Song Sung Blue (2025) Focus/Drama RT: 133 minutes Rated PG-13 (thematic material, some strong language, some sexual material, brief drug use) Director: Craig Brewer Screenplay: Craig Brewer Music: Scott Bomar Cinematography: Amy Vincent Release date: December 25, 2025 (US) Cast: Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Ella Anderson, Hudson Hensley, King Princess, Michael Imperioli, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi, Mustafa Shakir, John Beckwith, Jayson Warner Smith, Cecelia Riddett, Sean Allan Krill, Jim Conroy, Kena Anae, Darius Rose, Shyaporn Theerakulstit, Chacha Tahng, Faye Tamasa, Darius de Haas, Timothy Oliver Reid, Charles E. Wallace, Charles H. Gray Jr., Carey Van Driest.
Rating: ****
I am a huge Neil Diamond fan. I’ve seen him in concert twice. I unabashedly love The Jazz Singer (1980), his one and only starring role in a feature film. “Sweet Caroline” is my go-to karaoke song. If I had a better singing voice, I’d do “Hello Again”. I think he’s great.
Hugh Jackman (The Greatest Showman) does NOT play Neil Diamond in the musical biopic Song Sung Blue. He plays a “Neil Diamond interpreter” (NOT an impersonator) who performs alongside his wife (Hudson, Almost Famous) in a Milwaukee-based ND tribute band. The duo, Mike and Claire off-stage, goes by “Lightning & Thunder”. He sings Neil’s hits; she plays keyboard and provides back-up vocals. They’re a real-life act. They actually opened for Pearl Jam back in ’95.
Written and directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow), Song Sung Blue tells the story of how Lightning & Thunder came to be. Mike, a recovering alcoholic celebrating 20 years of sobriety, first meets Claire at a state fair show. The hairdresser by day/Patsy Cline impersonator by night is immediately intrigued by Mike. She goes to one of his gigs at a bar and they instantly connect. It’s isn’t long before they’re making beautiful music together, both figuratively and literally.
They decide to put an act together, one they call a “Neil Diamond experience”. They’re joined on stage by some musician friends including Mark (Imperioli, Goodfellas), a Buddy Holly impersonator looking to try other things. They get off to a rocky start thanks to a misunderstanding on the part of their manager, tour bus driver Tom D’Amato (Belushi, The Principal). It turns out bikers do NOT like ND. After that, they really take off, playing gigs all over the place. Everything is looking up until the inevitable occurs. That’s right, a tragedy that threatens to put an end to Lightning & Thunder.
Song Sung Blue is on my top 10 of 2025 list. It is an outstanding film in every respect. The music, of course, is terrific. Although cinemas generally frown on it, I was singing along to some of the ND songs performed flawlessly by Jackman. Yes, I even (quietly) did the “BA! BA! BA!” and “SO GOOD!” during “Sweet Caroline”. I am a little disappointed he didn’t do anything from The Jazz Singer, but that’s my only complaint about this wonderful movie.
Obviously, Song Sung Blue is about more than the music. It’s a drama about two flawed people dealing with the curve balls life throws at them. I guess it’s not spoiling anything to tell you that Claire gets maimed when an out-of-control car hits her outside her house. It’s in the trailer. The accident leaves her disabled, depressed and addicted to painkillers. It’s hard to watch Claire go through this. It’s even harder watching Mike and their kids go through it. Thankfully, Brewer doesn’t let it weigh things down too much. It’s just the right amount of drama. He injects humor into the proceedings as well. In a scene that feels more like something out of a comedy, he convinces Claire’s teenage daughter Rachel (Anderson, The Boss) to jump start his heart with a defibrillator when he has an episode at the hospital after Claire’s accident. It feels a little out of place, but life can be like that.
Hudson deserves an Oscar nomination for her affecting performance as Claire. She garners sympathy without making her an object of pity. When she finally breaks down, it hits hard. I haven’t seen Kate this great since Almost Famous (can you believe it’s been 25 years?). Jackman is similarly great as Mike, a man who clearly loves the spotlight as long as it’s on his own terms. He’s not content to just impersonate other singers; he wants to make it his own. He’s not arrogant about it either. Deep down, he struggles to stay sober in the face of adversity while dealing with his own health issues.
The two leads, who share perfect chemistry, don’t carry the load alone. They have ample assistance from a solid supporting cast that also includes Fisher Stevens (Short Circuit 1 & 2) as Mike’s agent and dentist and singer-songwriter King Princess (Nine Perfect Strangers) as Mike’s daughter Angelina. It’s nice to see Jim Belushi again; it’s been a while. Mustafa Shakir (Luke Cage) lends comic relief as a James Brown impersonator. He does it better than Eddie Murphy on SNL.
I absolutely LOVE Song Sung Blue. It’s such a great movie. It’s compelling all the way through. It’ll have you singing and tearing up. I fully intend to see it again, this time with my darling wife. It’s one of the year’s most entertaining movies.
