Lightning and Thunder, a Milwaukee husband and wife Neil Diamond tribute act, experience soaring success and devastating heartbreak in their musical journey together.
Pam says:
This Wisconsin-set love story is one audiences won’t want to miss. Based on the true story of Mike and Claire, known onstage as Lightning and Thunder, a Neil Diamond Tribute Band, the film follows this husband-and-wife duo from their “meet-cute” through the decades to follow.
At its core, “Song Sung Blue” is the kind of feel-good movie that feels particularly welcome right now. Hugh Jackman stars as Mike, a down-on-his-luck singer and performer yearning for something more out of life. When Claire, played by Kate Hudson, enters his orbit, everything shifts. Together, they discover harmony (both personal and professional), sharing their love through Diamond’s enduring catalog. As with any satisfying narrative, the couple faces trials and tribulations and while the arc may feel familiar, even predictable, the knowledge that these events are rooted in real lives gives the film its most endearing and heartwarming qualities.
The movie is also a lot of fun, particularly for viewers who grew up in the 1980s with Neil Diamond’s music as a constant soundtrack. Thanks to Jackman’s and Hudson’s broad talents including their musical ability, comic timing, and emotional accessibility, “Song Sung Blue” is an easy film to settle into. In fact, it’s difficult not to hum along, or outright sing, as the story unfolds.
Jackman is pitch-perfect in the role, bringing a characteristic twinkle to Mike and an infectious optimism that persists even amid setbacks. Hudson proves a strong counterpart, though her Wisconsin dialect occasionally feels overstated, but I will forgive that as her chemistry with Jackman anchors the film and gives credibility to the couple’s bond.
Above all, it is worth remembering that Song Sung Blue is based on a true story. That grounding in reality elevates what could have been a routine musical romance into something warmer and more sincere. This is a film best experienced in a theater, where audiences are likely to leave smiling and perhaps even humming a familiar tune.
