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This film presents a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable true-life story emerging from the American entertainment world; a lovable crowdpleaser with its uplifting tone does little to warn you for the way the plot frequently and brutally turns similar to a precarious carnival attraction. Personally, I found myself shutting my eyes and mouth open at certain key points, while clutching the chair ahead tightly with my hands.

The Stranger-Than-Fiction Story

The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, superbly portrayed by Jackman and Hudson, were spouses from Milwaukee who had children from previous relationships that during the 1990s created a kitschy Neil Diamond tribute act named Lightning and Thunder; they became an underground sensation in their home state and even opened for Pearl Jam, whose guitarist Eddie Vedder amiably accompanied them on stage for an encore.

But things were far from simple for the pair, and this film broods on the difficulty that arises when the lightning of ill fortune hits repeatedly.

From Documentary to Drama

It is in fact adapted from an existing documentary of the same title created in 2008 by Greg Kohs concerning this surreal reality, a film that was extensively on the couple’s family archive of home video. It’s fair to say that the documentary puts more emphasis on the delusional and absurd aspects of Mike and Claire’s life.

Yet this is not the approach this film from director Craig Brewer reimagines their tale. He, Jackman and Hudson turn the laugh-at into shared amusement. Jackman absolutely crushes it portraying a Neil Diamond tribute artist, vocalizing in a remarkably similar manner, and looking almost like him. He’s perfectly plausible as an individual not destined for in the big league but who clearly has the chops (and the pipes) to carry a show.

Notable Acting

Hudson likewise shines, doing her own singing in the role of Claire, who before she joined Mike in the Neil Diamond tribute world enjoyed a successful career as Patsy Cline. The film depicts her belting out Cline numbers, even though one particular Cline standard is curiously omitted from this movie.

Michael Imperioli plays a Buddy Holly tribute artist called Mark, and Mustafa Shakir is a James Brown act called 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 is another underplayed aspect contributing to the movie's charm.

The Heart of the Story

Irony and satire have been meticulously excised from Mike and Claire’s dramatically packed life stories, and replacing them Brewer substitutes those qualities which the pair personally would have recognized: the fragility and isolation involved in striving for success in the margins of the music industry, or for that matter making it anywhere and in any business.

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

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