Review: ‘Song Sung Blue’ is a hopeful ode to music, the Midwest, and making dreams come true
2025 / Dir. Craig Brewer
Rating: 3.5/5
Watch if you like: seeing a dramatic version of Drop Dead Gorgeous in all of its midwestern realism, and whether you know every line or have never heard a Neil Diamond song in your life.
Song Sung Blue is the true story of two musicians, seemingly past their prime, who come together to build a Neil Diamond cover show. Kate Hudson graces us with the performance of her career as the Thunder to Hugh Jackman’s Lightning. We fall in love with her the moment he does at the state fair, drawn in by her charisma and humility. Lightning is easy to root for as a man with a moral compass and deep passion for what he does. They share a dream of making music for a living, and meeting each other is the spark they needed.
This true story is simultaneously unbelievable yet grounded, thanks in part to the impressive Wisconsin accent work and ‘90s Midwest aesthetic. A fantastic example of this comes in one of the first scenes of the film when we’re introduced to a dentist that is moonlighting as his manager and later a bus driver sidelining as a booking agent. This type of dream takes a village, and the supporting cast of family and community members are a beautiful representation of that.
The setbacks in the story don’t so much begin as much as they escalate. We are picking up late in their so-called careers and following divorces, even wars. Avoiding spoiler territory, I’ll just say that they don’t pull any punches. As each obstacle is introduced, it raises our heart rates and fuels our hopes as an audience. However, it’s this same rollercoaster of highs and lows that impacts the film’s pacing, making it feel more episodic than singular at times.
You may be thinking you’ve seen too many movies like this one, and while it does rely on certain tropes of this genre, it also subverts many of them. Director Craig Brewer’s (Coming 2 America, Hustle & Flow) clear respect for these two artists ensures it is never hokey or patronizing, but instead relentlessly hopeful and inspiring.