The hook of Song Sung Blue – two performers meet at middle age and decide to form a Neil Diamond tribute group – feels like a stretch for a movie premise. So when you learn that the film is based on a documentary of two real people, the hook appears to have more substance to it. The film is directed by Craig Brewer, one of those Hollywood directors with an extremely high floor and a very low ceiling. Brewer has a good eye for performance, and is enough of a veteran storyteller that the audience almost always get what they want. His interest is in screenplays where music – particularly popular commercial music – plays a major role in the characters’ lives. That’s certainly the case for Mike Sardina (Hugh Jackman), and his performance partner-turned-wife Claire (Kate Hudson), who go by the stage name of Thunder & Lightning.

Mike and Claire have given up on any dreams of superstardom, but they still hope to one day make a living doing what they love most: singing and performing for audiences of all sizes. When they come up with the idea of Thunder & Lightning, a Neil Diamond tribute band, their popularity explodes across the metro-Wisconsin area. This crescendos with being the opening act for Pearl Jam in 1995 during the height of their fame. Will Thunder & Lightning ever top the charts? Probably not, but they finally appear able to pay their bills, take good care of their children (played by Ella Anderson, Hudson Hensley, and King Princess). Their modest dreams of mid-level success finally appears a reality until they fall victim to several cruelties of fate that threaten not only their act, but their relationship, and in some instances, their lives.

You watch this movie expecting Mike and Claire to face difficulties, but the specifics in their hardships does manage to feel surprising for any one – like me – who hasn’t watched the documentary. Yes, the romance is strained, but Brewer makes the story less about stress-testing their marriage, and more about seeing the way ordinary people persevere in extraordinary ways. Brewer’s films are never particularly insightful, and they certainly aren’t particularly cinematic. The performances are always his main focus, and that’s the case here. In particular, Kate Hudson gets a role as good as any that she’s ever had. An actress whose films have often felt well below her standard, Song Sung Blue is a very heartening showcase. It’s the greatest piece of acting she’s ever done because it captures the full scope of what she’s capable of. Comedy, drama, singing. Hudson and, to a lesser degree, Jackson carry this film to a place where it’s easy to forgive its very traditional presentation, and just appreciate how much it leans into its earnestness.

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Directed by Craig Brewer