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This film presents a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable real-life tale emerging from American showbusiness; a lovable crowdpleaser with its uplifting tone won’t prepare you for how the plot repeatedly and savagely twists 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 Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were spouses from Milwaukee with kids from previous relationships that during the 1990s formed a cheesy homage performance to Neil Diamond named Lightning and Thunder; they became an underground sensation within their state and even opened for Pearl Jam, with the band's guitarist Eddie Vedder amiably accompanied them during their performance for an encore.

But things were 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

The film is actually based on a prior documentary film bearing the identical name created in 2008 by Greg Kohs concerning this surreal reality, a film that was heavily reliant on the couple’s family archive of home video. It’s fair to say that the documentary focuses more intently on the unrealistic and ridiculous elements of Mike and Claire’s life.

Yet this is not the approach taken by this movie from director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. The director and stars transform the mockery into shared amusement. Jackman delivers a masterful performance as a Neil Diamond impersonator, vocalizing in a remarkably similar manner, and appearing strikingly alike. He is entirely believable as someone who isn’t supposed to be in the big league but who undoubtedly possesses the talent (and the vocal cords) to carry a show.

Notable Acting

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 performing as Patsy Cline. The film depicts her belting out Cline numbers, although there is one iconic Cline tune is curiously omitted from this movie.

Michael Imperioli plays a Buddy Holly impersonator called Mark, while Mustafa Shakir appears as a James Brown performer called Sex Machine. The role of Claire's teenage daughter Rachel is played by Ella Anderson, and King Princess portrays Mike’s daughter Angelina of about 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 meticulously excised from the account of Mike and Claire's dramatically packed life experiences, and replacing them Brewer installs those attributes that the couple themselves would have recognized: the fragility and isolation of trying to make it in the margins of the music industry, or for that matter making it anywhere and within any profession.

This is a never-say-die story and its cheerful optimism makes it a calorific Christmas treat.

The film "Song Sung Blue" releases on 25 December in the United States and January 1st in Australia and the United Kingdom.