‘Song Sung Blue’ is a holiday hit

People have been saying, “Why doesn’t Hollywood make great movies anymore?” Then along comes “Song Sung Blue.” It’s a romantic comedy, a musical and a documentary based on a true story. Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman put in Academy Award-deserving performances playing Lightning (Mike Sardina) and Thunder (Claire Sardina). Their show was the “The Neil Diamond Experience,” a 1990s version of what we would call today a tribute band.

The movie is based on a documentary of the same name that accurately tells the story of the duo’s ups and downs as they meet with success and tragedy. In addition to Hudson and Jackman’s excellent performances, the supporting cast of Jim Belushi, Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, King Princess and Mustafa Shakir are also great.

Hudson is clearly the star of the movie. As the daughter of Goldie Hawn, she is Hollywood royalty and first came to fame as Penny Lane in 2000’s “Almost Famous,” for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. This latest role as Thunder puts her at the top of today’s leading movie star actresses.

This was not a glamorous role for Hudson to play, as she recreates Claire’s story of dealing with a terrible accident, followed by drug addiction. Many of Claire’s recovery scenes have Hudson shot with minimal makeup. The Wisconsin accent is perfect and, yes, she does sing all the songs herself. This should give her an Academy Award nomination, if not the Best Actress award.