The story of Mike and Claire Sardina — a struggling husband-and-wife Neil Diamond tribute act from Milwaukee — was never the stuff of Hollywood movies. Unfortunately, it’s been made into one.
Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson are slumming to play the slightly batty couple in the big-hearted but misguided “Song Sung Blue,” a baffling adaptation of a very moving 2008 documentary.
Director and writer Craig Brewer isn’t certain where the through line of the movie really is so he explores working-class pressures, adds a rom-com, swerves into tragedy and drug addiction and then lets Jackman and Hudson sunnily perform some 20-odd songs, turning “Song Sung Blue” into a melodrama-meets-holiday-sing-along.
Hollywood should have stayed away. The original documentary by Greg Kohs — who gets a producer credit this time — was about two artists who, despite facing foreclosure notices and insurance denials, still showed up for gigs, chasing that showbiz high, even when one suffered an amputation. The couple and their blended family came across as somewhat delusional but sweet and their tragedies seemed almost preordained. It was a small story.
Jackman and Hudson try to lose themselves in these parts. He walks around in sagging tighty-whities, with dirty fingernails and a missing tooth, and she works hard to be drab. The filmmakers ape many of the signatures of the documentary, like the sight of airplanes rumbling over the Sardinas’ house. In too many ways, “Song Sung Blue” feels like an act of karaoke.
Like Brewer’s previous “Dolemite Is My Name,” the new movie surrounds the main actors with a kindly support crew, like the guitar player played nicely by Michael Imperioli and managers portrayed by Fisher Stevens and Jim Belushi. Ella Anderson does excellent work as Claire’s angsty daughter, and look for a fun moment when an actor playing Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder takes the stage to share “Forever in Blue Jeans.”
The songs are excellently handled. Brewer is, after all, the director of “Hustle & Flow,” too. Hudson radiates as she sings, while Jackman absolutely nails Diamond’s sound and stance. If you came to hear “Sweet Caroline,” you’ll leave with a deeper respect for a songwriter who also wrote such gems as “Play Me” and “Holly Holy.”
It’s just that the overly long song performances are always smiling, exuberant affairs in what has to be considered a story of tragedy and they don’t fit tonally. Of course, music was the Sardinas’ happy place — their onstage names were Lightning & Thunder — but the blissful deliveries seem more like cheesy holiday movie fodder than studs in a well-constructed movie.
Some unnecessary Hollywood touches — an overcooked scene with a defibrillator and the ridiculous, non-factual way we lose Mike — stick out poorly. The filmmakers also never really explore the world of musical impersonation during a time when authenticity was becoming the coin of the realm. It doesn’t know what to do about heroes who are deeply campy, using wind machines in a biker bar. Overall, it’s just not so good, so good.
“Song Sung Blue,” a Focus Feature release that hits theaters on Christmas Day, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for thematic material, some strong language, some sexual material and brief drug use. Running time: 133 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.
