Words by JANE CROWTHER
The warmth of the real-life story of the Neil Diamond tribute band, Lightning & Thunder (aka Mike and Claire Sardina), gets a jukebox sorta-musical treatment in this sentimental fable of second chances, perseverance and hope. After the challenging year we’ve had with 2025, ringing in ’26 with a bit of ‘Sweet Caroline’ and human kindness might be just the ticket.
For those who didn’t catch the 2008 documentary of the same name, the Sardinas found each other on the Milwaukee tribute circuit, two people who had already been through the ringer but who lived in optimism and joy. We first meet single dad Mike (Hugh Jackman in an alarming wig) as he strums his Neil Diamond anthem at an AA meeting, perennially grateful to have survived the military and alcoholism but still looking for a happily ever after. Mike steps on stage as ‘Lightning’, not exactly a Diamond impersonator, more of a channeller of the songwriter’s music. That’s not a niche that’s working out for him until he meets single mom, Claire (Kate Hudson in an alarming mullet) who does a mean Patsy Cline impression. Sparks fly, music is played and the duo blend their talents, families and possessions as a unique double-act, both on and off stage.
This should be the second act both players have been hoping for – complete with benediction from Pearl Jam (yes, really) and sell-out shows – but disaster strikes. How unconditional love, resolve and Diamond’s choice back catalogue sustain a family through dark times is how Song Sung Blue earns its emotional resonance. Jackman can of course sing and emote to tear-inducing levels, but twinned with Hudson’s bubbly persona and a bleak narrative arc, he’s perhaps the best he’s ever been in this genre. He embodies optimism, even when it’s hard to find, and his lusty renditions of ‘Forever in Blue Jeans’, ‘Crunchy Granola Suite’ and Diamond’s bonkers ‘Soolaimon’ are a cinematic euphoria shot. Hudson meets him musically and emotionally, delivering a weepie solo of ‘I’ve Been This Way Before’ in a button-pushing moment that is played tonally – like the rest of the movie – with such sweet sincerity that cynicism struggles to have a place.
If that sounds cheesy it’s because it is. Song Sung Blue (written and directed by Craig Brewer) unapologetically embraces dreamers, rhinestones and yes, the healing power of a banger tune; offering a chorus line of nice, earnest people just struggling to get by. There’s no worldwide fame or cash windfall at stake here; this is a film about the elation of being your true authentic self, of finding your tribe, of getting up when you’re knocked down. It’s a portrait of a small but good life, and the love that sustained it. Sweet, feel-good and positive, it also reminds audiences of how many Diamond songs are on the cultural hard drive. You’ll be adding to your karaoke list post-watch…
Pictures courtesy of Focus Features/Universal Pictures
Song Sung Blue is in cinemas now
