SongSungBlue

Plot Summary

Lightning and Thunder, a Milwaukee husband and wife Neil Diamond tribute act, experience soaring success and devastating heartbreak in their musical journey together.
(from IMDb)

Film Review

It’s kind of funny when you see trailers that seem to present this upbeat, inspiring, almost happy-go-lucky film, and then you go see the film and you are shocked when things get very, very real. Song Sung Blue is based on the true story (or “true love story,” as it says when the film opens) of a husband-and-wife performing duo named Thunder & Lightning. The pair carved out a name for themselves in the late 90’s throughout Milwaukee for being a Neil Diamond tribute act. Mike Sardina and Claire Stengl were performers when they met and fell in love, and it wasn’t long before they hatched the plan to form their Neil Diamond-centric act. So as I’m watching this heartwarming story about this musical duo falling love and finding success together, I notice it’s about halfway through the film and realize: if they stick to the drama formula, things are probably going to go wrong. And they do. (Almost immediately after I thought that, in fact.) Horribly, horribly wrong.

Not knowing the story of Mike & Claire ahead of seeing the film probably does a disservice to the film and audience going into it. (Some “spoilers” ahead if you rather not know.) As Mike is celebrating another year sober, we see Claire outside their home admiring the gardening she just finished when a car goes off the road and plows into her (The screen goes black just before the collision). It’s so shocking that it’s surreal. From that point on, the film goes from pretty upbeat — even joyous — to pretty dramatic and intense. And when things start to look up for them, they turn somber again. It goes from one real-life scenario to another, and this happy tale about two lovebirds in a Neil Diamond tribute act gets very serious very fast.

Aside from the tonal shock, Song Sung Blue is a wonderfully made musical drama. The performances from Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson – not surprisingly – are fantastic. Both can really sing, too, and it makes their musical performances feel effortless and real. The pair have chemistry, which is crucial for a love story like this one to be convincing. And Jackman turns up the charm to eleven as Mike, trading in his common brooding performance for one with more hope and liveliness. The supporting cast is also quite good – especially Jim Belushi as their booking manager, Tom, and Ella Anderson as Claire’s daughter, Rachel.

Song Sung Blue really runs the gamut on themes, too. There’s loss, recovery, substance abuse, substance abstainance, financial struggles, artistic integrity struggles, teen pregnancy, and more. It’s a lot to take in all at once – especially if you’re not expecting it. The film was actually being marketed to faith audiences when it released to theaters, but I was surprised to find it not all that blatant with faith content. A quick googling of Mike and Claire Sardina claims they’re Christians and their faith played a big part in their lives, but it isn’t obvious in the film. The climax involves them singing a mashup of Neil Diamond’s “Soolaimon” and “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show” in what feels like a big gospel number (complete with a choir) – with Mike possibly even having some kind of a spiritual experience – but again, it’s not super clear or evident.

And with the movie being touted as a family film, I was surprised how rough it turned out to be at times. Language is a little salty at times, although infrequent, with pop artist “King Princess” playing Mike’s daughter, Angelina, using the film’s lone “F” word unnecessarily, and a few uses of the “S” word and some blasphemy being scattered about from other characters. Angelina also shares a joint with Rachel in the scene where they hang out and bond together, and a teen character is later revealed to have gotten pregnant from a boyfriend (she decides to give the baby up for adoption at least). There’s also a sensual scene that happens where Mike takes Claire, while married to each other, into a bathroom and strips her out of her dress and stockings (down to her bra and panties), kissing her passionately all the way, and then carries her out of the room. Mike celebrates being over 20 years sober off the bottle throughout the movie, and thankfully never turns back, while another character gets addicted to painkillers and needs to spend some time in rehab. Finally, the aforementioned car accident has some bloody results, and we see a few close-ups of a healing injury where a person lost part of their lower leg. It’s a bit intense and shocking. (And not for the squeamish.) We also see some blood when another person falls and hits their head in a later scene.

The movie looks great in digital 4K, by the way. Where some movies have seemed a little dark visually lately on their digital releases (Predator: Badlands, Rental Family), Song Song Blue is really vibrant with a solid contrast. Also, the sparkly outfits of Thunder & Lightning really glimmer and shine. Sure, 4K doesn’t do the actors any favors in extreme close-ups, but when it’s used this effectively, it helps draw you into the world a little more.

Song Sung Blue may not be the bouncy, boisterous movie it seems like it should be, using a tragedy to take a sledgehammer to the whole scenario, but it’s a solid drama with fantastic acting performances and some really good musical ones as well. It’s certainly not for everyone, and not really a “family movie,” so definitely proceed with caution given its heavy and more adult themes.

– John DiBiase (reviewed: 1/15/26)

 

 

iTunes / Digital Copy Bonus Features Review

Song Sung Blue is now available via digital retailers in 4K, less than a month since debuting in theaters. As I said above, the 4K presentation is quite lovely, especially noticeable in the sparkly outfits of the main performers.

The Apple digital copy features the following extras:

Extended Performances

• Crunchy Granola Suite (3:28) – There are two scenes lifted from the movie but extended to include the whole live performance – like a music video. The first one is the garage jam performance of “Crunchy Granola Suite.”
• Sweet Caroline (3:59) – The second full performance is of “Sweet Caroline” from the wedding sequence. It’s fun to see these complete performances outside the movie.

