Film Review: Song Sung Blue 藍色情歌 (2025) - USA
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critic Circle of Australia)
I rated it 8.5/10
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
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A Hallelujah for the Dreamers Who Never Made the Big Time - Director Craig Brewer’s “Song Sung Blue” arrives not with the bombast of a stadium tour, but with the flickering neon glow and slightly frayed sequins of a midwestern lounge act. It tells the true story – or rather, a truth inspired by truth, as all great bio-dramas must be – of Mike and Claire Sardina, the Milwaukee couple who found love, solace, and a precarious livelihood as “Lightning & Thunder,” a Neil Diamond tribute act. This isn’t a film about reaching the pinnacle; it’s about finding meaning, and music, somewhere in the middle, and Brewer crafts it with a soulfulness that avoids condescension and lands squarely in the realm of deeply moving human drama. By the final chords, you realize you haven’t just been watching a movie about fandom; you’ve become a fan of Mike and Claire Sardina yourself.
The film’s radiant core is its performances. Hugh Jackman, shedding Wolverine's adamantium and the slick veneer of a Broadway star, vanishes into Mike "Lightning" Sardina. This isn't mimicry; it's possession. Jackman captures the desperate, almost childlike need in Mike – the need to be Neil Diamond not as a joke, but as a lifeline, a suit of armor against a world that hasn’t offered him much else. There’s a wide-eyed sincerity in his performance, a palpable yearning that transcends the kitsch. Opposite him, Kate Hudson delivers what might be a career-best performance as Claire "Thunder" Sardina. She is the grounded force, the emotional anchor who prevents Mike’s flights of fancy (and later, self-destruction) from capsizing their fragile ship. Hudson radiates a fierce, protective love and a quiet resilience that holds the film’s heart steady. Crucially, both actors sing. Not with studio-perfect sheen, but with the raw, occasionally wobbly, utterly real passion of performers working a Tuesday night crowd at the VFW. This authenticity elevates every "Sweet Caroline" and "Forever in Blue Jeans" from mere cover song to emotional lifeline.
Brewer, who understands the poetry of regional American music like few others (remember the profound dignity he granted DJay in “Hustle & Flow”?), directs with immense respect. He avoids the cheap shot, the easy laugh at the expense of tribute artists or their modest venues. The dive bars, the county fair stages, the bowling alleys – Brewer films them not as pathetic backdrops, but as sacred spaces. The flickering neon, the cheap glitter on Mike’s shirts, the earnest faces in the crowd bathed in the stage lights – cinematographer Eric Steelberg finds genuine beauty here, treating these moments with the reverence Scorsese might grant a sold-out arena. Brewer understands that for Mike and Claire, *this* is their Madison Square Garden. The tone masterfully walks a tightrope: celebratory without being mocking, heartbreaking without succumbing to melodrama.
The narrative, drawn from Greg Kohs' documentary, follows a familiar underdog arc.** We soar with their regional successes, the joy of shared performance, the simple triumph of paying the bills doing what they love. Then, inevitably, the cracks appear – Mike’s battle with the bottle, the physical toll of performance and accident, the crushing weight of dreams deferred. Yes, the second act leans into well-worn biopic territory concerning addiction. Yet, the sheer, unvarnished earnestness of Jackman and Hudson’s performances, coupled with Brewer’s refusal to sensationalize, keeps it feeling vital, not formulaic. This is ultimately a film about the stubborn resilience of love and the undeniable, restorative power of music shared.
Speaking of music, the use of Neil Diamond’s iconic catalog is inspired. This isn't a lazy jukebox musical. Songs like "Song Sung Blue" or "Hello Again" aren't just played; they function. They become the characters' inner monologues, expressing hope, fear, devotion, and despair in ways dialogue alone could never achieve. The soundtrack breathes with the film.
“Song Sung Blue” is a rare bird in today's cinematic landscape: a mid-budget film driven by character and performance, unafraid of sentiment but utterly devoid of schmaltz. It’s a bittersweet hymn, a "hallelujah" not for the superstars, but for the countless dreamers whose stage might be small, but whose hearts are full. It finds profound beauty in the struggle, the shared spotlight, the simple act of singing your heart out beside the one you love. Kate Hudson’s Golden Globe and Oscars nominated turn is indeed worth the price of admission, but the true reward is the lingering, warm ache of having spent time with Mike and Claire. Here is a film that believes in the dignity of small dreams, and makes you believe in them too. (Neo, 2026)
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