🔗 Share this article

Here is a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable real-life tale from the heartland of American showbusiness; a lovable crowdpleaser with its uplifting tone won’t prepare you for the way the plot repeatedly and savagely twists like an unsafe fairground ride. Personally, I found my eyes closed and mouth open during several crucial moments, and was grabbing the seat in front of me tightly with my hands.

The Unbelievable True Tale

Mike and Claire Sardina, terrifically played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were a Milwaukee married couple with kids from prior unions who in the 90s created a kitschy Neil Diamond tribute act named Lightning and Thunder; they became a cult hit in their home state and even opened for 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 the difficulty that arises when misfortune's bolt hits repeatedly.

From Documentary to Drama

The film is actually based on a prior documentary film of the same title created in 2008 by Greg Kohs about this stranger-than-fiction world, a movie that relied extensively on the couple’s family archive of home video. One could argue that the original documentary puts more emphasis on the unrealistic and ridiculous elements of Mike and Claire’s life.

Yet this is not the approach taken by this movie from writer-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 is entirely believable as an individual not destined for the major leagues but who undoubtedly possesses the talent (and the vocal cords) to carry a show.

Standout Performances

Hudson is also excellent, doing her own singing as Claire, who before she joined Mike in the world of Neil Diamond homage enjoyed a successful career as Patsy Cline. She is shown belting out Cline numbers, although there is one Cline standard is curiously omitted from this movie.

Actor Michael Imperioli portrays a Buddy Holly tribute artist named Mark, while Mustafa Shakir appears as a James Brown act known as Sex Machine. Ella Anderson plays Claire's teenage daughter Rachel is played by Ella Anderson, and King Princess portrays Mike's daughter Angelina of about the same age – and their burgeoning friendship is another underplayed aspect contributing to the movie's charm.

The Core Narrative

Irony and satire have been meticulously excised from the account of Mike and Claire's heart-stoppingly eventful life experiences, and in their place Brewer installs those qualities that the couple themselves would have been aware of: the vulnerability and loneliness of trying to make it on the fringes of the music business, or for that matter succeeding in any field and in any business.

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

The film "Song Sung Blue" releases December 25th in the US and 1 January in Australia and the United Kingdom.