ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — There is something irresistible about Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” especially as performed by Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman. “Song Sung Blue” understands this very well. Read our full review of the musical melodrama below.

“SONG SUNG BLUE” (2025, 133 min., directed by Craig Brewer)

“Song Sung Blue” is a biopic about Mike and Claire Sardina, a husband and wife who performed as Lightning and Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute band, in the 1980s and ’90s around Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The film stars Hugh Jackman as Mike/Lightning and Kate Hudson as Claire/Thunder, Ella Anderson and singer-songwriter King Princess as their two daughters, and Michael Imperioli, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi and Mustafa Shakir as friends and musical colleagues.

While musician biopics are a dime a dozen – it was just last Christmas that we were subjected to “A Complete Unknown” – “Song Sung Blue” sets itself apart. Rather than depicting the rise, fall and resurrection of a rockstar’s career, this is a story about two ordinary people discovering love for each other through their love for music. The film features all of the imitative singing and musical montage of something like “Walk the Line,” but here, we don’t have to pretend to see Hugh Jackman as Neil Diamond. He is pretending to be a guy pretending to be Neil Diamond. It’s easier to lean back and enjoy Jackman and Hudson’s incredible vocal performances without the baggage of fidelity to a major musician.

That being said, “Song Sung Blue” is not all “Sweet Caroline” sweetness. The Sardinas weathered an enormous amount of tragedy in their personal lives, including a car running over Claire in her front yard, an accident which took one of her legs and nearly ended her musical career. The resulting mixture is an interesting blend of tone. On one hand, the scenes of Jackman and Hudson performing are some of the most exultant movie moments of the year. On the other, the scenes of the Sardinas struggling through medical emergencies and financial difficulty are incredibly dour. You will be crying from the power of “Cracklin’ Rosie” one moment and weeping over the Sardinas’ struggles in the next. “Song Sung Blue” can be a bum-bum-bummer.

Like many a dad rock concert, “Song Sung Blue” has “Holly Holy” highs, but is probably at least a half hour too long and messily constructed. The timeline and ages of the characters don’t always match up, for one, and minor plot threads appear and disappear like misremembered lyrics. However, when it’s at its best, Brewer’s film belts a love song to musicians, dreamers and Neil Diamond lovers everywhere.

Rating: 3/5