🔗 Share this article

Here is a remarkably odd, certainly enjoyable true-life story emerging from the American entertainment world; an endearing hit whose feelgood flavour does little to warn you for the way the narrative 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 chair ahead tightly with my hands.

The Stranger-Than-Fiction Story

The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, terrifically played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were spouses from Milwaukee with kids from prior unions who in the 90s 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, with the band's guitarist Eddie Vedder amiably accompanied them during their performance for an additional song.

However, life was not easy for them, and this film broods on the difficulty that arises when misfortune's bolt hits repeatedly.

From Documentary to Drama

It is in fact adapted from a prior documentary film of the same title from 2008 by Greg Kohs about this stranger-than-fiction world, a movie that relied heavily reliant on the family's personal collection of home video. It’s fair to say that the original documentary focuses more intently on the unrealistic and ridiculous elements in the lives of Mike and Claire.

But that’s not how this film from director Craig Brewer reimagines their tale. The director and stars turn the laugh-at into laugh-with. Jackman absolutely crushes it as a Neil Diamond impersonator, vocalizing in a remarkably similar manner, and appearing strikingly alike. 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.

Notable Acting

Hudson likewise shines, 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.

Michael Imperioli plays a Buddy Holly tribute artist named Mark, and Mustafa Shakir is a James Brown performer 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 – with their developing friendship serving as another subtle element of the film’s likability.

The Core Narrative

Irony and satire have been surgically removed from Mike and Claire’s dramatically packed life stories, and in their place Brewer substitutes those attributes that the couple themselves would have recognized: the fragility and isolation involved in striving for success in the margins of the music industry, or indeed succeeding in any field and within any profession.

It is a never-say-die story and its bright hopefulness makes it a calorific Christmas treat.

The film "Song Sung Blue" is out on 25 December in the US and 1 January in Australia and the UK.