Song Sung Blue review by Bobby Blakey
Hugh Jackman has established himself as one of the most versatile actors around, From Wolverine to The Greatest Showman to The Son and everything in between. His latest film Song Sung Blue tackles a true story bringing music and drama together alongside co-star Kate Hudson from Coming 2 America and Dolemite Is My Name director Craig Brewer. Could this film bring the songs worth hearing or will it be time to get off the stage?
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Song Sung Blue follows the true story of two down-on-their-luck musicians who form a joyous Neil Diamond tribute band, proving it's never too late to find love and follow your dreams. The film co-stars Michael Imperioli, Mustafa Shakir, Hudson Hensley, John Beckwith, Fisher Stevens and Jim Belushi.
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As much as I love Hugh Jackman I zero interest in seeing this film. It just didn’t appeal to me and while I do like some of his music Neal Diamon is just not my thing. When I finally sat down to watch it something magical happened. It pulled me right into the music and showmanship of their world before hitting me with the reality and tragedy of this story.
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Jackman and Hudson are fantastic here with both born to play these roles. They bring so much chemistry to the screen and the stage that you cannot help but love to see them together. Their musical performances are just as engaging as their budding romance, but the happiness is always fleeting and with dealing with a true story of this you know there are going to be hurdles for them to jump over and they are heavy.
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Jackman’s character is engaging, charismatic and obsessed trying to make to the
stage he fully believes he deserves. With the addition of Hudson, they bring fire to their presence, and it shines through the screen with every note. I found myself not only loving the music, but even more so watching them perform together. Hudson is a little lighter character initially and seems to be relegated to Jackman’s sidekick until a moment changes everything and her persona changes. For the rest of the film, she is at a completely different stage of emotions and life, and she knocks it out of the park in every way. They are both so good, but she steals the show in the second half of the film when they aren’t on stage.
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Make no mistake they are on equal playing fields here and both shine to some of their best performances of their careers. The rest of the cast is great as well with the most surprising and welcome addition being that of Jim Belushi. He is so great here and a pivotal part of their story and gives the best performance of his career as well. I hope we get to start seeing more of him again in roles like this.
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Through all the light and darkness of these people’s lives the music never dulls and it is so well executed, shot and performed that you can’t help but want to sing and dance along with them. This went from being a film I had little interest in to being one my favorite of the year and I hope it gets the audience and recognition it deserves.
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Grab your copy of Song Sung Blue available now on digital and then on Blu-ray and DVD on February 17th from Universal Home Entertainment.