Additional Extras

One Plus One Equals Three (5:22) – This first featurette focuses on the love story for Mike & Claire. Kate talks about how much the story hinged on her being able to love Hugh and she said, after meeting him, she found it easy to love him.

Lightning in a Bottle (9:54) – Here, director Craig Brewer talks about birthing the movie, and how he was inspired by the documentary from 2008 about Mike & Claire. We find out here that Hugh learned to play guitar just for this movie. And to cast Claire, Hugh had watched an interview with Kate where she said she wanted to do more with music, and he knew she’d be just right for the part. The cast and crew then talk about Brewer’s direction, casting others in the main cast of characters, and more. (1 “d*mmit”)

Eye for Style (3:25) is all about the costumes designed for the movie, the color choices – and how Kate said she really felt like Claire once the right outfit was put on her. (1 “Oh my G-d”)

Feature Commentary (2:12:12) – Lastly, there’s a feature-length commentary from writer / director Craig Brewer.

– John DiBiase, (reviewed: 1/15/26)

 

Parental Guide: Content Summary

 Sex/Nudity: We briefly see a performer in a dressing room who appears to be trans; A performer is addressed and referred to as “Sex Machine” several times; Mike comments that he’s not a “sex symbol;” Mike strips off his overalls to just his briefs and dances; Claire comments that shes “sweating like a wh*re in church”; Claire introduces a reluctant Rachel to Mike. She doesn’t say anything for a beat or two and then says “Don’t make a mess on the couch,” to which Claire scolds her; In AA, a person talks about how good people have it and comments on how some can “scr*w all night”; Claire shows lots of cleavage in a top that dips low in a v-shape; While married, Mike pushes Claire into a bathroom and undresses her out of her dress down to her bra and panties and pulls off her stockings. (The camera briefly focuses on her like this.) He then carries her out of the room and the scene ends; Mike plays guitar for a video while in just briefs, wearing no pants; While under the influence of drugs, Claire accuses Mike of having an affair (he’s not), and he sarcastically jokes about “having a piece on the side;” Rachel, a teenager, tells Mike she’s pregnant. She refers to herself as “knocked up.”

 Vulgarity/Language: 1 “F” word, 6 “S” words, 1 “J-sus Chr-st,” 3 “g*dd*mn,” 1 “S.O.B,” 1 “h*ll,” 12 “Oh my G-d,” 3 “Oh G-d,” 1 “G-d,” 1 “p*ssed,” 1 “Good L-rd,” 2 “L-rd” in a song, 1 “Good L-rdy,” 1 “wh*re,” 1 “sucks”; Rachel flips her brother the middle finger while he’s filming with a home video camera.

 Alcohol/Drugs: The movie opens with Mike at an AA meeting for being 20 years sober; People have drinks in a restaurant; Mike’s daughter Angelina offers Claire’s daughter Rachel a joint. We then see them smoking it and laughing together; They perform in a biker bar where people have drinks; A man throws a beer bottle and it crashes and splashes on a kick drum; We see them singing in another bar where people are drinking; Mike finds a bottle of beer in a tool chest, holds it and looks at it, and then casually pours it out down the sink; In a restaurant, we see a man passed out on a table after drinking; We see more drinks in a restaurant.

 Blood/Gore: Tom has a lot of blood coming from his nose and has it on his hands too as he holds it; After an accident, we see blood on Dana’s hands and on Mike’s shirt; We see a person lying on a medical table through a hospital door window and these blood on their legs and on peoples hands working on them; We see a person missing the lower part of their leg under their knee. It looks scarred. We then see it several times while they lie in bed or crawling across the floor / ground; Claire has an abrasion on her chin and a little cut on her eyebrow; A man has a little blood coming from his nose after a car accident; Mike falls and hits his head hard on the kitchen counter. When he stands, we see lots of blood on his head and hand as he tries to stop the bleeding; Later, Mike touches his head and has a little bit of blood on his fingertips.

 Violence: Mike is dancing in a living room. He goes down to one knee and hurts himself and expresses a lot of pain; Mike has chest pains and collapses while pulling on a mower cord; A man throws a beer bottle and it crashes and splashes on a kick drum. A bar fight breaks out as Mike charges a guy who insulted them. Tom punches a man in the face. In the next scene, Tom has lots of blood coming from his nose; Mike passes out on the floor. Rachel uses paddles on him to revive him; We see a person missing the lower part of their leg under their knee. It looks scarred. We then see it several times while they lie in bed or crawling across the floor / ground; We see a character putting a sock on their stump and putting a prosthetic leg on; Mike angrily throws stuff off a coffee table. Claire does too and they yell at each other in a pretty heated argument; A car crashes into their house, shattering their windows. A man stumbles out with blood on his nose; Mike has a heart attack and falls and hits his head on the bathroom sink. He stands up and finds a lot of blood on his forehead; A man dies suddenly in the back of a car.

 

Disclaimer: All reviews are based solely on the opinions of the reviewer. Most reviews are rated on how the reviewer enjoyed the film overall, not exclusively on content. However, if the content really affects the reviewer’s opinion and experience of the film, it will definitely affect the reviewer’s overall rating.

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