Cast: Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi
Director: Craig Brewer
Rating: ★★★.5
Based on a real-life story that once lived as a minor documentary, sang the song blue Writer-director Craig Brewer finds himself returning to familiar terrain: underdogs pursuing dignity through performance.
Set against the distinctly American world of tribute acts and county fairs, the film follows Mike and Claire Sardina (Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, respectively), a mixed-family couple in late ’80s Milwaukee who achieved local fame by forming a Neil Diamond tribute act called Lightning & Thunder.
Mike, a Vietnam veteran searching for sobriety, and Claire, a hairdresser with a strong voice and a delicate inner life, find purpose and connection through performance. Their work takes off, opening doors they never expected – including sharing a stage with Pearl Jam – even as personal tragedies begin to pile up.
Good
For Indian audiences unfamiliar with Neil Diamond’s cultural footprint, the film cleverly presents his music less as pop history and more as songs that provide audiences with reassurance, nostalgia and escapism.
The film is held together almost entirely by her performances. Hugh brings restless energy and an aching vulnerability to Mike, playing him as a man who is desperate to be taken seriously without ever believing he really deserves it. Whether he’s practicing in private or performing under blinding lights, Hugh makes the act of singing feel like survival. Meanwhile, Kate quietly delivers a revelatory twist. Free of movie-star glamor, her Claire feels grounded, contradictory, and emotionally punchy, with music serving as both refuge and liberation.
Craig’s direction removes the ridiculousness from what could have easily become kitsch. The film does not satirize its characters’ ambitions; Instead, it depends on their loneliness, their need to be seen, and the small miracles that come from being heard. The musical sequences have been allowed to breathe, giving the songs narrative importance rather than treating them as checkpoints of nostalgia.
bad
At times the film struggles with restraint. Bad luck comes in huge waves, and the pile of tragedy sometimes reaches the point of overwhelming. The subplot involving the children is carefully introduced but not always explored in depth, while the final half of the film feels longer than necessary, as if it’s unsure where to land emotionally. The tonal shift in the latter half, from euphoria to hurt, may seem jarring even to viewers expecting a light ride.
Decision
sang the song blue Serious to a fault, but its honesty is ultimately its strength. This is a film that considers performance as salvation and engagement as survival. Driven by Hugh and Kate’s deeply human turns, it may be old-fashioned in spirit, but it holds enough emotional truth to carve out its place beyond nostalgia.