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Here is a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable real-life tale emerging from American showbusiness; a lovable crowdpleaser whose feelgood flavour won’t prepare you for how the plot frequently and brutally turns like an unsafe fairground ride. I actually had my eyes closed and mouth open at certain key points, and was grabbing the chair ahead with both fists.

The Stranger-Than-Fiction Story

Mike and Claire Sardina, superbly portrayed by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were a Milwaukee married couple with kids from prior unions that during the 1990s created a cheesy homage performance to Neil Diamond called Lightning and Thunder; they grew into a cult hit in their home 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 film broods on how tough it is when the lightning of ill fortune strikes more than once.

From Documentary to Drama

It is in fact adapted from an existing documentary bearing the identical name from 2008 by Greg Kohs about this stranger-than-fiction world, a film that was extensively on the couple’s family archive of homemade recordings. One could argue that the documentary puts more emphasis on the delusional and absurd aspects of Mike and Claire’s life.

But that’s not how this film from writer-director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. He, Jackman and Hudson 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 appearing strikingly alike. He’s perfectly plausible as an individual not destined for the major leagues but who undoubtedly possesses the talent (and the pipes) to carry a show.

Notable Acting

Hudson is also excellent, performing her own vocals in the role of Claire, who prior to partnering with Mike in the Neil Diamond tribute world had a thriving act performing as Patsy Cline. The film depicts her powerfully singing Cline's songs, even though one particular iconic Cline tune is curiously omitted from this movie.

Michael Imperioli plays a Buddy Holly tribute artist called Mark, while Mustafa Shakir appears as a James Brown performer known as Sex Machine. Ella Anderson plays Claire’s teen daughter Rachel, and King Princess is Mike's daughter Angelina of about the same age – and their burgeoning friendship is another underplayed aspect contributing to the movie's charm.

The Heart of the Story

Irony and satire have been surgically removed from the account of Mike and Claire's heart-stoppingly eventful life experiences, and in their place Brewer substitutes those qualities which the pair personally would have recognized: the vulnerability and loneliness of trying to make it on the fringes of the music business, or for that matter succeeding in any field and within any profession.

It is a tale of relentless perseverance and its cheerful optimism renders it a calorific Christmas treat.

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