Song Sung Blue
Verdict: Cheesily charming
The first major release of 2026 is a determined crowd–pleaser, but of course some crowds are more discerning than others.
Writer–director Craig Brewer’s film is based on a true story about a Mid–western husband–and–wife Neil Diamond ‘tribute’ act, impressively played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson – who also do all their own singing.
It has charm and poignancy. And yet, to mix the great man’s classics, if Song Sung Blue is really to work its Sweet Caroline magic (reachin’ out, touchin’ me, touchin’ you) it frankly might help to be hung–over, or at least a bit jaded after the festivities.
Jackman plays Mike Sardina, a good–natured troubadour from blue–collar Wisconsin who turned to drink after returning from the Vietnam War but by the time we meet him in the mid–1990s has been sober for 20 years.
Mike tours the bars and clubs as part of a team of singing impersonators, another of whom is a ‘James Brown’ (Mustafa Shakir), with a ‘Buddy Holly’ played by Michael Imperioli.
For those who still vividly remember Imperioli as the psychotic mobster Christopher Moltisanti in The Sopranos, all I can say is… oh boy! It takes a bit of adjusting to find him murdering Buddy Holly numbers rather than small–time drug dealers who’ve crossed him.
But actually he’s terrific. Indeed, almost all the performances in this film are very good. It’s the narrative that hits the odd bum note.
Writer–director Craig Brewer’s film is based on a true story about a Mid–western husband–and–wife Neil Diamond ‘tribute’ act, impressively played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson
Hudson already has a Golden Globe nomination in the bag and it’s easy to see why
When Mike meets Claire, a part–time hairdresser with a Patsy Cline stage act, love soon blossoms.
They join forces and call themselves Lightning and Thunder, performing Neil Diamond songs to small but appreciative audiences, and even opening for the rock band Pearl Jam.
In their domestic life, Mike works hard to win over her two kids from a previous relationship, and pretty quickly he and Claire get married.
They both have daughters of roughly the same age (nicely played by Ella Anderson and King Princess) which looks like it might presage some friction, but the two girls form a heartwarming bond.
So where, you might ask, does the story’s conflict come from?
A tale like this can’t be rose petals all the way, there must be some thorns, yet for the best part of an hour there’s precious little sign of anything going awry apart from Mike’s vague heart problem, and his stubborn insistence on opening the act with Diamond’s lesser–known song Soolaimon, when the punters want Sweet Caroline.
That it all thrums along so watchably has more to do with the chemistry between Jackman and Hudson, and the pleasure of hearing them sing.
Abruptly, though, catastrophe strikes. I’m reluctant to say how because it’s the only truly unexpected thing that happens throughout the film, but anyway it has a profound effect on their personal and professional lives, removing the story’s sustained and rather curious buoyancy and replacing it with that familiar triumph–over–adversity dynamic that all cinematic crowd–pleasers require.
They join forces and call themselves Lightning and Thunder, performing Neil Diamond songs to small but appreciative audiences, and even opening for the rock band Pearl Jam
In their domestic life, Mike works hard to win over her two kids from a previous relationship, and pretty quickly he and Claire get married
Inspired by a 2008 documentary of the same title, Song Sung Blue might be just the holiday hangover remedy you need, but conversely it might make you feel worse.
There’s a cheesiness to the whole enterprise that at times verges on the sickly, and I found one scene rather offensively glib, when a teenage mother hands over her newborn baby, the result of an unwanted pregnancy, to its adoptive parents as if she is parting with a build–up of laundry.
The film could, in short, be better. There are also some misjudged bits of slapstick and a supporting performance by
Jim Belushi that, were there awards for over–acting, would make him a front–runner. Two hours and 13 minutes is a stretch, too. But on the genuine awards front, Hudson already has a Golden Globe nomination in the bag and it’s easy to see why: if you sit back and wallow in her whole–hearted performance, and Jackman’s, Song Sung Blue is a pleasant enough way to start the movie year.
In cinemas now.
From Bronte to Homer… six films I’m dying to see this year
A trawl through the major film releases over the next 12 months reveals the usual batch of sequels and superheroes.
Still, there are also some appealing prospects. Of course, they might turn out to be mild disappointments or outright duds. But here are six films I have high hopes for. Happy viewing and happy new year!
Wuthering Heights
Since the trailer was released there have been plenty of swipes at Emerald Fennell’s version of Emily Bronte’s novel.
Lovely as she is, Margot Robbie undoubtedly looks too old to play Cathy, opposite Jacob Elordi’s Heathcliff
Lovely as she is, Margot Robbie undoubtedly looks too old to play Cathy, opposite Jacob Elordi’s Heathcliff. Let’s just hope that Fennell sweeps us, Heathcliff–like, off our feet. (February)
The Bride!
There are some fabulous films with exclamation marks in the title (Airplane!, Oliver!) and some let–downs (Viva Zapata!).
I’m hopeful that The Bride!, a kind of Frankenstein story, will fall into the former category. Jessie Buckley plays the title character, a murdered woman brought back to life in 1930s Chicago.
The director is Maggie Gyllenhaal, and the wonderful cast features her brother Jake and her husband Peter Sarsgaard, as well as Christian Bale, Annette Bening and Penelope Cruz. (March)
The Devil Wears Prada 2
When a sequel comes along two decades after the original, it can often seem like the cinematic equivalent of filling a diesel car with petrol.
But this might be a welcome exception. All the talent from the hit 2006 film is back, darling; with Donatella Versace and Lady Gaga also credited. (May)
Disclosure Day
Steven Spielberg has impressive form in the sci–fi department, with Close Encounters and ET part of his filmography.
This UFO story boasts a cracking line–up of British talent (Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth) and while nobody has disclosed much about it, we do know the venerable John Williams is composing the music and that the screenwriter is David Koepp, whose credits include Jurassic Park and Mission: Impossible. (June)
The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan’s take on Homer’s epic story stars Matt Damon as King Odysseus making his long journey home after the Trojan War, with Anne Hathaway as his wife and Tom Holland as their son.
It won’t quite unfold in real time, but Nolan took three hours to tell the story of Oppenheimer last time out, so The Odyssey may also test the bladder. Can’t wait though! (July)
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
Greta Gerwig’s last three films were hits: Lady Bird, Little Women and Barbie. This time round she’s adapting CS Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, with an excellent cast led by Emma Mackey and Carey Mulligan. (November)
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