SONG SUNG BLUE
(Check out Chris Reed’s Song Sung Blue movie review! It’s in theaters now! Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.)
The new film Song Sung Blue is based on the real-life story of Mike and Claire Sardina, whose tale was previously recounted in a 2008 documentary of the same title from director Greg Kohs. In this new, dramatized version, Hugh Jackman (Deadpool & Wolverine) and Kate Hudson (Glass Onion) star as the married couple, with Craig Brewer (Coming 2 America) at the helm. A simultaneously inspiring and tragic tale (leavened with plenty of good humor), the film is also indirectly a searing indictment of the American healthcare system.
It is, as a result, perhaps an odd choice for a Christmas-day release, especially given a bleak second-act development and even bleaker conclusion. Still, the movie reminds us at every turn why life is worth living, and celebrates the power of love as it does so. The constant good will of the characters, even in the midst of well-motivated depression, proves infectious.
When we first meet them, Mike and Claire are each divorced from previous spouses, with children, making money on side gigs as musical impersonators. Mike, a Vietnam vet (the story starts in the 1990s), has struggled with alcoholism but is now sober. Every year on his soberversary, he sings Neil Diamond’s “Song Sung Blue” to his AA group, and if he can’t make it in person, records a video to send, instead.
One night, at a 1950s/1960s revival concert, Mike refuses to portray Don Ho as contracted, and though he angers the friend who hired him, meets Claire, who is doing Patsy Cline. They get to talking, then flirting, and before long come up with the idea to have Mike do covers of Neil Diamond songs, with Claire joining him. His stage moniker will be Thunder (an alter ego he has long employed), and hers will be Lightning.
After some missteps, they soon become a hit in their local Milwaukee scene, and also become a couple. Though Claire’s older child, a daughter, is skeptical of Mike at first, both she and her younger brother soon settle into the new situation, and Mike does not disappoint as a stepdad. All is going well, culminating in Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder calling to have Thunder & Lightning open for him.
And then things take a definitive turn for the worst, before ticking up again and then punching us in the gut one more time. Brewer adapts Song Sung Blue from events that actually happened, so there’s no way around the tragedies of recorded history, but the narrative trajectory still surprises. Fortunately, the overall takeaway is a positive exhortation to follow your passion. What we leave behind matters.
Still, if this country had a better healthcare system, where Americans were able to seek preventative care without fear of large fees, and then injury/illness care without worries about bankruptcy, some of what we see on screen might have gone differently. It’s a sad testament to how poorly we serve those most in need. Work hard, pay your taxes, and then suffer.
That aside, what resonates the most in Song Sung Blue, beyond the great performances from Jackman and Hudson (her, especially), are the supporting cast and delightful versions of Diamond’s songbook. The playlist goes far beyond “Sweet Caroline” (which Mike tries to avoid as much as possible, insisting that there is so much more to Diamond than that particular earworm), showcasing the singer/songwriter’s impressive range. My favorite is “Play Me.” Whichever one is yours, lean into it and enjoy the many pleasures of this uneven, but thoroughly engaging movie.
– Christopher Llewellyn Reed (@ChrisReedFilm)
Focus Features; Craig Bewer; Song Sung Blue movie review
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