January 6, 2026
FILM: SONG SUNG BLUE
DIRECTED BY: CRAIG BREWER
STARRING: HUGH JACKMAN, KATE HUDSON, ELLA ANDERSON
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I missed seeing this one before I made my list of Top Ten Favorite Films of 2025. It’s not that it would have made the final ten that I somewhat regret, but that I didn’t even give it a shot. I’d heard some mixed things about the movie, and it wasn’t getting the kind of attention other films were for major year-end awards, so it seemed less relevant for me. I’d also decided that I wasn’t that interested in seeing a film about Neil Diamond impersonators. I liked Diamond’s music, but he never made my annual Top Ten songs lists and some of his work in the late 1970s and early 80s often sounded too schmaltzy to me. What could this film offer?
Well, the answer is a lot. First off, it’s not a film about Neil Diamond but a couple who decide to make a career out of performing his songs. (There was a documentary made about the real-life couple in 2008 also called Song Sung Blue.) Hugh Jackman stars as Mike Sardina, a Wisconsin based entertainer who meets Claire, played by Kate Hudson. He wants to be himself on stage but needs to make a living. She has a great voice, wants to sing, be happy, and be loved. Because Mike bares something of a resemblance to Diamond and he has already been performing with other acts paying tribute to known artists such as Buddy Holly, Barbra Streisand, and Elvis, he determines Diamond is the right guy to “interpret.” Claire sounds a bit like Patsy Cline but neither of them consider themselves “impersonators.”
What seems to happen rather quickly on screen though is their ability to learn and perform the songs rather perfectly during rehearsal sessions in their garage (they marry rather soon too) which appear like scenes from The Partridge Family. These could come off as a bit kitschy, but Jackman and Hudson take these moments just as seriously as the real-life characters they play. Hudson has a great voice and Jackman, as we’ve seen in Broadway shows such as The Boy From Oz and movies like The Greatest Showman, is a slick but highly energetic entertainer. They both also know how to tone it down when covering slower Diamond songs like Play Me, I Am…I Said, and Holly Holy. Hudson as Claire comes across as a natural background vocalist to Jackman as Mike.
The film is based on the documentary about the couple who hit a peak when opening for Pearl Jam in the 1990s. Then a tragic situation occurs which shakes them off their game. This is where the rising success and the visibly loving nature of the relationship seems to fall apart. It’s also when the film itself takes a darker turn. However, writer/director Craig Brewer knows how to build the energy back up as the couple is forced to rebuild their lives and careers.
It all makes for an emotional rollercoaster ride for viewers and this where I think most critics of the film have knocked it down a notch or two from any kind of “greatness.” Song Sung Blue is not an artsy or experimental film in any significant regard. When one compares it to the kind of films making year-end best list lists and awards ballots (One Battle After Another, Hamnet, Sinners, Marty Supreme, etc.) it follows some very conventional storytelling patterns which make it more audience than critic friendly. The others may be going further to push the envelope for cinema in fresh, creative ways.
Still, it mostly works as an entertaining and humanistic film. While I think that actors Jim Belushi, Michael Imperioli, and Fisher Stevens are wasted in small roles (with Belushi coming across as particularly broad and caricature-like) and the band’s connection to Pearl Jam could use more expansion, there still is plenty to admire about the film. There’s no question that Kate Hudson is doing what may be the best work of her career (I always thought her acting in Almost Famous was overrated.) She not only can sing but she balances warmth and joy with some heavy dramatic turns in which she must dig deep for the character’s inner pain. She also sports an upper Midwest accent that effectively places her in the right geographic region necessary to play the real Clair. Jackman is the consummate performer to pull off the role of Mike as entertainer but also as alcoholic, husband, and father.
The film also makes some interesting observations about what addicts and performers go through to reach success. At one point, it is mentioned that perhaps Mike and Claire, with their own mental and physical struggles, may be trading one addiction for another with their drive to be on stage. Compromises must also be made to reach those great heights of success. What happens when plans go awry and the path they are traveling on is curtailed by forces of which they have no control?
Lastly, the film does a great job of suggesting that Neil Diamond is more than the singer behind the famous song Sweet Caroline, which seems to appear everywhere today. There are so many great songs featured here from the title track to Forever in Blue Jeans and Cracklin’ Rosie to Cherry Cherry and Soolaimon that even I was inspired to create my own Neil Diamond playlist for the first time.
Song Sung Blue may never be taken as a great work of art, but many will find it a very satisfying and entertaining movie with great songs and terrific performances.
The film is currently playing in theaters everywhere.
