‘Song Sung Blue’ Encourages People to Follow Their Dreams | Movie Review

Photo by Focus Features

On Tuesday, December 2, 2025, after finishing Zootopia 2 (2025), on my way out of Consolidated Theatres Pearlridge, I told myself I was done with going to the movies because I’ve lost the excitement for seeing a new film in theaters, most likely due to inflation. However, as I was leaving, I saw a movie poster for what looked to be a Neil Diamond biopic. Though I was intrigued, I reassured myself by telling my mom I was done with going to the movies. However, a couple of weeks later or so, I pulled up an article about the movie I thought was a Neil Diamond biopic, Song Sung Blue (2025), while waiting for my mom to be done with her doctor’s appointment. To my surprise, Song Sung Blue is not about Neil Diamond nor is it about anyone famous at all; it’s about a Neil Diamond tribute band called, Lightning & Thunder. My next thought was, “who the hell wants to see a movie about normal people performing in a tribute band?” However, what intrigued me about the movie was director Craig Brewer’s emphasis on the American Dream. Remembering the true spirit of our country; believing in a dream and working hard to accomplish it.

Song Sung Blue tells the story of two people, Mike and Claire Sardina, who formed a bond through music and fell in love. They formed the duo, Lightning & Thunder, Mike was Lightning and Claire was Thunder, because they wanted to be entertainers. They didn’t want to spend the rest of their lives working normal 9-to-5 jobs in an office, a diner, an auto repair shop, whatever; they just wanted to play music and pay tribute to their idols. Together, Lightning & Thunder became a crowd favorite among the Milwaukee circuit performing mostly Neil Diamond songs, with some Patsy Cline songs here and there. They were popular among state fairs and music festivals; they even performed “Forever in Blue Jeans” with Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam as part of the latter’s encore at Milwaukee’s Summerfest in 1995. Without going into many details, Lightning & Thunder had their fair share of triumphs and tribulations, yet they still had faith in their dream and I think that’s what kept them going for as long as they did.

The movie stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson as Mike and Claire Sardina, Ella Anderson and Hudson Hensley as Rachel and Dayna Cartwright, Claire’s kids from her first marriage; and King Princess as Angelina Sardina, Mike’s daughter from his first marriage. It was based on the documentary, Song Sung Blue (2008), directed by Greg Kohs, which shows Mike and Claire’s life as Lightning & Thunder and the challenges they had to overcome. If you plan to see this movie, watch the movie first and watch the documentary afterwards. Though the movie takes certain details from the documentary and the events that take place in the movie actually happened to them in real life, I think it’s better to go into the movie with a blind perspective. When I first saw Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), I knew nothing about Queen’s history as a band, so watching the events that take place unfold, I was fully invested in the film. I wasn’t like, “that’s not when the event takes place,” or “that person is way nicer than how they’re being portrayed in the film.” Like with all biopics, there are historical inaccuracies, but once you have that little thought in mind, you’re good!

As mentioned earlier, the movie, Song Sung Blue, highlights the true spirit of having a dream and going after that dream. This movie isn’t just for aspiring musicians; it’s for anyone with a dream and working hard to pursue it, whether it’s becoming a doctor or opening your own restaurant, etc. When Brewer brought up the American Dream, it reminded me of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” because when late vocalist Ronnie Van Zant was asked about the song’s meaning, he said it centers on being free like a bird, flying wherever you wants to go, further emphasizing that everyone wants to be free. It’s a movie about regular people and their struggles to make a living doing what they love. Jackman and Hudson have great chemistry together as Mike and Claire, both on and off stage. Hudson has this presence where she lights up the room in every scene she’s in; even when she’s at her lowest moments, she still has this light shining over her. Anderson does a fantastic job as Rachel; I really enjoyed watching her character grow from a rebellious teenager to a mature adult due to the responsibilities piled on her shoulders, struggling to keep her family together.

The real highlight of the film, however, is the music. My parents saw Neil Diamond live when I was either in intermediate school or high school, but I knew almost nothing about his catalog. Before seeing Song Sung Blue, I only knew two of his songs: “Sweet Caroline” and “America.” The movie soundtrack includes a mix of his biggest hits and lesser-known songs. My favorite songs from the movie are “Holly Holy,” “Song Sung Blue,” “Cherry, Cherry,” and “I’ve Been This Way Before.” The latter was performed by Hudson and my gosh, what a beautiful voice! I also enjoyed her version of Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight,” very sultry and sexy. 

Sure, a movie about a tribute band is a bit odd. Plus, if Lightning & Thunder really wanted to be entertainers and pursue music full-time, why couldn’t they write their own damn songs? However, I’ll give them some credit because the goal wasn’t to perform in sold-out stadiums and have a number one hit single on the Billboard charts; they just wanted to sing and perform wherever they could. There’s this great scene in the movie where Mike and Claire are looking at old photos and vinyl records of Diamond, while discussing a game plan for their new act. Mike admits he doesn’t look like Diamond and he doesn’t sound like him, therefore, he wants to do his own thing. Claire said it best; Mike doesn’t want to be a Neil Diamond impersonator, he wants to be a Neil Diamond interpreter. There’s a running joke in the film, where everyone wants Mike to play “Sweet Caroline” at his shows, but he doesn’t want to because he believes Neil Diamond was so much more than that song. He was all about the deep cuts and coming from someone who also enjoys deep cuts from her favorite bands, I have mad respect for Mike because of that.

I’m still unsure how I feel about the movie’s ending because I understand why the writers chose to end the film that way, but it felt anticlimactic to me. Maybe, that’ll change when I watch the movie for a second time. For now, I’ll give Song Sung Blue a score of 4 out of 5 stars. 

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Take care and see ya real soon!

Lana