Waaaay back in 2000, Kate Hudson received an Oscar nomination for her intuitive performance as band muse Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe’s *Almost Famous*. What followed for the next 25 years was a seesaw of roles mostly in romcoms that came and went. Nothing ever stuck. In the meantime, she became a successful entrepreneur with the Fabletics activewear brand.
Then, in May 2024, Hudson released a very good record album that I reviewed in this column. She turned out to be a terrific singer and performer. So when I heard she’d be in a movie about a couple who perform Neil Diamond songs professionally, I had a feeling it would work out. My feeling turned out to be right.
In Craig Brewer’s *Song Sung Blue*, Hudson plays Claire Sardina, who in the late 1980s has been singing around Milwaukee as country great Patsy Cline. No wallflower, Claire has a voice and the looks that help her make a little money from the impersonation. Into her life comes Mike, also on the circuit in Milwaukee, playing his guitar and doing tributes to various rock stars.
The pair meet, team up, and become “Lightning and Thunder.” They marry, blend their families, and get so popular locally that Eddie Vedder asks them to open for Pearl Jam. All of this was reported in a 2008 documentary, including real-life health and living issues that would fill any soap opera.
Along the way, Claire is hit by an out-of-control car that careens into their front lawn. I won’t spoil what happens next. Mike faces significant heart trouble from years of booze and drugs, so you know things are going to go sideways.
You sense bad times are coming because the first half of the film — full of music and laughs — is just too much fun. All the characters get along, the main duo are very talented, and they seem to be gaining local stardom. Then the bottom drops out.
Let’s pause here for a moment.
Craig Brewer directed *Hustle and Flow*, so he knows how to make a music movie. Hugh Jackman is a Broadway star when he’s not playing “Wolverine,” so we know he can sing. These two are big building blocks for the film.
Also, Neil Diamond has a huge catalog of hits, including what’s become a dreaded overused singalong in “Sweet Caroline.” But Jackman’s Mike, thanks to smart turns in the screenplay, doesn’t like “Sweet Caroline.” He says Neil Diamond’s music is more than that. So even though it’s heard, it’s never rammed down our throats.
Mike prefers songs like “Song Sung Blue” and “Play Me,” and he sings the heck out of them. (The only song really missing is one of my favorites, “Solitary Man.”)
Nothing prepares you for Kate Hudson, though. She’s charming and understated. She has a Milwaukee accent that sounds like it’s sawing through trees but doesn’t come out in her vibrant singing. When tragedy befalls Claire, Hudson handles it without too much mishegos. Brewer won’t let her, because the movie is about the music and how it sustains these people through hard times.
There are plenty of very good supporting characters. Mike and Claire each have a daughter, played respectively by King Princess and Ella Anderson. Michael Imperioli, of *Sopranos* fame, plays a guitarist and Buddy Holly imitator. He’s very good. Fisher Stevens and James Belushi are likable managers of Mike and Claire.
Mustafa Shakir doesn’t get enough time to do his James Brown impressions, but in the end, it’s all about Jackman and Hudson. They have lots of chemistry and make lovely music together.
With Jackman, this isn’t a big surprise. Didn’t you see *The Music Man*? But Hudson, daughter of Goldie Hawn, finally gets a spotlight and uses it with grace and wit. Why didn’t we know she was such a good singer before last year?
I predict, at the very least, Critics Choice and Golden Globe nominations, and who knows what else. I do hope there’s a soundtrack album.
*Song Sung Blue* opens Christmas Day, and you know what? You can take the whole family.
https://www.showbiz411.com/2025/10/27/review-kate-hudson-fulfills-the-promise-of-her-2000-oscar-nomination-in-sudsy-musical-song-sung-blue-about-neil-diamond-performers