s.
It’s based on a true story that was the subject of a 2008 documentary film, also titled “Song Sung Blue,” directed by Greg Kohs.
Writer/director Craig Brewer reached out to Kohs to collaborate on a feature film adaptation of the story. The movie co-stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.
It opens with an extreme close-up of Mike Sardina introducing himself to the camera. Cutting to a wider shot, we discover that he is at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Besides being a recovering alcoholic, he’s a guy with a bad ticker who had been through a messy divorce that has distanced him from his teenage daughter, Angelina.
Music is Mike’s salvation. While playing in a tribute band show, he stumbles upon Claire, a single mom, struggling to raise her son and daughter while working in a hair salon. She performs Patsy Cline songs to keep her spirits up. She and Mike are lost souls and star-crossed lovers.
Their mutual attraction is instantaneous and powerful. They quickly hatch a plan for Mike to do a heartfelt tribute to his idol, Neil Diamond, with Claire playing keyboards and singing backup. Their lives light up. They do some garage band rehearsing with a few musician friends and enthusiastically launch their promising career.
It’s a rocky start, beginning with a Blues Brothers-type experience, when they are mistakenly booked in a biker joint, a gig that culminates with beer bottles hurled at the stage and a bloody nose for the tour bus driver. Undaunted, they follow their dream, which takes a giant leap when they get a call out of the blue from grunge superstar Eddie Vedder to open for a Pearl Jam show.
What follows is an enchanted Magical Mystery Tour of joyous music as their loyal fan base grows. It’s an exhilarating experience for Mike and Claire, professionally, personally and romantically.
Tragically, it all comes to a shocking end one day when a car careens into their front yard, hitting and seriously injuring Claire. The incident actually happened in real life. It is alluded to in the movie trailers.
What follows is a heart-wrenching story about Mike, Claire and their children trying to cope with the aftermath of a life-altering experience. It is a long, painful climb back to anything resembling their normal life.
While “Song Sung Blue” might not seem like a Christmas movie, it’s a great movie for the holiday season. There are some scattered holiday references including Neil Diamond’s Christmas collection, but what qualifies it as a holiday movie is the overall message, which is genuinely heartwarming despite the heartbreak and loss.
It’s a movie that sparkles and shines thanks to the onscreen chemistry between Jackman and Hudson. They turn in career-topping performances elevated by a strong supporting cast. Their remarkable vocal tracks alone are worth the price of admission.
“Song Sung Blue” is based on an incredible story. Granted, it may have been compressed and embellished, but that’s what happens when filmmakers crunch lives and experiences into two hours of run time that needs to be entertaining enough to sell movie tickets. Welcome to Hollywood.
Watch: SONG SUNG BLUE - Official Trailer
To its credit, the movie is never over the top. It’s a worthy addition to a recent list of movies that have celebrated the lives of pop stars like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Elton John and Freddie Mercury, to name just a few.
The distinction here is that “Song Sung Blue” isn’t a movie about Neil Diamond. It’s about his music, which has sold over 130 million albums, and constitutes the spiritual center of the story. Here, as it has for decades, Diamond’s music reaches out and touches everyone. His song “Sweet Caroline” probably says it best.
This Christmas, if you’re not in the mood for epic, 3-D fantasy escapism (“Avatar: Fire and Ash”), a snake-infested comedy trip up the Amazon (“Anaconda”) or the antics of a hyperactive cartoon sponge (“The Sponge Bob Movie: Search for SquarePants”), you might consider a jubilant, feel-good movie packed with classic pop songs and a timeless message about the power of friendship, love and music.
DREW’S TAKE:
Hugh Jackman stars in a Christmas release teaming up with Kate Hudson in the deeply emotional and highly entertaining movie, “Song Sung Blue.”
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