In 1987, a man named Mike Sardina is speaking to a group of people about his “sober birthday.” That marks how many years he stopped drinking. Then he plays “Song Sung Blue” on his guitar.

The scene then switches to Mike at a county fair. He gets into little arguments with an Elvis actor, but then meets this lady, Claire Stengl. Not only do they fall in love, but they also decide to form a Neil Diamond tribute band together.

A year later, Claire invites Mike into her home and introduces him to her kids. There is a tween boy named Dana, and a teenage girl named Rachel. Rachel is particularly resistant to meeting Mike.

Sometime later, Mike and his band are discussing a song to perform at a local bar. Mike wants a certain Arabic opening—but the others don’t. Despite their efforts to convince him to change his mind, Mike sticks with his plan.

Unfortunately, that decision displeases the crowd in the bar. They throw things at the band. In addition, Mike ends up getting into a fight with another guy.

Regardless of that, though, Claire and Mike get married. At their reception, they sing the song, “Sweet Caroline,” entertaining their guests.

After a little time, Rachel meets Mike’s daughter, Angelina. They talk a bit and get to know each other like friends.

At some point, Mike is practicing a song—only for Claire to get run over by a car. In the hospital, Dana and Rachel freak out since they’re worried about their mother.

Once Claire is back at home, though, she has to adjust to life without one of her feet and shin. She is even put on medication that makes her rest more or act differently than what her family was previously used to.

Claire goes through lots of therapy. However, one night, she sleepwalks and acts out a song. She thinks that she’s on stage. But she is really in her front yard. This concerns Mike and the children.

On the bright side, Claire recovers by Christmas. She even gets a prosthetic leg.

However, things may get worse later on.

In spite of what the concept may seem like, this movie does NOT focus on Neil Diamond or his life. Instead, it centers on Mike Sardina, who started a Neil Diamond tribute band.

But the story still engaged me with its quick pacing and appropriate times for scene switching. It is over 2 hours long. Yet the amount of time per moment and the tension levels kept my attention all the way through.

A big part was when Claire got run over and her kids freaked out. Not only is that a good level of conflict for the viewer, but it also made me worry about what was going to happen to Claire.

In addition, it made her children credible. Even though Dana didn’t get as much screen time, he was still likable. Rachel was especially believable, relatable, and flawed. I did have trouble understanding why she didn’t want to meet Mike. She does reveal later on that her biological father is still alive.

Mike and Claire made a sweet couple and duo. They had fantastic singing voices.

Another moment that stood out to me was how the Elvis guy sounded like Ray Romano. However, according to the Google AI Overview, Ray Romano is not in this film.

I don’t know who portrayed the Elvis man. But I do think it is interesting that he sounded like Ray Romano.

Like any film based on a true story, this one did have some parts that were fictionalized. For instance, Mike and Claire actually met through a friend rather than backstage at a festival.

Overall, I enjoyed Song Sung Blue. It was a good watch with fun hits by Neil Diamond.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.