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The Oscar-nominated Song Sung Blue is based on the story of Mike and Claire Sardina, a Neil Diamond tribute duo who were a popular touring act in the 1990s and early 2000s. They called themselves “Lightning and Thunder” and were previously the subject of a 2008 documentary of the same name. Hopefully the documentary is better than the fictionalized account. While Song Sung Blue starts off strong as Mike (Hugh Jackman), a recovering alcoholic and struggling musician, teams with Patsy Cline tribute performer Claire (Oscar-nominated Kate Hudson), it devolves into depressing melodrama.
What’s worse, despite the admirable efforts by Jackman and Hudson (both of whom do their own singing), the characters of Mike and Claire are neither endearing nor interesting. Fans of Neil Diamond will no doubt revel in the music. In fact, the spirited performances by the duo are easily the highlights of the movie. But once Mike’s heart issues and Claire’s life-altering car accident take center stage, the fun stops and the movie turns into a spirit-crushing slog (at 132 minutes, overlong by at least half an hour).
Writer-director Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow) has crafted a low-rent, working-class A Star is Born. They’re kinda-sorta the same movie, with Brewer seemingly taking his cues from the 2018 Bradley Cooper movie. That film also soared whenever its stars, Cooper and Lady Gaga, were on stage singing their hearts out. Both films delve into the challenges and heartache surrounding substance abuse. They also share a similar narrative problem: We never really get to know what makes the central characters tick. But there’s one big difference: Cooper’s Jack Maine and Gaga’s Ally Campana are talented artists who create original music.
Serious question: How do you feel about tribute acts? Early in Song Sung Blue, Claire eases Mike’s concerns about their act by assuring him he’s a Neil Diamond “interpreter,” as opposed to a mere imitator. But is he? The “Lightning and Thunder” show, apart from its innovation of turning Diamond’s music into a duet showcase, still involves costumes and rigorous adherence to the songs’ original arrangements. There’s a huge difference between truly interpreting another artist’s music and simply trying to duplicate it. Mike sure loves Diamond’s music, but his competent, energetic covers don’t deepen him as a character or as an artist (if you can even call him that).
Come to think of it, the fascinating career and artistry of Neil Diamond are what actually deserve a biopic. If not for his indelible pop classics, perpetually slighted by music critics but evergreen standards for millions of fans, Song Sung Blue would just be the story of a man in dangerous denial of a serious heart condition and a woman struggling with recovery from a devastating injury. That’s not to say those elements can’t be the basis for an engrossing drama. But rather than probe deeper, Song Sung Blue just wants us to smile and sing through the pain.
Now available on Blu-ray from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, the Song Sung Blue collector’s edition includes a variety of interesting supplements. In addition to writer-director Craig Brewer’s audio commentary, there are three featurettes (“One Plus One Equals Three” has interviews with stars Jackman and Hudson, “Lightning in the Bottle” finds Brewer expanding on the film’s development, and “Eye For Style” focuses on the costumes). Most fun, because they spotlight the engaging music, are the extended performances of “Crunchy Granola Suite” and “Sweet Caroline.”
