“Nostalgia sells,” says Patsy Cline impersonator Claire (Kate Hudson) to an exasperated Mike (Hugh Jackman) in Song Sung Blue. He had just refused to don a Don Ho getup at a paying gig. If it weren’t a film and the actors weren’t well-known, this would be the last scenario where any sparks might fly. In a striking dramatization of a true story, the duo come together, romantically and professionally, to become a hit among Milwaukee’s music lovers, who take Neil Diamond’s songs like a sweet pill. Beyond the onstage fireworks, the unbelievable love and family story of Lightning and Thunder takes shape in Craig Brewer’s musical melodrama.
If there’s a constant that gives the film its spine, it is icon Neil Diamond and his mesmerizing music. There’s always a story about how each of us discovers a talent like Diamond, especially in South Asia, where such encounters are rarely incidental. For me, it happened during a stray episode of The Big Bang Theory. If the man’s unique verve could unite a pair as unlikely as Howard and Amy, it could easily stir actual fireworks between Mike and Claire, who would go on to attain true stardom (albeit local) in the kinder, more welcoming decade of the 80s.
When we first meet Mike in Song Sung Blue, he’s already been through a lot. Once a tunnel rat in the Vietnam War, he is now in his twentieth year of sobriety following a staggering fight with alcoholism and PTSD. A single parent like him, Claire is a part-time hairdresser raising two children. When the couple comes together, she takes the new man in her life to meet her family. Like any bitter teenager, all her daughter Rachel says to him is, “Don’t spoil the couch,” a retort Mike probably didn’t mind. After all, he too has a daughter. In an unexpectedly sweet moment, Mike and Claire arrange an adult “playdate” for the girls. And they hit it off.
Song Sung Blue is no bed of roses for Milwaukee musicians. There is a rise to fame, and, as any artist’s biopic would show, a steep fall. A freak accident causes Claire to meet with a tragedy, a devastating blow for a stage performer, and something she takes a long time to recover from. When she finally does, we see the couple and their families come together as a fiercer unit.
Brewer sprinkles his narrative with stark realities such as medical insurance complexities, depression, teen pregnancy, and simple, basic parenting. Outside their home, as ‘Lightning and Thunder’, the couple offers a “Neil Diamond Experience”, not a mere impersonation. The film uses the word “interpreter”, and it is an arrangement that makes Diamond proud of them, too.
As a result, Brewer’s film is clearly a treat for those who grew up on the musician’s moving, sentimental songs. For others, Song Sung Blue, besides being a window into discovering some classics, stands tall as a biting family drama with its layers firmly in place.
Looking at Jackman, despite his long list of acclaimed films, the X-Men hangover hit me for a second. But the actor is an absolute banger as both Mike and Thunder. Plus, the most magical moments in Song Sung Blue, expectedly, are when the duo are on stage, singing and jiving, making me wish I had waited to catch it in a theatre.
Hudson, in an emotionally demanding part, is wonderful. You ache and cry with a woman who has lost so much. It’s amusing when she uses humour to lighten things for herself, for her family, and maybe for us too. This way, the actress makes Claire/Thunder one of the year’s finest characters in cinema.
Song Sung Blue recreates a bygone era with abundant creativity. From the production design to the costumes that capture the bling and the madness, the camera beautifully follows the couple through both celebration and pain. The film’s length, probably a decision to make it a true holiday fare, is a mild deterrent as it tends to overiterate a few things, although it isn’t something one must complain about. In Song Sung Blue, Brewer crafts a charming human saga that instantly prompts you to look up its real subjects and the documentary it’s based on. If fiction could pay a respectful and loving tribute to two icons, this film does so with authenticity and heart.
Verdict: ★★★★
Craig Brewer’s Song Sung Blue was watched on an FYC screener and will be released in theaters on December 25.