FILM: SONG SUNG BLUE
DIRECTED BY: CRAIG BREWER
STARRING: HUGH JACKMAN, KATE HUDSON, ELLA ANDERSON
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I missed seeing this one before I made my list of Top Ten Favorite Films of 2025. It’s not that it would have made the final ten that I somewhat regret, but that I didn’t even give it a shot. I’d heard some mixed things about the movie, and it wasn’t getting the kind of attention other films were for major year-end awards, so it seemed less relevant for me. I’d also decided that I wasn’t that interested in seeing a film about Neil Diamond impersonators. I liked Diamond’s music, but he never made my annual Top Ten songs lists and some of his work in the late 1970s and early 80s often sounded too schmaltzy to me. What could this film offer?
Well, the answer is a lot. First off, it’s not a film about Neil Diamond but a couple who decide to make a career out of performing his songs. (There was a documentary made about the real-life couple in 2008 also called Song Sung Blue.) Hugh Jackman stars as Mike Sardina, a Wisconsin based entertainer who meets Claire, played by Kate Hudson. He wants to be himself on stage but needs to make a living. She has a great voice, wants to sing, be happy, and be loved. Because Mike bares something of a resemblance to Diamond and he has already been performing with other acts paying tribute to known artists such as Buddy Holly, Barbra Streisand, and Elvis, he determines Diamond is the right guy to “interpret.” Claire sounds a bit like Patsy Cline but neither of them consider themselves “impersonators.”
What seems to happen rather quickly on screen though is their ability to learn and perform the songs rather perfectly during rehearsal sessions in their garage (they marry rather soon too) which appear like scenes from The Partridge Family. These could come off as a bit kitschy, but Jackman and Hudson take these moments just as seriously as the real-life characters they play. Hudson has a great voice and Jackman, as we’ve seen in Broadway shows such as The Boy From Oz and movies like The Greatest Showman, is a slick but highly energetic entertainer. They both also know how to tone it down when covering slower Diamond songs like Play Me, I Am…I Said, and Holly Holy. Hudson as Claire comes across as a natural background vocalist to Jackman as Mike.
The film is based on the documentary about the couple who hit a peak when opening for Pearl Jam in the 1990s. Then a tragic situation occurs which shakes them off their game. This is where the rising success and the visibly loving nature of the relationship seems to fall apart. It’s also when the film itself takes a darker turn. However, writer/director Craig Brewer knows how to build the energy back up as the couple is forced to rebuild their lives and careers.
It all makes for an emotional rollercoaster ride for viewers and this where I think most critics of the film have knocked it down a notch or two from any kind of “greatness.” Song Sung Blue is not an artsy or experimental film in any significant regard. When one compares it to the kind of films making year-end best list lists and awards ballots (One Battle After Another, Hamnet, Sinners, Marty Supreme, etc.) it follows some very conventional storytelling patterns which make it more audience than critic friendly. The others may be going further to push the envelope for cinema in fresh, creative ways.
Still, it mostly works as an entertaining and humanistic film. While I think that actors Jim Belushi, Michael Imperioli, and Fisher Stevens are wasted in small roles (with Belushi coming across as particularly broad and caricature-like) and the band’s connection to Pearl Jam could use more expansion, there still is plenty to admire about the film. There’s no question that Kate Hudson is doing what may be the best work of her career (I always thought her acting in Almost Famous was overrated.) She not only can sing but she balances warmth and joy with some heavy dramatic turns in which she must dig deep for the character’s inner pain. She also sports an upper Midwest accent that effectively places her in the right geographic region necessary to play the real Clair. Jackman is the consummate performer to pull off the role of Mike as entertainer but also as alcoholic, husband, and father.
The film also makes some interesting observations about what addicts and performers go through to reach success. At one point, it is mentioned that perhaps Mike and Claire, with their own mental and physical struggles, may be trading one addiction for another with their drive to be on stage. Compromises must also be made to reach those great heights of success. What happens when plans go awry and the path they are traveling on is curtailed by forces of which they have no control?
Lastly, the film does a great job of suggesting that Neil Diamond is more than the singer behind the famous song Sweet Caroline, which seems to appear everywhere today. There are so many great songs featured here from the title track to Forever in Blue Jeans and Cracklin’ Rosie to Cherry Cherry and Soolaimon that even I was inspired to create my own Neil Diamond playlist for the first time.
Song Sung Blue may never be taken as a great work of art, but many will find it a very satisfying and entertaining movie with great songs and terrific performances.
The film is currently playing in theaters everywhere.