{"id":2208996,"date":"2025-12-22T19:57:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T19:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2208996"},"modified":"2025-12-22T19:57:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T19:57:06","slug":"song-sung-blue-review-neil-diamond-cover-band-movie-starts-off-nice-and-then-becomes-a-downer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/song-sung-blue-review-neil-diamond-cover-band-movie-starts-off-nice-and-then-becomes-a-downer\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Song Sung Blue&#8217; review: Neil Diamond cover band movie starts off nice \u2014 and then becomes a downer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2025%2F12%2Fnewspress-collage-p7rsbgym5-1766425599191.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261766407646\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--review alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n\t\t<span class=\"inline-module--review__eyebrow subsection-heading-semi__label\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tmovie review\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"inline-module--review__title subsection-heading-semi\">\n\t\t\tSONG SUNG BLUE\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"rating\">\n<div class=\"rating__stars\">\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--half\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--empty\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Running time: 132 minutes. Rated PG-13 (thematic material, some strong language, some sexual material and brief drug use). In theaters Dec. 25.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>If there\u2019s one slam-dunk choice in \u201cSong Sung Blue,\u201d Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson\u2019s new romantic movie about a Neil Diamond cover band, it\u2019s the title.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSweet Caroline\u201d would be way too happy. Heck, \u201cLove On The Rocks\u201d is overly upbeat.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This mostly true story of a pair of Milwaukee musicians who find each other through their passion for the \u201cForever in Blue Jeans\u201d singer is about two thirds downer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>By the end, it\u2019s practically \u201cThe Terrible Tale of the Cursed Midwesterners.\u201d That weird tonal imbalance hurts the film because, at least as depicted by director Craig Brewer, it\u2019s not as uplifting or cathartic as it thinks it is.\u00a0You leave bummed out. Merry Christmas!<\/p>\n<p>What keeps \u201cSong Sung Blue,\u201d which is based on a documentary, from plummeting into a sinkhole of depression are the charisma and connection between its two shiny stars, and the soulful and catchy songs of Diamond.<\/p>\n<p>Improbably, his catalog is actually done a greater service by Jackman and Hudson as county fair performers than <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/12\/04\/neil-diamond-musical-review-awful-broadway-show-is-on-the-rocks\/\">the straightforward Broadway musical about him<\/a>, \u201cA Beautiful Noise,\u201d a few seasons back.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not the only surprise.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Kate Hudson plays Claire, a Patsy Cline impersonator who meets the love of her life. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Going into a typical biopic of a world famous crooner \u2014 say Whitney Houston or Amy Winehouse \u2014 you know what you\u2019re in for. With the Wisconsin group called Lightning and Thunder, the turns are often unexpected and painful to the point of masochism.<\/p>\n<p>Personal demons are unleashed straightaway. Mike (Jackman) starts the movie singing \u201cSong Sung Blue\u201d at his Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The sensitive single dad works as an impersonator in a throwback show during the 1990s. There\u2019s an Elvis, James Brown and Buddy Holly, but he can\u2019t land on a niche.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On the twentieth anniversary of his sobriety Mike, stage name Lightning, meets Claire (Kate Hudson), the act\u2019s Patsy Cline, and she points out he\u2019s a dead ringer for Neil Diamond. Funny you should say that, Claire. Neil, it turns out, is sacred to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Claire and Mike form a Neil Diamond cover band called Lightning and Thunder. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Hudson, by the way, does a very decent Wisconsin accent \u2014 if an extremely gung-ho one. Perhaps she went Method and took a part-time gig at a Kenosha Culver\u2019s. <\/p>\n<p>Somewhat bizarre, though, is that she is the only person to give the Badger State brogue a go.<\/p>\n<p>Soon the duo are back at her place jamming, making out and deciding to upend their lives and family by forming a Diamond tribute band. What to call it? Mike gives Claire the name Thunder.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The best scenes of \u201cSong Sung Blue\u201d are concert sequences. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The best scenes of \u201cSong Sung Blue\u201d are when Lightning and Thunder are at their scrappiest, touring lodges, bars and casinos they beg to perform at. Some cranks find their hokey retro vibe and Diamond\u2019s music unbearably uncool.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mike resents that drunk audiences only want to hear \u201cSweet Caroline,\u201d and there\u2019s a repeated gag that nobody can pronounce or spell \u201cSoolaimon,\u201d if they\u2019ve even heard of it.<\/p>\n<p>A pack of angry bikers hurl beer bottles at them and yell, \u201cFreebird!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a cliche. This movie\u2019s got as many cliches as Madison\u2019s got cheese curds. But script aside, Jackman and Hudson onstage are effervescent and, speaking as someone who\u2019s never mounted a motorcycle, the songs rock.<\/p>\n<p>Lightning and Thunder develop a big local following, get profiled on the evening news and open for Pearl Jam.<\/p>\n<p>Then everything goes to hell.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>In the second half, the movie takes a dark turn. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The actors probably love the darker second half because that\u2019s when they get to be their showiest. Hudson is solid and sad as Claire crumbles, especially since minutes earlier she was a human chipmunk. It\u2019s her finest turn since \u201cAlmost Famous\u201d more than 20 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Mike has plenty of issues, too. The plot never forgets he\u2019s an alcoholic. And throughout the movie, he ignores a clearly serious heart condition. But Jackman excelling is more expected. Mike is the ideal character for the actor, since the Aussie always contains both a menacing Wolverine and a perky Curly from \u201cOklahoma!\u201d who\u2019s ready to sing to a corn stalk.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Beyond Jackman and Hudson, nobody else makes much of an impression. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The leads and the music are the reasons to see \u201cSong Sung Blue.\u201d A failing of the film is that it wants to be an ensemble piece, yet nobody is at all memorable below the marquee names. Jim Belushi plays their manager and Michael Imperioli is the band\u2019s guitarist. Three young actors go cloyingly broad as the couple\u2019s kids.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a perfectly nice movie until it\u2019s not. The last half hour is supposed to be a moving tearjerker, but winds up sour.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It sure isn\u2019t reaching out, touching me, touching you.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>movie review SONG SUNG BLUE Running time: 132 minutes. Rated PG-13 (thematic material, some strong language, some sexual material and brief drug use). In theaters Dec. 25. If there\u2019s one slam-dunk choice in \u201cSong Sung Blue,\u201d Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson\u2019s new romantic movie about a Neil Diamond cover band, it\u2019s the title.\u00a0 \u201cSweet Caroline\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2208997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[21741,35108,309934,304995,21912,355633],"class_list":["post-2208996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-entertainment","tag-hugh-jackman","tag-kate-hudson","tag-movie-reviews","tag-movies","tag-neil-diamond"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Song-Sung-Blue-review-Neil-Diamond-cover-band-movie-starts.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2208996"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2208998,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208996\/revisions\/2208998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2208997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2208996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2208996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2208996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}