Song Sung Blue: Hugh Jackman is Surreally Neil in Note-Perfect Schmaltzy Christmas-Release
By Jim Slotek
Rating: B+
The topic in our newsroom many years ago was favourite musical artists, and I referred to Neil Diamond as my “guilty pleasure.” Our music critic immediately corrected me. “There’s no such thing as a guilty pleasure. There’s only pleasure.”
I took the advice to heart. It was the alt-rock era, and Diamond’s shiny shirts, stagey shows, and “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” were deemed uncool by the cool kids who were shocked to discover Urge Overkill’s “Girl You’ll Be A Woman Soon” on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack was a Diamond song. I re-appreciated the many hits, and the commitment he’d put into everything from “Soolaimón” to Brother Love’s “Travelling Salvation Show,” to the punch he’d injected into covers like Joni Mitchell’s “Chelsea Morning” or Roger Miller’s country classic “Husbands and Wives.”
Like Mike, the ersatz Neil in the movie Song Sung Blue, I feel “there’s so much more to Neil Diamond than ‘Sweet Caroline!’”
I feel the same way about Song Sung Blue, an alternately fun and tear-jerking tale of a real-life husband-and-wife team of Neil Diamond “interpreters.” It is pure schmaltz - actually the best schmaltz - oddly perfect for a Christmas Day release, marked by terrific performances, both dramatic and musical, by Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman.
Jackman in particular is note-perfect as a performer channeling his passion into a Neil Diamond tribute. He might as well be playing Diamond himself (and the ads for the movie are vague enough that some people might be fooled into thinking it’s a biopic).
I’d say it was a role he was born to play, but so were Wolverine and P.T. Barnum. The guy knows how to capture a spirit.
Mike and Claire Sardina were a couple who achieved regional fame in Wisconsin for their Diamond show, and hit a high point when Eddie Vedder dueted with them as the opening act to Pearl Jam. Their story was told before, in the 2008 documentary of the same name.
We meet them, and they meet each other, backstage at a State Fair “Legends” show of cover acts, a milieu the movie treats with respect. (When Mike and Claire are married, it’s courtesy of an ordained James Brown impersonator). Tribute acts for hire, Claire is there to do a set as Patsy Cline. Mike balks at playing the late hitmaking Hawaiian entertainer Don Ho.
The latter is to the consternation of booker and friend Mark Shurilla (Michael Imperioli), who doubles as a overaged Buddy Holly act (fun fact: the Sopranos’ Christopher dressed up as Buddy Holly is a dead ringer for David Cronenberg).
Nonetheless, the meet-up happens and a couple is born. Both are divorced with children, Mike is a Vietnam Vet with PTSD, a heart condition and a tradition of celebrating the “birthday” of his sobriety.
Claire convinces him that his passion for ND is so clear, he should carry the torch. Rather than trivialize him (as Mike worries), she says he would “interpret” him. For Diamond fans, their “instant studio” scene at Claire’s home, where they find their vibe, is worth the price of admission. Also priceless: the couple – now billed as Lightning and Thunder – plays their first show in front of an audience of bikers, and Mike insists on opening with “Soolaimon” instead of “Sweet Caroline.” A brawl ensues.
I’d almost recommend seeing the first act of Song Sung Blue and then heading home in high spirits. But it would be wrong to whitewash real life (rewrite it a bit, sure). The tragedies and struggles that befall Mike and Claire on route to and after achieving local stardom make the last two acts into a pinball narrative from struggle to struggle to redemption (with more struggle).
The audience may tear up as the troubles pile on. On the other hand, what’s triumph without tears?
Song Sung Blue. Directed by Carl Brewer. Starring Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, and Michael Imperioli. In theatres December 25.