The story of Mike and Claire Sardina — a struggling husband-and-wife Neil Diamond tribute act from Milwaukee — was never the stuff of Hollywood movies. Unfortunately, it’s been made into one.
Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson are slumming to play the slightly batty couple in the big-hearted but misguided “Song Sung Blue,” a baffling adaptation of a very moving 2008 documentary.
Director and writer Craig Brewer isn't certain where the through line of the movie really is so he explores working-class pressures, adds a rom-com, swerves into tragedy and drug addiction and then lets Jackman and Hudson sunnily perform some 20-odd songs, turning “Song Sung Blue” into a melodrama-meets-holiday-sing-along.
Hollywood should have stayed away. The original documentary by Greg Kohs — who gets a producer credit this time — was about two artists who, despite facing foreclosure notices and insurance denials, still showed up for gigs, chasing that showbiz high, even when one suffered an amputation. The couple and their blended family came across as somewhat delusional but sweet and their tragedies seemed almost preordained. It was a small story.
Jackman and Hudson try to lose themselves in these parts. He walks around in sagging tighty-whities, with dirty fingernails and a missing tooth, and she works hard to be drab. The filmmakers ape many of the signatures of the documentary, like the sight of airplanes rumbling over the Sardinas' house. In too many ways, “Song Sung Blue” feels like an act of karaoke.
Like Brewer's previous “Dolemite Is My Name,” the new movie surrounds the main actors with a kindly support crew, like the guitar player played nicely by Michael Imperioli and managers portrayed by Fisher Stevens and Jim Belushi. Ella Anderson does excellent work as Claire's angsty daughter, and look for a fun moment when an actor playing Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder takes the stage to share “Forever in Blue Jeans.”
The songs are excellently handled. Brewer is, after all, the director of “Hustle & Flow,” too. Hudson radiates as she sings, while Jackman absolutely nails Diamond's sound and stance. If you came to hear “Sweet Caroline,” you'll leave with a deeper respect for a songwriter who also wrote such gems as “Play Me” and “Holly Holy.”
It's just that the overly long song performances are always smiling, exuberant affairs in what has to be considered a story of tragedy and they don't fit tonally. Of course, music was the Sardinas' happy place — their onstage names were Lightning & Thunder — but the blissful deliveries seem more like cheesy holiday movie fodder than studs in a well-constructed movie.
Some unnecessary Hollywood touches — an overcooked scene with a defibrillator and the ridiculous, non-factual way we lose Mike — stick out poorly. The filmmakers also never really explore the world of musical impersonation during a time when authenticity was becoming the coin of the realm. It doesn't know what to do about heroes who are deeply campy, using wind machines in a biker bar. Overall, it's just not so good, so good.
“Song Sung Blue,” a Focus Feature release that hits theaters on Christmas Day, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for thematic material, some strong language, some sexual material and brief drug use. Running time: 133 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.
Jim Belushi, from left, Mustafa Shakir, Craig Brewer, Kate Hudson, Hugh Jackman, Ella Anderson and Hudson Hensley attend the premiere of "Song Sung Blue" at AMC Lincoln Square on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States launched a second round of airstrikes into Thursday morning on Iran after President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations.
The new assault across multiple cities comes as efforts to negotiate an end the war again appeared stuck, with Iran insisting it would maintain its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted global energy supplies and sent oil prices higher.
Iran threatened to retaliate for the strikes, and missile sirens sounded Thursday morning in Bahrain, home to the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. However, any immediate Iranian response appeared more muted than the one that came after the first round of American strikes on Wednesday, when it launched missiles at Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.
The U.S. Central Command said it had “completed” its latest round of airstrikes just before sunrise in Iran. The military command said the stirkes came “in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression” and targeted “Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense sites.” It did not elaborate on the damage done by the strikes, which it said were carried out by the U.S. Air Force, Marines and Navy.
Explosions from the strikes echoed around Iran’s capital, Tehran, as well as in the port city of Bandar Abbas and other southern areas along the strait.
