--- title: "Song Sung Blue: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/song-sung-blue/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/song-sung-blue" critics_score: 70 critics_reviews: 16 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Song Sung Blue (2025): what the critics said Critics' score 70 from 16 reviews: 13 positive, 1 mixed, 2 negative. Most critics like it, and they like it for the same reasons. The true story of a Milwaukee couple who form a Neil Diamond tribute act is called warm, big-hearted and proudly uncool, and nearly every review says the film is carried by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, with Hudson singled out more often as the stronger of the two. The musical numbers are the other point of agreement: several reviews say the film is at its best when the pair are on stage and belting, and that the songs do much of the emotional work. The reservations gather around what happens off stage. Some find the biopic scenes plodding and the dialogue weaker than the music, and several note the film reaches for a great many emotional climaxes. The two outright dissenters are British: The Observer finds it unremittingly bland, and The Telegraph finds it mawkish and tiresome, while Screen Daily calls the crescendos wearying rather than cathartic. Even they praise the leads. The spread is otherwise narrow. ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Rating Critics Pick. 27 October 2025. Festival review. Craig Brewer’s film is a winning pop nostalgia trip with a dark side about a Neil Diamond tribute band rooted in faith-like devotion to the music. It singles out the unironically celebratory take on karaoke culture and transcendent musical performances. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2025/film/reviews/song-sung-blue-review-hugh-jackman-kate-hudson-1236561525/) ## Radio Times — Terry Staunton Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 27 December 2025. A big-hearted, blue-collar love story with a shocking twist. The critic praises Jackman and especially Hudson’s performances and the deft handling of the tonal shift without mawkishness. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/song-sung-blue-review/) ## RogerEbert.com — Monica Castillo Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 24 December 2025. The film dramatizes the true story of a Milwaukee couple who form a Neil Diamond tribute band, highlighting their passion for music and personal hardships. It praises the strong performances and heartfelt storytelling centered on unlikely dreamers. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/song-sung-blue-hugh-jackman-kate-hudson-film-review-2025) ## The Times Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 30 December 2025. The critic praises the ingenious drama culled from a real story, highlighting strong performances by Hudson and Jackman that hit the right notes. It already features one of the great moments in cinema of 2026. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/song-sung-blue-review-kate-hudson-mk63mqgcc) ## Financial Times — Danny Leigh Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2026. The critic sees the film as a sweet tribute to a tribute act and a hymn to the underdog that avoids condescension. Jackman and Hudson keep belting out their performances in this flyover-state love story with real emotional wallop. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/0e144440-10bd-44e5-a168-0fcff331646c) ## Los Angeles Times — Amy Nicholson Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 23 December 2025. The movie is corny comfort cinema about a husband-and-wife Neil Diamond cover band, with strong music but weaker dialogue. It praises the bittersweet notes and the way the soundtrack elevates the true story of fleeting local fame. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-12-23/song-sung-blue-review-hugh-jackman-kate-hudson-michael-imperioli-craig-brewer) ## The i Paper — Francesca Steele Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 2025. Hudson delivers a brilliantly mature performance as the highlight of this joyful, ordinary love story. The film is jam-packed with fun and vitality on stage but has some plodding biopic elements off-stage. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/song-sung-blue-kate-hudson-best-decades-4104140) ## Empire — Laura Venning Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 23 December 2025. The film delivers good old-fashioned melodrama drawn from a stranger-than-fiction true story of a Neil Diamond tribute act. Kate Hudson's warm, honest and charming performance stands out as the biggest triumph. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/song-sung-blue/) ## IndieWire — Christian Zilko Rating B-. 27 October 2025. Festival review. The review calls the film a soapy but proudly uncool portrayal of the couple's story that is as sentimental as Neil Diamond's music and determined to make audiences sing along. Jackman and Hudson's committed performances and the infectious dorky pleasures of the music are highlighted. [Read the review](https://indiewire.com/criticism/movies/song-sung-blue-review-1235157619) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 29 October 2025. Festival review. The film reaches for too many emotional crescendos and becomes wearying rather than cathartic. The critic praises Jackman and Hudson’s vocal and acting performances in the musical sequences but faults the overly melodramatic approach to the heavier themes. