Song Sung Blue (2025) [Movie Review] — A Sincere, Flawed Musical Biopic About Finding a Voice

Song Sung Blue is Craig Brewer’s 2025 dramatization of the real-life couple behind a Neil Diamond tribute act. Co-written with Greg Kohs (whose documentary inspired this feature), the film stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson as Mike (“Lightning”) and Claire (“Thunder”), a duo who turn love and music into a modest career — until an accident and addiction test everything they’ve built.

Synopsis

A love story that becomes a test of resilience

The story follows Mike, a recovering alcoholic and Vietnam vet who’s tired of doing imitator gigs, and Claire, a hopeful singer and devoted partner. When the two fall in love, they form Lightning & Thunder, a tribute act that begins to gain traction across Wisconsin. Success is interrupted by a catastrophic accident on their own lawn that leaves Claire gravely injured, and Brewer compresses years of joy and hardship into a rapid, emotionally heightened arc that tracks their struggle to survive as performers and as a couple.

Direction & Screenplay

A documentary’s warmth, a dramatist’s melodrama

Brewer mines Greg Kohs’ documentary for moments of small-town warmth and community spirit, but his narrative adaptation often amplifies emotional beats to melodramatic effect. The script leans on familiar musical-biopic tropes — rousing early gigs, the rise-and-fall rhythm, the tragic turning point — and sometimes substitutes blunt lines for subtle feeling. The result is a film that feels sincere in intent but occasionally ham-handed in execution: the heart is visible, even when the craft isn’t always steady.

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Performances

Jackman’s bravado and Hudson’s easy empathy keep the film grounded

Hugh Jackman commits fully to Mike’s showman persona: he’s boisterous, flashy, and at times almost insufferably grand — until the character’s softer layers emerge. Jackman’s transformation from cocky performer to vulnerable partner is the film’s emotional backbone, and he carries many of its heavier moments. Kate Hudson is a warm, believable Claire; her spirit and chemistry with Jackman make the early, joyful sequences shine. Supporting players add texture — Michael Imperioli lends gravity, and several ensemble scenes capture the communal effort behind grassroots shows. Yet some dialogue undercuts these strong performances, leaning into cliché when fresh phrasing might have deepened the emotional truth.

Technical Aspects

Solid craft, uneven tonal balance

Visually, the film sells its Midwestern setting well, and the concert sequences are staged with convincing energy. Brewer favors immediacy over polish, which suits intimate moments but makes the melodramatic peaks feel amplified. The soundtrack — mostly Neil Diamond covers — is serviceable, and while the music evokes nostalgia, the scoring sometimes fails to fully support emotional transitions. A repetitive, dramatic depiction of Claire’s accident, in particular, becomes a jarring stylistic tic that pulls the viewer out of the story.

Themes & Takeaway

When nostalgia and identity meet the costs of survival

At its best, Song Sung Blue is about authenticity: a man tired of hiding behind covers insists on performing as himself, and a couple learns how creativity and care can heal. The film probes themes of reinvention, loss, and how a community rallies behind its own. But Brewer’s choice to foreground tragedy over the small, sustaining joys shown in the documentary reduces some of the nuance that made the original story compelling.

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Verdict

A heartfelt watch for fans of performance-driven biopics, despite its excesses

Song Sung Blue isn’t a definitive musical biopic — it stumbles in its melodrama and clunky dialogue — but it’s buoyed by committed lead turns from Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson and by moments of real tenderness. Viewers who enjoy character-led stories about ordinary performers and the sacrifices behind the spotlight will find much to like here. If you want a film that celebrates the grit of grassroots showbiz more than it rewrites history, Brewer’s movie sings with uneven but earnest conviction.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10