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This film presents a remarkably odd, undeniably entertaining real-life tale emerging from the American entertainment world; an endearing hit whose feelgood flavour does little to warn you for how the plot repeatedly and savagely twists similar to a precarious carnival attraction. I actually had my eyes closed and mouth open at certain key points, and was grabbing the chair ahead tightly with my hands.

The Unbelievable True Tale

The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, terrifically played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were a Milwaukee married couple who had children from prior unions that during the 1990s formed a cheesy homage performance to Neil Diamond called Lightning and Thunder; they grew into an underground sensation within their state and even performed before Pearl Jam, whose guitarist Eddie Vedder amiably accompanied them during their performance for an encore.

However, life was far from simple for the pair, and this film broods on the difficulty that arises when the lightning of ill fortune hits repeatedly.

From Documentary to Drama

The film is actually based on an existing documentary bearing the identical name created in 2008 by Greg Kohs about this stranger-than-fiction world, a movie that relied extensively on the couple’s family archive of home video. One could argue that the documentary focuses more intently on the delusional and absurd aspects in the lives of Mike and Claire.

But that’s not how taken by this movie from writer-director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. He, Jackman and Hudson turn the laugh-at into laugh-with. Jackman absolutely crushes it as a Neil Diamond impersonator, sounding almost like him, and looking almost like him. He’s perfectly plausible as an individual not destined for the major leagues but who clearly has the chops (and the vocal cords) to carry a show.

Notable Acting

Hudson is also excellent, doing her own singing as Claire, who before she joined Mike in the world of Neil Diamond homage had a thriving act as Patsy Cline. She is shown belting out Cline numbers, even though one particular Cline standard is curiously omitted from this movie.

Actor Michael Imperioli portrays a Buddy Holly tribute artist named Mark, while Mustafa Shakir appears as a James Brown act known as Sex Machine. Ella Anderson plays Claire's teenage daughter Rachel is played by Ella Anderson, and King Princess is Mike's daughter Angelina of about the same age – with their developing friendship serving as another subtle element of the film’s likability.

The Heart of the Story

Irony and satire have been meticulously excised from Mike and Claire’s dramatically packed life stories, and in their place Brewer substitutes those qualities that the couple themselves would have recognized: the fragility and isolation of trying to make it on the fringes of the music business, or indeed making it anywhere and within any profession.

This is a never-say-die story and its cheerful optimism makes it a calorific Christmas treat.

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