David R. Walker

Posts Tagged ‘Mustafa Shakir’

Song Sung Blue

Director: Craig Brewer

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Ella Anderson, Hudson Henley, Michael Imperioli, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi, Mustafa Shakir

Running Time: 2 hours and 12 minutes

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

Twenty six years after her first Oscar nomination for Almost Famous back in 2000 for director Cameron Crowe’s musical drama, Oscar nominee Kate Hudson, daughter of Oscar winner and Hollywood veteran Goldie Hawn, stars in a new musical drama Song Sung Blue directed by Craig Brewer for which Hudson has just been nominated again for Best Actress in the 2026 Oscars.

Kate Hudson is extraordinary as a divorcee Claire in 1990’s Minnesota who teams up with a fellow singer impersonator the troubled Mike well played with gusto by Oscar nominee Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables) in Song Sung Blue, not the catchiest title for a film.

However despite the extraordinarily long running time, Song Sung Blue is an enjoyable musical drama about average Americans trying to survive by doing Neil Diamond and Patsy Cline impersonations on stage.

Claire and Mike form the Lightning and Thunder duo as they tour around the mid-West with the help of their hilarious manager Tony D’Amato superbly played by Jim Belushi (Wonder Wheel, The Whole Truth) and supported by Mike’s friends Dr Dave Watson played by Fisher Stevens recently seen in Ripley and Succession TV series and Mike Shurilla played by Michael Imperioli (Goodfellas).  

Complications arise in Claire and Mike’s marriage and performing partnership as Claire is hit by a car in a bad accident outside their house and she has rehabilitate herself and emotionally train herself to appear back on stage.

The rest of the supporting cast include Claire’s children Rachel played by Ella Anderson who is excellent and her son Dana played by Hudson Henley.

Despite the setbacks Claire and Mike have as a performing duo, Song Sung Blue as a film was not edited properly and is saved by an extraordinarily vulnerable performance by Kate Hudson who carries the entire film.

While Song Sung Blue has great commercial appeal and there is an undeniable spark between Hudson and Jackman, the film itself meandered from one family drama to another while touching on issues of addiction, survival and ambition. A musical story about a couple that are almost famous but whose love triumphs through tenacity and tragedy.

See Song Sung Blue for the Neil Diamond music and the great family story, however as film it doesn’t stand as a monumental piece of cinema and is saved only by a brilliant performance by Kate Hudson. Director Craig Brewer who delivered the hilarious comedy Coming 2 America needs to employ a better editor.

This film has done extremely well at the box office which and has a warm compassionate appeal, however it pales in comparison to films like Marty Supreme and One Battle After Another.

Song Sung Blue gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and is worth seeing purely for Kate Hudson’s competent performance. Recommended viewing for an enjoyable family drama.