Wanna hear “Sweet Caroline?” Wanna hear it again? A person gets quite a few opportunities with this flick.
That’s because the main characters of this film make up a Neil Diamond cover band who gained popularity in the Midwest. The film first introduces Mike Sardina, played by Hugh Jackman, as a recovering alcoholic and struggling cover artist. During one event, he meets Claire (Kate Hudson), another performer who has aspirations in music gigs.
The two hit it off not only personally, but also professionally, becoming known as Lightning and Thunder. Together, they find success covering various hits, including “Sweet Caroline.” However, the good times also come with their fair share of challenges for the couple and their family.
A 2008 documentary of the same name was the inspiration for this movie and judging by the trailer of that film, it probably pulled off the telling of this story better. Looking at bits of the documentary, you get the pure, raw emotion and lived experience of the people it followed. That’s unfortunately not quite the case with this 2025 movie.
“Song Sung Blue” feels ‘Hollywoodized,’ in that what unfolds in terms of character arcs, dramatic moments and emotional outbursts feel manufactured with a Tinseltown sheen. Yes, many of the things that happen in the movie did in fact happen in real life. However, the way it’s portrayed lacks an authenticity.
The picture relies on a rather generic musical biopic structure, while its moments of levity, romance and conflict come across as cliched. It’s rather disappointing, too, as director Craig Brewer helmed the fantastic biopic “Dolemite is My Name” in 2019, though that was a creative effort with Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski.
Here, Brewer wrote and directed, and the effort just fails to resonate. The film has a rather standard look to it as well. One wishes there were aspects here to break up the formula, both narratively and stylistically. There have been strong examples in recent years of doing so with true stories, such as 2017’s “I, Tonya,” which incorporated mockumentary-like scenes and surreal moments.
There are also quite a few major things that feel glossed over here. For example, early in the movie the film introduces Claire’s rather judgmental mother, Frances, and then she practically disappears from the movie. There’s also a huge life changing event for one of the characters, and how/why it happened is never explained.
As for the acting, Hugh Jackman delivers one of his weaker performances to date. He’s never really convincing as the aging rocker, it always just feels like Jackman in dress-up. It’s too bad because we know from the likes of 2013’s “Prisoners” that Jackman can be phenomenal on screen.
Hudson does fair better as Claire, putting in one of the more dramatic performances of her career. The character goes through some rough patches in the movie, and Hudson does a solid job in those explosive sequences. The supporting cast, with the likes of Jim Belushi and Michael Imperioli is fine, too.
Still, the film just has a lot working against it. Sure, it’s a movie that, at its core, is trying to tell a story with some natural melodrama, but there’s nothing here that elevates the material to something better. The filmmaking and one of the lead performances is simply weak. Hudson and a few genuinely heart-felt moments help somewhat, so it’s a 2.25 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 