Lightning and Thunder, a Milwaukee husband and wife Neil Diamond tribute act, experience soaring success and devastating heartbreak in their musical journey together.

While probably a better celebration of the legacy of Neil Diamond than a biopic would be, Song Sung Blue is a perfectly fine by-the-numbers film that takes an interesting story and gives it the old Hollywood sheen. The movie is elevated, though, by an excellent performance at the center that was crying out to be surrounded by a better film.

Following the true story of Mike (Hugh Jackman), a festival rocker who kind of falls backward into a career as a Neil Diamond cover artist and brings along his partner and eventual wife, Claire (Kate Hudson). The movie adapts the story of real couple that was depicted in a documentary of the same name from 17 years ago. There are moments in this film that feel fake because of their outlandish nature, mostly Eddie Vedder enlisting Mike and Claire (going by the stage name of Lightning and Thunder) to open for Pearl Jam. But that really happened. Other great moments were ruined for me by a trailer (not the one linked here) that gave away story beats that should’ve shocked.

Jackman is decent, he’s a great singer, and uses his natural charisma to make a mediocre person larger-than-life. But Hudson is stunning. She so inhabits Claire that you can actually see her eyes sparkling in character, see her thinking as Claire and moving as a completely different person than she’s ever played. Not to mention how well she sings and acquits herself on the extremes the movie calls for. Hudson received a well-deserved nod from the Screen Actor’s Guild for Best Actress, and the movie is better for her involvement. When she’s off-screen her presence is still felt and my biggest wish is that they could’ve shifted the narrative to focus more on her throughout.

I didn’t go into it being a Neil Diamond fan, but I was surprised to realize how many hits he’s behind. I left more of a Hudson fan than before and I can’t wait for other creators to take advantage of this moment from her.

Jonathan’s grade – C+