Song Sung Blue
Director: Craig Brewer
Writer: Craig Brewer
Based on: the documentary with the same name (2008)
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Ella Anderson, Hudson Hensley, King Princess, Michael Imperioli, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi, Mustafa Shakir, John Beckwith
Seen on: 5.2.2026

Plot:
Mike (Hugh Jackman) is a mechanic by day, and an entertainer by calling. He mostly does impersonations, but he dreams of going on-stage as himself, or rather as the stage persona he created for himself, Lightning. When he meets Claire (Kate Hudson), a Patsy Cline impersonator, sparks fly, and an off-hand remark of hers about Mike’s resemblance to Neil Diamond sets a whole chain of events in motion that leads to wedding, success and also catastrophe.

I knew very little about the film going in. In fact, I hadn’t planned on watching it but had made a mistake with the playtimes at the cinema, and then it was the only thing playing. Well, whatever, I thought, the music is bound to be good. And it was. But also, the story of Mike and Claire is pretty damn astounding and the film tells it melodramatically well.

As you can probably guess, I haven’t seen the documentary the film is based on, but I would be curious to watch it now and see how much poetic license the film took. Because some of the things here are really almost unbelievable. The film certainly had me hooked.

Brewer has a good sense of timing, and there are some really good jokes and some really good songs, making the film feeling pretty short. But it is also rather formulaic, making us guess many things in advance just by the obvious way it sets up a pay-off or another. Then again, those formulas are there for a reason´- mostly because they work.

That being said, Kate Hudson (I didn’t know she could sing, but she can) and Hugh Jackman are basically three charm packages each, and together, they are an infectious combination that is bound to draw you in. It was also such an amazing moment when the two go at it in the bathroom and we see Hudson’s (beautiful!) body with belly rolls and all as it is bound to be at her age, especially with the role she is playing. But it’s also such an impossible thing to see in a Hollywood movie that it felt almost revolutionary, definitely revelatory.

In any case, the film is one that has become rare in recent years: a medium-sized movie. Not an indie production, but also no 100 million dollar budget. Not devoid of artistic aspirations, but mostly made to entertain. A cast with a few good names, but not all A-listers. And I really enjoyed watching it.

Summarizing: excellent entertainment.