Popular music produces glitzy megacelebrities, indie stars, and cult acts that still fill stadiums. The film industry loves to feature those stories, either as fiction (A Star Is Born) or in biopics (Bohemian Rhapsody). What about the people who work hard to scrabble out a living in music, often by singing the music of these stars in dive bars, restaurants, and county fairs?
Song Sung Blue pays tribute to a real-life couple who came together as “Lightning and Thunder,” a tribute act focusing on the music of Neil Diamond. The story of Mike Sardina (Hugh Jackman) and Claire Stingl Sardina (Kate Hudson) is not that of an overnight success, but of the heart and dedication of two people who had to overcome tragedies to make beautiful music together – for as long as they could. It pays tribute to Diamond’s music, but far more to the love between the Sardinas and how it transformed their lives and the lives of those around them.
Director/writer Craig Brewer teamed up with documentarian Greg Kohs to dramatize the story of this Milwaukee couple, who found themselves touring the tribute circuit, fell in love, and then worked hard to scrape out a living and raise their blended family. The 2008 documentary, also titled Song Sung Blue, is available for free on YouTube, and will give viewers the full story of Lightning and Thunder. It also introduces people to some of the same characters depicted in the new film, now in theaters. As one expert notes in the Kohs documentary, Mike Sardina was “normal,” and Diamond is exactly the kind of everyman to whom a hard-working tradesman like Sardina could pay tribute.
Watch the documentary, but first see the new film Song Sung Blue, which captures the heart of the story even if it has to telescope the timeline enormously. Its bittersweet nature and gritty look make this film stand out, but its performances by Jackman and Hudson make it transcend the genre. Both sing their own music, but while the music is the act, it is their love and perseverance that make this a story you will not forget. They are joined by Fisher Stevens, Michael Imperioli, and Jim Belushi, who play real-life people in the Sardinas’ lives, and all three are excellent. However, Ella Anderson nearly steals the show as Claire’s daughter, Rachel. The film is worth the price of admission for these performances alone.
Song Song Blue does not follow the bright, happy path of most musicals. It stays gritty and connected to the struggles the couple endured. Brewer opts to mirror that with a gritty cinema verite look, almost a throwback look in the style of The Holdovers from a couple of years ago. The film does not make every ending happy, and it does not shy away from the Sardinas’ darker moments, but it does provide a heartbreaking authenticity – and in that authenticity, we can find joy in their triumphs, when they occur.
Jackman and Hudson make this film work, though, by exerting the same kind of blue-collar work ethic that the film Song Sung Blue celebrates. It’s not just their dream that this film celebrates, but also those of the other performers around them, and the people who work hard to help make those dreams come true. Their dreams are not wrapped around super-celebrity stardom, but just the ability to earn a living from entertaining people with the music they love, and to celebrate the love that their music produced. Song Sung Blue celebrates all of it, and especially the Sardinas.
On the Hot Air scale, Song Sung Blue gets a 5:
- 5 – Full price ticket
- 4 – Matinee only
- 3 – Wait for Blu-Ray/DVD/PPV rental or purchase
- 2 – Watch it when it hits Netflix/cable
- 1 – Avoid at all costs
Song Sung Blue is rated PG-13 for thematic material, some strong language, some sexual material and brief drug use. Those issues probably would make the film inappropriate for young children, but teenagers should handle these moments.
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