Song Sung Blue

Directed by Craig Brewer, Song Sung Blue follows Hugh Jackman’s Mike and Kate Hudson’s Claire as they become an unlikely success story after forming a Neil Diamond cover band. It’s almost inherently agreeable subject matter that’s employed to better-than-anticipated effect by Brewer, as the filmmaker, armed with his own screenplay, delivers a perpetually watchable endeavor that’s heightened by the absolutely magnetic efforts of its two stars – with both Jackman and Hudson offering up impossibly charismatic work that elevates the proceedings on a recurring basis. And while the 132 minute running time admittedly does result in a handful of palpable narrative lulls, including (and especially) a rather repetitive stretch focused on Claire’s efforts at healing from a life-altering injury, Song Sung Blue, which has been peppered with a number of electrifying building-a-song-from-the-ground-up sequences, builds towards an unexpectedly enthralling final stretch that’s somehow both heartbreaking and uplifting simultaneously – with the final result a solid biopic that’s sure to convert Diamond detractors into fans.

***1/2 out of ****