Song Sung Blue (dir. Craig Brewer)

by Jack Martin | Jan 3, 2026

Certificate: 12A

Running Time: 132 mins

UK Distributor: Universal Pictures

UK Release Date: 1 January 2026

WHO’S IN SONG SUNG BLUE?

Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Ella Anderson, King Princess, Hudson Hensley, Michael Imperioli, Mustafa Shakir, Jayson Warner Smith, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi, Erika Slezak, Sean Allan Krill, Beth Malone, John Beckwith

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Craig Brewer (director, writer, producer), John Davis and John Fox (producers), Scott Bomar (composer), Amy Vincent (cinematographer), Billy Fox (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A musician (Jackman) and single mother (Hudson) form a Neil Diamond tribute band…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON SONG SUNG BLUE?

Given that many of our most famous musicians have all received biopics based on their lives, from Freddie Mercury to Ray Charles to Buddy Holly and beyond, it’s a little surprising that Neil Diamond hasn’t yet had the big-screen biographical treatment. There have certainly been films that have featured his music on their soundtracks, and even ones where Diamond himself has acted (most notably in the lead role of Richard Fleischer’s 1980 remake of The Jazz Singer), but when it comes to movies that have dared to tackle the life and career of one of the biggest-selling musicians of all time, you’re bound to find more that are about Neil Diamond tribute acts than the man himself.

Take Song Sung Blue, for instance – and I don’t just mean this new dramatised film from writer-director Craig Brewer, but also the 2008 documentary of the same name on which this movie is based. Both focus on a pair of entertainers whose own love and passion for the numerous classic songs of Neil Diamond brought about the creation of a tribute act that combined Diamond’s timeless appeal with their own grandiose showmanship, and both are also genuinely sweet-natured in how they approach the subject matter while also, much like the musicians at its centre, putting their unique fingerprints on it. This version in particular is soft and gentle, knowingly melodramatic but also with its heart in the right place, and charming in many of the ways that most people know Diamond himself to be, even if it sometimes falls victim to some of the usual biopic tropes.

Again, Neil Diamond himself is not the focus of this movie (though his music is certainly a key component), but rather it’s on recovering alcoholic Mike Sardina (Hugh Jackman) and single mother Claire (Kate Hudson), both struggling impersonators barely scraping by with regular gigs at the Wisconsin County Fair portraying the likes of Don Ho and Patsy Cline. Their mutual love for Neil Diamond – and eventually for each other – soon inspires them to create a new tribute act called Lightning and Thunder, with their soulful interpretations of Diamond’s music soon gaining them an enthusiastic following. But after a shocking life-changing accident, Mike and Claire find themselves in an incredibly difficult position where their passion for performing is both challenged by forces beyond their control and reinforced by their genuine love for one another.

Like most heartfelt tribute performances, Brewer’s film is very easy to like, instantly establishing the genuine connection between its two leads as they meet, find common ground, bond with their respective children from previous marriages, and of course share their Neil Diamond adoration with one another. You can feel Mike and Claire’s chemistry radiating off the screen, not least because the performances by Jackman and Hudson are excellent, particularly the latter who is giving it her all in scenes during the film’s second half where she is physically and mentally vulnerable in legitimately upsetting ways. The actors do very well to make their characters’ passion feel as though they’re also that of the audience, and whether or not you like the music of Neil Diamond it’s impossible not to feel as enthusiastic as they do when they belt out and put their own spin on tracks like “Soolaimon”, “Play Me,” and of course that ever-catchy crowd-pleaser of an anthem “Sweet Caroline”.

Brewer’s script takes the familiar biopic structure and doesn’t exactly reinvent the formula but reinterprets it with a more grounded look at how Lightning and Thunder quickly go from disastrous first gigs to opening for the likes of Pearl Jam, to eventually scoring their own headlining shows. Though much of it may still feel familiar, there’s enough interesting ground being covered that still gets you invested in this story and its world, particularly early scenes where we see how intricate the world of stage impersonators can be and how some, like Michael Imperioli as an aging Buddy Holly act, feel like their creative ambitions are limited by constantly playing this one role well beyond their prime. While most of that is played more for laughs, things get much heavier during the second half in which there’s significantly more heartbreak as well as moments of psychosis and mental health that feel like they’re straight out of a much more sombre drama, and again these moments are handled with plenty of care and consideration by the filmmakers and the performers for them to emotionally resonate with the viewer.

However, despite its more grounded tone, Song Sung Blue doesn’t entirely ring true as a dramatised film. There are parts of this real-life story which are understandably condensed or exaggerated for the sake of it being a movie, but sometimes that ends up stretching credibility as characters’ relationships and careers, which in reality took years to get to certain points, feel oddly rushed so that it can all fit into a singular narrative. The documentary of the same name is perhaps your better bet when it comes to truly feeling the years go by in these people’s lives, whereas here it feels like it’s all taking place over mere months since few of the younger characters seem to physically age despite so much happening, which does take you out of the experience every once in a while.

Still, if this is the closest we’ll get for a while to a full-blown Neil Diamond biopic, then Song Sung Blue sets the bar decently high, for it is likeably written, wonderfully performed, and while it may not completely shake off its biopic traits still manages to put its own spin on familiar tropes for it to sing with passion.

SO, TO SUM UP…

Song Sung Blue is a likeable biopic of a Neil Diamond tribute act that doesn’t quite escape familiar tropes, nor does it entirely convince as a scripted drama, but benefits from heartfelt writing and passionate performances that make it endearing entertainment.