On Saturday night I watched the movie Song Sung Blue and I was more than pleasantly surprised. I did realize it wasn't a biopic of Neil Diamond, but rather of a couple that were essentially a Neil Diamond cover band in the midwest (Wisconsin area). I wasn't expecting it to be anywhere near as good as Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, A Complete Unknown, or any of the other recent Biopics over the past decade, but I will say it was pretty close and honestly better than a few.
What really got me is that the story was true, including a few plot points that I was sure was pure exaggeration or simply added in to make the story a little more compelling. I'm going to avoid sharing details because frankly, if you enjoy music and biopics about musical artists and can handle a few emotional highs and lows, you should absolutely see this movie.
There were moments I was singing out the "bum bum bum" during Sweet Caroline and others where there must have been burst of wind stirring up dust in the room.
OK, I lied. I did want to share one moment from the film that I don't think spoils anything important, but it made me wonder enough that I went down a bit of a rabbit hole to find out more about the story and if this particular plot point was true or not.
The musicians, known as "Lightning and Thunder" got a call one evening and were asked if they'd consider being an opening act. Their daughter handed him the phone saying it's some guy named "Eddie" asking. After talking to him and not really being sure if it was real asked his family, "what is a Pearl Jam?" to which the daughter got quickly excited and asked if it was Eddie Vedder on the phone. And it was. The daughter quickly let me know that they absolutely needed to do this. And it was Eddie, and they did open for Pearl Jam. And it was a pivotal moment that really launched the act. They were worried about performing to a crowd what might not appreciate the musical stylings of Neal Diamond covers, so Lightening asked Eddie for a favor. As the show opened and they began singing, Eddie joined them and as you can imagine, the crowd got into it.
The reality was -- they didn't really open their show, but Pearl Jam indeed had them come to 1995 Summerfest to perform. That's about how far the movie strays from truth from most accounts.
Lightning's real son, Michael Jr., does have a beef with his father's portrayal, but from all the articles I read, his beef was more with being left out of the film and only being paid 40k as a "consultant". He claims the film didn't show how hard his dad worked for the success he achieved, but I'd disagree. The film didn't dwell on it and only touched it lightly, but I was never left thinking this man didn't work hard, take risks, and earn everything he got. His one beef about how his dad -- a recovering alcoholic -- would also say so on stage and let the crown know if they're battling the addiction and need someone to talk to, he was willing to sit down and talk after the show. I'd agree that would have been a kind and notable thing to include, but I don't think leaving it out took away anything from a pretty impressive story.
So, if you were on the fence about watching this movie, I'd say hop off of it and give it a viewing. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
