LOS ANGELES, Dec. 24 (UPI) — It’s official. They’ve run out of musicians so it’s time for tribute band biopics. Song Sung Blue, in theaters Thursday, feels like it is exploiting people who did not ask for the spotlight in the way celebrities have.
Mike Sardino (Hugh Jackman) is a musician in Alcoholics Anonymous. On stage, he calls himself Lightning.
At a local fair, Mike meets Claire Stengl (Kate Hudson), a Patsy Cline impersonator. Mike is a huge Neil Diamond fan and Claire inspires him to perform Diamond songs with her. He names them Lightning & Thunder.
The first half of the story is about the localized rise of Lightning & Thunder. Instead of inspiring original songs like the Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan biopics, Mike and Claire find the inspiration to cover Neil Diamond classics…