Gen Z has a new online obsession, and it’s the resurgence of mimicry. From TikTok creators like @juicy.jacobb cosplaying as Megamind and The Lorax in public spaces to influencer Joey Morof’s (or @notthekombuchaman) viral Hugh Jackman impressions of modern pop songs featuring Jackman-esque vibrato and lyric changes, creative comics have reinvigorated the ancient art of impressions through online videos, and I, for one, am here for it.
These bits have grown larger than something we can hold in our hand, as they are more alive in our theaters than ever through biopic films. Taking over box offices, biopics reign supreme in our culture of prosaic film remakes and documentaries.
The 2025 Christmas Day release of “Song Sung Blue,” a musical biopic centered around the heartwarming Neil Diamond tribute duo Lightning & Thunder, gave us the glitz the world has desperately needed. The film, while adapted from the previous 2008 “Song Sung Blue” documentary film by Greg Kohs, was beautifully reimagined by director Craig Brewer and features Hollywood stars Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman.
Based on a true story of tragedy, love and inextinguishable hope, Lightning & Thunder’s realness shines through the superb casting of the film. There is a melodic chemistry between the two actors which draws you in as their love grows, keeping you on your toes and chomping at the bit for more.
Any Neil Diamond fan would fawn over “Song Sung Blue,” with its rich appreciation of Diamond’s musical legacy — giving “Soolaimon” the love it deserves — but its younger audience has also become attached to the concept of the film rather unexpectedly.
After a TikTok post from Joey Morof stating “babe wake up new Hugh Jackman movie trailer just dropped,” a slew of the creator’s fans attended theaters. Prepared for a hint of new Hugh Jackman content later to be comedically covered by Morof, fans were not prepared for the heartbreak they would soon endure.
The film did not disappoint on the twist-and-turn scale, as its rollercoaster of events pulled on the heartstrings of audiences and prompted a downpour of tears within Cinemarks across the country. It's genuine, sweet and all the while an inspirational story of tragedy becoming hope, delivered to our screens through some quality acting.
It’s rare that a film about a 1980s tribute band would attract a young audience at all, making it all the more astounding that the impact followed beyond the cinema’s reclining chair and viewers' emotions circled back to where it all started: TikTok. As Gen Z users posted videos of themselves crying at the masterpiece, commenting on the disbelief they were in after the film’s unexpected plot twists, I was overjoyed with finding other young people enjoying such a sentimental piece of work.
Without online comics like Morof, most young people might have overlooked the film their parents would most likely watch on a date night. The intersection of online impressions and biopic films in today’s media brings a profound depth to new films, connecting generations of people and reviving cinema’s young audience in a refreshing way.
