FILM REVIEW
SONG SUNG BLUE
Rated PG-13
133 Minutes
Released December 25th
This is not the light-hearted sing-along movie I thought it would be. It packs an emotional punch and reverberates with rock-hard honesty. It’s about the lives, struggles, triumphs, joys, and tragedies of a couple who discover each other’s talent and become inseparable partners doing what they love together. Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson play “Lightning & Thunder,” a singing tribute band to Neil Diamond.
The film is based on a 2018 documentary of the same title by Greg Kohs that featured the real “Lightning & Thunder” act, Michael and Claire Sardina. Kohs had been a fan of the act and came to Milwaukee to see if he could find them again. He discovered they were planning their comeback after being forced to take a hiatus by unexpected difficulties.
Greg and his crew followed the singers around for months, and the resulting documentary is said to be an excellent work. Eddie Vedder appears in both the documentary and the new theatrical release – his part of the story is real. The real Mike Sardina was a Marine vet who had served in Vietnam and worked as a mechanic and handyman by day. By night, they played guitar and sang in local clubs. He met Claire Stingl, a Patsy Cline impersonator, and soon they formed their duo.
In an in-person panel following my screening of the theatrical film, director Craig Brewer, along with Jackman and Hudson, discussed the extent to which they worked to keep the story real. After the movie was shot, Jackman and Hudson got together with Neil Diamond in Colorado.
Diamond was honored that his career and music was the inspiration for Lightning & Thunder, and they laughed about how Diamond turned on his karaoke machine, and they all jammed together. Hudson noted that an artist must do their art every day to feel whole.
Hugh Jackman’s “Mike” is an extremely complex, intense, caring man whose ultimate passion is singing. Jackman deftly navigates the mental anguish, pent-up frustration, car,e and passion that drives this character. Jackman keeps it real, always feeling the fine-tuning of each emotion. His vocal interpretations, because of his supreme skill as a singer, seem completely believable as Mike but in the quality of Neil Diamond’s voice. Jackman is already a legendary star. Born in Australia to English parents as the youngest of 5, his family was broken up when he was just 8 years old, his mom moving back to England with his sisters, and his dad staying in Australia with him and his 2 brothers.
He earned a degree in journalism, but in his last year of university, he took a drama course. As he describes the experience, “I felt more at home with those people than I did the entire three years (of university).” Now a legendary triple threat actor/dancer/singer on Broadway and in television and film, Jackman has won an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony. It’s our gift as his audience that he changed his career course.
Kate Hudson does an amazing job as “Claire,” the mom and singer. Her vocals are haunting, as if she’s been singing in clubs for years. Though better known as a prolific actress, Hudson has always been a musician and recently finished her first album. She seems to innately feel the tragic losses that Claire endured. Despite growing up the daughter of Goldie Hawn and stepdad Kurt Russell, graduating from Crossroads in Santa Monica, and performing as a teen at the Santa Monica Playhouse, Hudson’s life has not been a bed of roses.
She has dealt with cataracts, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and dyslexia. She has experienced her own tragedy, losing a toddler daughter to cancer. She is now an advocate for mental health through her Mind Up Foundation. Jackman saw a clip of Hudson being interviewed for her new album, in which she said she needed to be singing and writing music, that she felt she had been a musician her whole life, and never made it her reality. He said, “Well, she obviously needs to be Claire.”
The story in this movie is authentic and has its fill of both comedy and tragedy as it follows the real lives of Mike and Claire. The narrative flows with a rhythm, and the story’s range of emotions keeps you riveted to the screen. You will come to love these people as they follow their hearts and their passion for their music.
Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com
