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 active wear.
But then Hudson released a very good record album in May 2024 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 be right. In Craig Brewer’s “Song Sung Blue,” Hudson plays real Claire Sardina who — circle 1987 — has been singing around Milwaukee as country great Patsy Cline. No wallflower, Claire has a voice and the looks so she can 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 lots of rock stars. The pair meet, team up and becoming “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 hit by an out of control car that careens into their front lawn. I won’t tell you what happens next. Mike has significant heart trouble from years of booze and drugs. So you know, things are going to go sideways.
You know bad times are coming because the first half of the film — full of music and laughs– is too much fun. All the characters get along, the main duo are very talented, and seem to be gaining local stardom.
Then the bottom drops out. Let’s stop here for the moment.
Craig Brewer directed “Hustle and Flow,” and he knows how to make a music movie. Hugh Jackman is a Broadway star when he’s not playing “Wolverine.” We know he can sing. So you’ve got two big building blocks. 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 not rammed down our throats. Mike likes songs like “Song Sung Blue” and “Play Me,” and sings the heck 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 bad times.
There’s 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 likeable 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, it’s not 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? You can take the whole family.
