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This film presents a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable real-life tale emerging from American showbusiness; an endearing hit whose feelgood flavour does little to warn you for the way the plot frequently and brutally turns similar to a precarious carnival attraction. Personally, I found my eyes closed with my jaw agape during several crucial moments, and was grabbing the chair ahead tightly with my hands.

The Unbelievable True Tale

The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, terrifically played by Jackman and Hudson, were a Milwaukee married couple who had children from previous relationships that during the 1990s created a kitschy homage performance to Neil Diamond called Lightning and Thunder; they grew into an underground sensation within their state and even opened for Pearl Jam, with the band's guitarist Eddie Vedder good-naturedly joined them on stage 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 a prior documentary film of the same title created in 2008 from filmmaker Greg Kohs about this stranger-than-fiction world, a film that was heavily reliant on the couple’s family archive of home video. It’s fair to say that the original documentary puts more emphasis on the unrealistic and ridiculous elements of Mike and Claire’s life.

Yet this is not the approach this film from director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. The director and stars turn the laugh-at into laugh-with. Jackman delivers a masterful performance as a Neil Diamond impersonator, sounding almost like him, and appearing strikingly alike. He’s perfectly plausible as an individual not destined for in the big league but who undoubtedly possesses the talent (and the vocal cords) to headline a performance.

Standout Performances

Hudson likewise shines, performing her own vocals as Claire, who before she joined Mike in the world of Neil Diamond homage enjoyed a successful career as Patsy Cline. The film depicts her belting out Cline numbers, even though one particular Cline standard that this film interestingly misses out.

Michael Imperioli plays 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 teen daughter Rachel, and King Princess is Mike's daughter Angelina who is around the same age – and their burgeoning friendship serving as another subtle element of the film’s likability.

The Core Narrative

Irony and satire have been meticulously excised from Mike and Claire’s heart-stoppingly eventful life stories, and replacing them Brewer substitutes those qualities which the pair personally would have been aware of: the fragility and isolation of trying to make it in the margins of the music business, or indeed succeeding in any field and in any business.

It is a never-say-die story and its bright hopefulness makes it a rich holiday delight.

Song Sung Blue is out on 25 December in the United States and January 1st in Australia and the UK.