‘Song Sung Blue’ delivers a Diamond in the rough
If you didn’t reside in the Milwaukee area in the 1990s – and your name wasn’t Eddie Vedder – it’s more than likely you never heard of the singing duo Lightning & Thunder. Or, as members Mike Sardina and Claire Stengl preferred to think of themselves, the “Neil Diamond interpreters.” Well, “Hustle & Flow’s” Craig Brewer seeks to rectify that by doing a little interpreting himself through his moving tribute to a tribute band – a little something called “Song Sung Blue.”
To be sure, you can sing along. In fact, it’s not only encouraged, it’s practically a requisite. Yes, good times never seemed so good, especially when Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson are working their butts off selling what, in the wrong hands, might have been a schmaltzy disaster. Still, you must keep telling yourself that most of what you’re seeing is true, like the time Eddie Vedder (John Beckwith) not only invited them to open for Pearl Jam but also popped on stage to join Mike and Claire in performing the Diamond classic “Forever in Blue Jeans.” Or Claire sustaining a devastating leg injury while in her front yard gardening. Oh, and did I mention Mike being a war hero?
It’s all here. But at the risk of getting ahead of myself, a brief background. The two first met backstage in 1987 during a “Legends” gig at the Wisconsin State Fair. Mike, an auto mechanic by day, was performing as Lightning, a sort of composite of Elvis and other pop icons from the 1960s, while Claire, a hairdresser, was doing her Patsy Cline thing to perfection. But it wasn’t until two years later that they formed a partnership that quickly moved beyond the stage and into becoming the loves of each other’s lives.
I told you it gets corny. Yet Jackman and the Golden Globe-nominated Hudson, doing her best work since “Almost Famous,” compel you to declare “I’m a Believer.” And you don’t need a bottle of “Cracklin’ Rosie” to appreciate it. The two are just so damn cute together, each playing off the other pitch perfectly. Whether dueting, making love, or working overtime lifting each other’s spirits, you’d swear Mike and Claire are the quintessential couple.
Which makes it even more distressing when misfortune becomes their constant companion. When they vowed “in sickness and in health” during their very public wedding in 1994 at the Wisconsin State Fair, they had no clue that the sickness part would be the greatest challenge of their union. How they suck it up and move on from each setback is the beating heart of Brewer’s film, which drew inspiration from Greg Kohs’ same-titled documentary.
Mike and Claire would be quick to tell you that it was Neil who got them through each tragedy. But Brewer’s lovely film shows that it was pure devotion that kept them afloat, even when down to their last penny. It helped that they had plenty of extracurricular support, courtesy of Mike’s daughter, Angela (alternative musician King Princess), and Claire’s pair, tweener Dayna (Hudson Hensley) and sassy teenage Rachel (Ella Anderson). Like many blended families, they repeatedly prove that love is thicker than blood.
Few are better than Brewer at celebrating such bonds, as proven by the unconventional clans at the fore in his two biggest hits, “Hustle & Flow” and “Dolemite Is My Name.” It becomes this film’s lifeblood, as we witness uncommon valor on the parts of both Mike and Claire, each with their own set of inner demons, especially the former, so traumatized by the horrors he witnessed in Vietnam that he turned to alcohol to anesthetize the pain. Even now, proudly sober for 20-plus years, you wouldn’t blame Mike if he slipped, given the trials befalling his blue-collar family.
Jackman and Hudson are at their best when the chips are down for Mike and Claire. I was particularly impressed by the depth of Hudson’s performance. Frankly, I never would have guessed she had it in her. But she continually surprises, conveying an authenticity even when the film threatens to descend into a melodramatic hell. Even better is her singing. She lacks the register of a Patsy Cline, but she comes close during her enjoyable renditions of “Sweet Dreams” and “Walkin’ After Midnight.”
Singing is Jackman’s second nature, and it serves him well from beneath replicas of those awful 1960s and ’70s Neil Diamond hairstyles. There are times you’re not only convinced he’s Mike doing Neil, but at times even better than Neil himself. Perhaps that’s why Brewer allows the songs to be sung in full, be it “Play Me,” “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Holly Holy,” “Soolaimon,” “Brother Love’s Travelin’ Salvation Show,” and of course, Diamond’s signature tune, “Sweet Caroline.”
And how great is it to have Christopher Soprano, aka Michael Imperioli, playing the “Legends” show’s promoter and Buddy Holly impersonator, Mark Shurilla, who later joins the “Lightning & Thunder” backup band? He’s fab, as is Fisher Stevens, quite humorous as Mike’s dentist, Dr. Dave Watson, who moonlights as Lightning & Thunder’s manager; and Jim Belushi as Tom D’Amato, a casino booker who takes a shine to Mike and Claire’s act. Heck, the entire ensemble is as first-rate as their nasally Wisconsin accents.
I can’t lie. Walking in, I fully expected “Song Sung Blue” to be a cheesy, over-the-top sugar high. True, it’s not up to Brewer’s more gritty standards, but like Lightning & Thunder themselves, it thrives on a combination of dramatic restraint and utter charm. All I can say is, thank the Lord for the nighttime and this crowd-pleasing opus. Bomp, bomp, bomp!
Movie review
Song Sung Blue
Rated: PG-13
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Michael Imperioli, Jim Belushi and Fisher Stevens
Director: Craig Brewer
Writer: Craig Brewer
Runtime: 131 minutes
Where: In theaters Dec. 25
Grade: B
