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This film presents a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable real-life tale emerging from the American entertainment world; a lovable crowdpleaser whose feelgood flavour won’t prepare you for how the narrative frequently and brutally turns similar to a precarious carnival attraction. Personally, I found myself shutting my eyes and mouth open at certain key points, and was grabbing the chair ahead with both fists.

The Stranger-Than-Fiction Story

The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, superbly portrayed by Jackman and Hudson, were a Milwaukee married couple who had children from prior unions who in the 90s created a kitschy homage performance to Neil Diamond named Lightning and Thunder; they grew into a cult hit within their state and even performed before Pearl Jam, with the band's guitarist Eddie Vedder good-naturedly joined them during their performance for an additional song.

But things were far from simple for the pair, and this movie contemplates how tough it is when misfortune's bolt strikes more than once.

Adapting a Real Story

It is in fact adapted from an existing documentary bearing the identical name from 2008 from filmmaker Greg Kohs about this stranger-than-fiction world, a movie that relied extensively on the family's personal collection of home video. One could argue that the documentary puts more emphasis on the delusional and absurd aspects in the lives of Mike and Claire.

But that’s not how taken by this movie from director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. He, Jackman and Hudson turn the laugh-at into shared amusement. Jackman absolutely crushes it portraying a Neil Diamond tribute artist, sounding almost like him, and appearing strikingly alike. He is entirely believable as someone who isn’t supposed to be the major leagues but who clearly has the chops (and the vocal cords) to carry a show.

Notable Acting

Hudson likewise shines, doing her own singing as Claire, who prior to partnering with Mike in the world of Neil Diamond homage enjoyed a successful career performing as Patsy Cline. She is shown powerfully singing Cline's songs, even though one particular Cline standard is curiously omitted from this movie.

Actor Michael Imperioli portrays a Buddy Holly impersonator called Mark, and Mustafa Shakir is a James Brown performer called Sex Machine. The role of Claire’s teen daughter Rachel, and King Princess portrays Mike's daughter Angelina who is around the same age – with their developing friendship is another underplayed aspect contributing to the movie's charm.

The Heart of the Story

Sarcasm and mockery have been surgically removed from the account of Mike and Claire's dramatically packed life stories, and replacing them Brewer installs those attributes which the pair personally would have been aware of: the vulnerability and loneliness of trying to make it on the fringes of the music business, or indeed succeeding in any field 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 United States and 1 January in Australia and the UK.