It was the third time this week that back-and-forth strikes have tested a two-month ceasefire. The strikes took place after a day of Iranian fire in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, all of which host U.S. troops.
Trump has urged Iran to sign a deal to end the war and suggested earlier this week that an agreement could be reached in days.
Iran’s United Nations envoy said the U.S. should refrain from threats of force if it wants a deal.
“Iran has never negotiated under threats and pressure and will never submit to pressure or question,” Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.
Still, both countries seem to be looking for a way to end the conflict — if they can manage to sell it as a win at home.
Iran has proved resilient despite weeks of heavy bombing. It is betting that its ability to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passageway for oil and natural gas — gives it a strong bargaining chip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing goals that make compromise harder: the collapse of Iran’s theocratic government, the elimination of its nuclear program, and the destruction of the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. On Monday, Iran and Israel targeted each other.
Since the U.S. and Israel started the war with Feb. 28 attacks on Iran, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices worldwide, and made food and other basics more expensive.
The international benchmark for crude oil traded above $93 a barrel on Wednesday, up more than 25% since the start of the war.
Trump said the U.S. military has since last month undertaken a “secret mission” to sneak oil shipments past Iran’s forces in the Strait of Hormuz. He said ships were slipping through at night, aided by the destruction of Iranian radar equipment.
Trump said as a result more than 100 million barrels of oil have evaded Iran’s chokehold on the strait. There was no immediate confirmation of that figure, which roughly equals five days of oil shipments through the waterway before the war began.
The military’s role was not immediately clear. Capt. Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesman, said U.S. forces “communicate and coordinate” with commercial ships in the area, but gave no details on military support being offered.
The U.S. Central Command on Wednesday refuted Iran’s claims that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, saying commercial ships are continuing to transit in and out.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. military said an American aircraft fired “precision munitions” into the engine room of the Palau-flagged vessel M/T Settebello as it attempted to breach the naval blockade with a shipment of Iranian oil. It was the eighth merchant vessel disabled by U.S. forces in waters off Iran.
India’s foreign ministry said three Indian sailors were missing after the Settebello was struck, while 21 others were rescued. Its statement did not mention the U.S. military or the blockade.
Hawkins of the U.S. Central Command said American forces warned the crew before firing on the ship.
The U.S. military said strikes earlier Wednesday targeted “air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites."
Iran said U.S. strikes hit two water reservoirs in the southern city of Sirik, temporarily cutting off water to thousands of people. U.S. Central Command had no immediate comment. Tehran later claimed attacks in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the American attacks as a violation of Iranian sovereignty.
Still, efforts to mediate a deal continued. Following consultations with the U.S., a delegation from Qatar arrived in Tehran for talks earlier Wednesday, according to an official with knowledge of the visit who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.
The exchanges of fire came a day after a U.S. Army attack helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz. The helicopter collided with an Iranian drone, according to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. It wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional.
A drone boat rescued the helicopter’s two crew. Trump said they were uninjured.
Wary of high gas prices in the run-up to congressional elections in November, Trump seems to be looking for a quick win. But he is also making demands that will be tough for Iran to swallow.
The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. While Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, that uranium is a short technical step from weapons-grade levels.
Iran is refusing to give up the uranium and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something Trump rejected.
Iran has insisted that any deal to end the war must also end fighting between its ally Hezbollah and Israel. Israel has instead intensified its military campaign against the Lebanon-based militant group.
Price reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin and Will Weissert in Washington; Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations; Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel; David Rising in Bangkok; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Michelle L. Price in New York; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.
A man runs past burning cars following an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
People take shelter as air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian missiles in Ramat Gan, Israel, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
A projectile streaks through the sky over central Israel during an Iranian missile attack, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A cleric checks his cell phone on stage in front of a screen displaying portraits of the late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, left, late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, during a pro-government gathering in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman walks past a mural depicting a U.S. aircraft carrier under missile attack in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
