Cinebuds · Radio Milwaukee

Our 'Song Sung Blue' review, plus a quick chat with Hugh Jackman!

December 24, 2025·27 min·2 clips

Hugh Jackman laughs and reveals his childhood smelled like dirty socks after a surprising question from Milwaukee radio hosts.

Song Sung Blue lands close to home. Dori and Zoe start with Milwaukee, because Lightning and Thunder were a real couple whose Neil Diamond tribute act stretched across the 90s and beyond. The local part is not just background noise. A lot of the fun comes from hearing Wisconsin lives and a tribute-act dream treated as enough for a feature film. Hugh Jackman gets his turn too. The hosts come away with the sense that his generous public reputation matched what they saw around fans, coworkers, and the room that night. Then the movie history gets satisfyingly messy. Greg Coase first wanted to make a feature about Lightning and Thunder, was told the story did not sound real, and shifted into documentary footage instead. That detour ends up doing the work. The 2008 documentary later reached Craig Brewer, whose response helped steer the story back toward the new feature Song Sung Blue. Zoe calls it the turducken of movies, which is honestly pretty accurate. The hosts settle into that backstory with the kind of local film curiosity that keeps production talk from feeling dry. There is review talk, but it never turns into a hard verdict. They keep noticing how the documentary, the real performers, and the Hollywood version lean on one another. The room comes through too: videos from the night, a question-and-answer moment, and Jackman laughing at a question about what his childhood smelled like. Very Cinebuds. The episode still has the rhythm of a local arts show, with thanks to the sponsor, Milwaukee Film members, and Radio Milwaukee members before the sign-off. Zoe leaves with homework: watching the Thunder and Lightning documentary, with a follow-up conversation promised after that.

As heard by us

A Milwaukee-rooted movie chat that follows a tribute-act story from documentary to feature.

Song Sung Blue gives CineBuds an easy entry point into the new Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson film, while staying rooted in the Milwaukee story behind it.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want a Milwaukee movie story with a side of Hugh Jackman, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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