I’ve never been enthusiastic about the term “religious film,” or at least the idea that it should only apply to PG-rated Sunday school melodramas, centered on calamity and redemption, aimed specifically at evangelicals. “Song Sung Blue,” in almost every way, is a religious film, though its religion is the sacred dream of Neil Diamond church devotion. It’s based on the true story of Mike and Claire Sardina (played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson), who in the late ’80s and early ’90s formed a Neil Diamond tribute band, performing as Lightning & Thunder (he’s Lightning, she’s Thunder). At first, the film may seem more kitsch than religious parable.
The two meet at a performance at the Wisconsin State Fair, where various amateurs take the stage to impersonate legends like Elvis, Buddy Holly, and Barbra Streisand. She’s dressed as Patsy Cline and gives a pretty good rendition of “Walkin’ After Midnight.” He was supposed to perform as Don Ho and sing the 1966 hit “Tiny Bubbles,” but he’s so tired of singing it that he quits on the spot. As we quickly discover, Mike and Claire are two middle-aged, middle-class Americans with hard lives and plenty of sadness.
Director: Craig Brewer
Writers:: Craig Brewer, Greg Kohs
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Ella Anderson
They both live in Milwaukee and are divorced with children. He’s a Vietnam veteran and a recovering alcoholic of 20 years, working odd jobs as a mechanic and playing in whatever band will have him. She’s a hairdresser and a struggling single mother, barely making ends meet. Together, they have an idea: What if they formed a band and sang Neil Diamond songs, not just doing the same old covers of old rock stars, but connecting with what people really want? “Song Sung Blue” was written and directed by Craig Brewer, who has made one great film (“Hustle & Flow”), one good one (“Dolemite Is My Name”), and a few mediocre ones (“Footloose,” “Coming 2 America”).
The first thing that strikes you about the film, which Brewer based on a 2009 documentary of the same title, is the way it celebrates, without irony, karaoke culture. By this, I don't just mean what happens in karaoke bars (though the film has several scenes set in them). I mean the impulse that began with karaoke and spread to "American Idol" and something even bigger: the almost religious dream of pop music, where anyone, regardless of their background, can get up and sing a song popularized by a star, and if they do it with enough skill and passion, they can channel the essence of that star in a way that transforms the act of imitation into a sublime expression in itself. Brewer navigates this territory like a musical Jonathan Demme.
Mike idolizes Neil Diamond, to the point that when he sings, he's not simply an imitator, but rather an avatar of Neil Diamond, evoking and dramatizing the singer's essence. Hugh Jackman is, of course, a wonderful singer in his own right, and while the film makes it clear that Mike isn't trying to sound exactly like his idol, in "Song Sung Blue," Jackman's musical performances are transcendent in their ability to convey what we love about Neil Diamond: the deep, commanding tone of his voice, the fluid articulation, the vibrant warmth of his singing.
We might see Mike, in his bright blue coat and long, center-parted hair à la Diamond, and Claire, in her red sequined dress with gold trim, offering their harmonies, and think for a moment that the film wants us to see them as a serious version of the Culp characters from "SNL." But there's nothing jokey or campy about their presence, and the actors' performances convey, above all, love.
Jackman, with his life-hardened strength, and Hudson, who radiates a stubborn kindness, share a natural and endearing camaraderie, to the point that when Mike and Claire fall in love and get married, it feels both casual and inevitable. With a manager (Jim Belushi) who has connections at casinos throughout the Midwest, they start working the circuit and building a following. Their rise is complete when, while in their living room, Mike gets a call from Eddie Vedder, whom he's never heard of (he wonders if Pearl Jam is a type of fruit jam). It's the early '90s, and grunge hipsters have embraced the pop legends of their youth. When Lightning & Thunder end up opening for Pearl Jam in Milwaukee, and Eddie comes on stage to sing with them, they've basically reached karaoke heaven.
Adversity strikes out of nowhere. Literally, like in a nightmare. Claire is standing on her lawn, and suddenly... a life upended, a body and soul shattered, a reality redefined. This is where "Song Sung Blue" flirts, and not so subtly, with becoming that other kind of faith-based film. I mention this because I think it has demographic significance; this is one of those rare films that seems like it could appeal to both Democratic and Republican audiences. Or, given how large the nostalgic Neil Diamond fan base is, it could all end up flying under the radar. After the calamity, the film, for a time, loses its rhythm. However, Hudson's anguished performance keeps it afloat. It's a visceral, unadorned performance. And Hudson and Jackman don't just have chemistry; they have an emotional synergy that becomes more poignant as Mike and Claire bond, and merge, once again, with the power of Neil, to heal themselves. Mike has his own physical problems (he suffers what appear to be mini-strokes, which he ignores because he's too poor to have health insurance), and on the day of his big reunion concert, which is supposed to culminate in him meeting Neil Diamond at an ice cream parlor, Mike tries to mend a gash on his head with nail glue.
It's clear he's in for a rough August night. As the film aptly demonstrates, there are two kinds of Neil Diamond fans: those who, like Mike, appreciate the profound beauty of dozens of his songs (“Cherry, Cherry,” “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show,” “Cracklin’ Rosie”), and the “bom bom bom” crowd, whom Mike can't stand, those who at a Neil Diamond concert experience an epiphany by raising their fists and shouting “bom! bom! bom!” in the middle of the chorus of “Sweet Caroline,” even though it's not even part of the lyrics. They sing along to the trumpet. They're the ones who have to emphasize the line “Good times never seemed so good!” (“So good! So good! So good!”) until it becomes an existential statement about the miracle of life.
“Song Sung Blue” is undoubtedly a film for the “bom bom bom” crowd. But, above all, it's for the Neil Diamond fans who will watch Mike and Claire perform their solo show at the Ritz Theater in Milwaukee, immersed in a state of gradual ecstasy. When Mike begins to sing the Arabic chant from “Soolaimon,” Diamond's 1970 single, it sounds haunting and mysterious, but as the rhythm intensifies, it's so euphoric that you want to bask in its majesty, the same way Mike does: like a diamond shining in the dark.
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