Look, I can safely say that the only song I ever remember by Neil Diamond is, in fact, “Sweet Caroline” and I know that he’s done so much more than that, given that the man is 84 and still writing music.
But, I was glad to see the running joke in ‘Song Sung Blue’ about “Sweet Caroline” being the song that everyone knew.
I was intrigued to watch the story of Neil Diamond tribute band Lightning & Thunder play out on the big screen last week.
The movie starts with the band’s formation and gives snippets of background between its main characters while not really sticking too hard to the actual correct timeline in real life.
Outside of that, I found the family dynamics to be endearing despite the tough times Lightning and Thunder went through.
But, the overall message was the same – music could unite all sorts of people and give them an outlet for expressing their emotions.
Song Sung Blue is an American biographical musical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Craig Brewer.
It is based on the 2008 documentary film of the same name by Greg Kohs.
The film stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson as Mike and Claire Sardina, who performed as the Neil Diamond tribute band Lightning & Thunder.
It also stars Michael Imperioli, King Princess, Ella Anderson, Mustafa Shakir, Fisher Stevens, and Jim Belushi.
The movie clocks in at 132 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for thematic material, some strong language, some sexual material and brief drug use.
Mike Sardina (Jackman) is a Don Ho impersonator, appearing at the Wisconsin State Fair despite wanting to be himself on stage.
When Mike refuses to come on stage as anyone other than himself – better known as “Lightning” - he quits right as Claire (Hudson) readies to come on as Patsy Cline.
They have a conversation where she suggests he go down the Neil Diamond route and continue getting paying gigs that way.
Mike watches her sing and is smitten before he heads home and puts on a Neil Diamond vinyl to practice with.
After one date, the pair later begin a relationship along with their tribute band.
After a bad first gig as the newly formed “Lightning and Thunder,” a Neil Diamond tribute duo, Mike and Claire get married and have a string of successful shows.
In fact, one of their most successful shows is opening for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder in Milwaukee.
One day, Claire is hit by a car while planting flowers in the garden in front of their house and loses her left leg below the knee.
She struggles coming to terms with losing her leg, medicating the pain and reality away, and begins fighting with Mike, thinking that he is seeing other people.
One evening, Mike’s daughter Angelina (Princess) asks if he has been attending his AA meetings like he had before Claire’s injury.
After a bit more prodding, Mike admits that singing does not mean anything when Claire is not there to sing with him.
Still, that’s not all life is going to throw at their family and it’s worth watching the film all the way to the end.
I may still only know most of the lyrics to “Sweet Caroline,” but I’m definitely inspired to look into Neil Diamond’s discography some more and maybe that’s one of the best takeaways from this film.
I will warn you that the ending isn’t exactly happy for this flick but it’s worth it in the end.