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/song-sung-blue-review-hugh-jackman-and-kate-hudson-are-high-notes-of-mawkish-musical-tribute/5210330.article) ## The Observer — Wendy Ide Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 2 January 2026. The critic calls the film the definition of middle-of-the-road filmmaking that is unremittingly bland despite its full-hearted premise. The litany of disasters befalling the central characters becomes the most interesting element, making them less compelling than in Brewer's prior work. [Read the review](https://observer.co.uk/culture/film/article/song-sung-blue-is-the-definition-of-middle-of-the-road-film-making) ## The Telegraph Rating 2/5. 1 January 2026. The critic finds the mawkish and crummy musical drama tiresome and insistent, with too much rough to get to the Diamond songs. While the hyper-niche premise has some honour, the blustery melodrama fails to deliver. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/song-sung-blue-review/) ## The Guardian 1 January 2026. The critic finds the film a startlingly strange yet entertaining true-life story and a lovable crowdpleaser. Jackman and Hudson deliver megawatt performances that turn the story from one to laugh at into one to laugh with. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/24/song-sung-blue-review-neil-diamond-tribute-act-gets-sweet-treat-of-movie-thanks-to-jackman-and-hudson) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney 26 October 2025. Festival review. The critic praises the sparkling chemistry between Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson and the film's grounded emotional authenticity in telling the true story of a Milwaukee couple's Neil Diamond tribute act. The rousing musical numbers and resilient spirit of the characters are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/song-sung-blue-review-hugh-jackman-kate-hudson-neil-diamond-1236410565/) ## The New York Times — Jeannette Catsoulis Rating Critic’s Pick. 24 December 2025. Craig Brewer’s warm, affecting tale follows a real-life Milwaukee duo who form a Neil Diamond tribute band despite life’s knocks. It singles out the bighearted story of middle-aged dreamers refusing to stay down. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/movies/song-sung-blue-review.html) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 11 December 2025. Festival review. The reviewer praises the film's mature handling of relationships, addiction, and disability, highlighting the strong chemistry between Jackman and Hudson and its grounded, honest feel as a compelling true story. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/song-sung-blue-2025-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) ## Film Stories — Simon Brew Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 3 January 2026. The critic finds the film surprisingly effective despite its premise, praising its grounded working-class story, strong ensemble cast especially Ella Anderson, and its focus on family and music rather than being a biopic or jukebox musical. [Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/news/song-sung-blue-review-hugh-jackman-and-his-wig-have-some-neil-diamond-songs-for-you/) ## Collider — Tania Hussain Rating 7/10. 23 December 2025. The critic finds the film a warm, earnest holiday watch that elevates a standard music biopic through grounded, sincere performances by Jackman and Hudson. It focuses on small personal victories, human connection, and intimate storytelling rather than grand success or genre reinvention. [Read the review](https://collider.com/song-sung-blue-review-hugh-jackman-kate-hudson/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 23 December 2025. The review acknowledges the familiar biopic tropes but finds the film effective and believable due to the strong chemistry and performances of Jackman and Hudson, particularly in depicting the hardships and resilience of the couple in a Neil Diamond tribute band. It praises the musical moments and the focus on everyday struggles over stardom. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/song-sung-blue-review-hugh-jackman-kate-hudson/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond 26 October 2025. Festival review. The critic praises the film's emotional depth and the performances of Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson in this true story of a Neil Diamond tribute band, highlighting the resilience of the characters amid life's tragedies. They note Brewer's skill in maintaining the delicate tone of the musical comedy-drama. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2025/10/song-sung-blue-review-hugh-jackman-kate-hudson-neil-diamond-1236596948/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/song-sung-blue.md