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This film presents a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable real-life tale from the heartland of the American entertainment world; a lovable crowdpleaser with its uplifting tone won’t prepare you for how the narrative frequently and brutally turns similar to a precarious carnival attraction. I actually had myself shutting my eyes with my jaw agape during several crucial moments, and was grabbing the seat in front of me with both fists.

The Unbelievable True Tale

The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, superbly portrayed by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were spouses from Milwaukee who had children from prior unions who in the 90s 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 far from simple for the pair, and this movie contemplates 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 bearing the identical name from 2008 from filmmaker Greg Kohs concerning this surreal reality, a movie that relied heavily reliant on the couple’s family archive of home video. 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 taken by this movie from director Craig Brewer reimagines their tale. He, Jackman and Hudson transform the mockery into shared amusement. Jackman delivers a masterful performance portraying a Neil Diamond tribute artist, sounding almost like him, and looking almost like him. He’s perfectly plausible as someone who isn’t supposed to be in the big league but who undoubtedly possesses the talent (and the pipes) to carry a show.

Standout Performances

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 that this film interestingly misses out.

Michael Imperioli plays a Buddy Holly impersonator called Mark, while Mustafa Shakir appears as a James Brown performer known as Sex Machine. The role of Claire's teenage daughter Rachel is played by Ella Anderson, and King Princess portrays 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 Heart of the Story

Irony and satire have been surgically removed from the account of Mike and Claire's heart-stoppingly eventful life stories, and in their place 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 industry, or for that matter making it anywhere and within any profession.

This 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 United Kingdom.