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Here is a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable true-life story from the heartland of American showbusiness; an endearing hit whose feelgood flavour does little to warn you for the way the plot repeatedly and savagely twists like an unsafe fairground ride. Personally, I found my eyes closed with my jaw agape at certain key points, and was grabbing the seat in front of me with both fists.

The Stranger-Than-Fiction Story

The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, superbly portrayed by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were spouses from Milwaukee with kids from previous relationships that during the 1990s formed a cheesy homage performance to Neil Diamond called Lightning and Thunder; they grew into a cult hit within their state and even performed before Pearl Jam, whose guitarist Eddie Vedder good-naturedly joined them during their performance for an encore.

However, life was not easy for them, and this movie contemplates how tough it is when the lightning of ill fortune strikes more than once.

Adapting a Real Story

It is in fact adapted from an existing documentary of the same title created in 2008 by Greg Kohs concerning this surreal reality, a film that was heavily reliant on the couple’s family archive of homemade recordings. It’s fair to say that the documentary focuses more intently on the delusional and absurd aspects in the lives of Mike and Claire.

But that’s not how this film from writer-director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. The director and stars turn the laugh-at into laugh-with. Jackman delivers a masterful performance portraying a Neil Diamond tribute artist, vocalizing in a remarkably similar manner, and looking almost like him. He’s perfectly plausible as someone who isn’t supposed to be the major leagues but who clearly has the chops (and the pipes) to carry a show.

Standout Performances

Hudson likewise shines, doing her own singing as Claire, who before she joined Mike in the Neil Diamond tribute world had a thriving act as Patsy Cline. She is shown powerfully singing Cline's songs, although there is one iconic Cline tune is curiously omitted from this movie.

Michael Imperioli plays a Buddy Holly tribute artist named Mark, and Mustafa Shakir is a James Brown act known as Sex Machine. The role of Claire's teenage daughter Rachel is played by Ella Anderson, and King Princess is Mike’s daughter Angelina of about the same age – and their burgeoning friendship serving as another subtle element contributing to the movie's charm.

The Heart of the Story

Sarcasm and mockery have been meticulously excised from Mike and Claire’s heart-stoppingly eventful life stories, and replacing them Brewer installs those qualities that the couple themselves would have recognized: the fragility and isolation of trying to make it in the margins of the music industry, or for that matter succeeding in any field and in any business.

It is a tale of relentless perseverance and its bright hopefulness makes it a calorific Christmas treat.

Song Sung Blue releases December 25th in the US and January 1st in Australia and the United Kingdom.