Lightning and Thunder, a Milwaukee husband and wife Neil Diamond tribute act, experience soaring success and devastating heartbreak in their musical journey together. (from IMDb)

It's kind of funny when you see trailers that seem to present this upbeat, inspiring, almost happy-go-lucky film, and then you go see the film and you are shocked when things get very, very real. Song Sung Blue is based on the true story (or "true love story," as it says when the film opens) of a husband-and-wife performing duo named Thunder & Lightning. The pair carved out a name for themselves in the late 90's throughout Milwaukee for being a Neil Diamond tribute act. Mike Sardina and Claire Stengl were performers when they met and fell in love, and it wasn't long before they hatched the plan to form their Neil Diamond-centric act. So as I'm watching this heartwarming story about this musical duo falling love and finding success together, I notice it's about halfway through the film and realize: if they stick to the drama formula, things are probably going to go wrong. And they do. (Almost immediately after I thought that, in fact.) Horribly, horribly wrong.

Not knowing the story of Mike & Claire ahead of seeing the film probably does a disservice to the film and audience going into it. (Some "spoilers" ahead if you rather not know.) As Mike is celebrating another year sober, we see Claire outside their home admiring the gardening she just finished when a car goes off the road and plows into her (The screen goes black just before the collision). It's so shocking that it's surreal. From that point on, the film goes from pretty upbeat -- even joyous -- to pretty dramatic and intense. And when things start to look up for them, they turn somber again. It goes from one real-life scenario to another, and this happy tale about two lovebirds in a Neil Diamond tribute act gets very serious very fast.

Aside from the tonal shock, Song Sung Blue is a wonderfully made musical drama. The performances from Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson - not surprisingly - are fantastic. Both can really sing, too, and it makes their musical performances feel effortless and real. The pair have chemistry, which is crucial for a love story like this one to be convincing. And Jackman turns up the charm to eleven as Mike, trading in his common brooding performance for one with more hope and liveliness. The supporting cast is also quite good - especially Jim Belushi as their booking manager, Tom, and Ella Anderson as Claire's daughter, Rachel.

Song Sung Blue really runs the gamut on themes, too. There's loss, recovery, substance abuse, substance abstainance, financial struggles, artistic integrity struggles, teen pregnancy, and more. It's a lot to take in all at once - especially if you're not expecting it. The film was actually being marketed to faith audiences when it released to theaters, but I was surprised to find it not all that blatant with faith content. A quick googling of Mike and Claire Sardina claims they're Christians and their faith played a big part in their lives, but it isn't obvious in the film. The climax involves them singing a mashup of Neil Diamond's "Soolaimon" and "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show" in what feels like a big gospel number (complete with a choir) - with Mike possibly even having some kind of a spiritual experience - but again, it's not super clear or evident.

And with the movie being touted as a family film, I was surprised how rough it turned out to be at times. Language is a little salty at times, although infrequent, with pop artist "King Princess" playing Mike's daughter, Angelina, using the film's lone "F" word unnecessarily, and a few uses of the "S" word and some blasphemy being scattered about from other characters. Angelina also shares a joint with Rachel in the scene where they hang out and bond together, and a teen character is later revealed to have gotten pregnant from a boyfriend (she decides to give the baby up for adoption at least). There's also a sensual scene that happens where Mike takes Claire, while married to each other, into a bathroom and strips her out of her dress and stockings (down to her bra and panties), kissing her passionately all the way, and then carries her out of the room. Mike celebrates being over 20 years sober off the bottle throughout the movie, and thankfully never turns back, while another character gets addicted to painkillers and needs to spend some time in rehab. Finally, the aforementioned car accident has some bloody results, and we see a few close-ups of a healing injury where a person lost part of their lower leg. It's a bit intense and shocking. (And not for the squeamish.) We also see some blood when another person falls and hits their head in a later scene.

The movie looks great in digital 4K, by the way. Where some movies have seemed a little dark visually lately on their digital releases (Predator: Badlands, Rental Family), Song Song Blue is really vibrant with a solid contrast. Also, the sparkly outfits of Thunder & Lightning really glimmer and shine. Sure, 4K doesn't do the actors any favors in extreme close-ups, but when it's used this effectively, it helps draw you into the world a little more.

Song Sung Blue may not be the bouncy, boisterous movie it seems like it should be, using a tragedy to take a sledgehammer to the whole scenario, but it's a solid drama with fantastic acting performances and some really good musical ones as well. It's certainly not for everyone, and not really a "family movie," so definitely proceed with caution given its heavy and more adult themes.

Extended Performances

• Crunchy Granola Suite (3:28) - There are two scenes lifted from the movie but extended to include the whole live performance - like a music video. The first one is the garage jam performance of "Crunchy Granola Suite."
• Sweet Caroline (3:59) - The second full performance is of "Sweet Caroline" from the wedding sequence. It's fun to see these complete performances outside the movie.

Additional Extras
One Plus One Equals Three (5:22) - This first featurette focuses on the love story for Mike & Claire. Kate talks about how much the story hinged on her being able to love Hugh and she said, after meeting him, she found it easy to love him.

Lightning in a Bottle (9:54) - Here, director Craig Brewer talks about birthing the movie, and how he was inspired by the documentary from 2008 about Mike & Claire. We find out here that Hugh learned to play guitar just for this movie. And to cast Claire, Hugh had watched an interview with Kate where she said she wanted to do more with music, and he knew she'd be just right for the part. The cast and crew then talk about Brewer's direction, casting others in the main cast of characters, and more. (1 "d*mmit")

Eye for Style (3:25) is all about the costumes designed for the movie, the color choices - and how Kate said she really felt like Claire once the right outfit was put on her. (1 "Oh my G-d")

Feature Commentary (2:12:12) - Lastly, there's a feature-length commentary from writer / director Craig Brewer.

- John DiBiase, (reviewed: 1/15/26)