🔗 Share this article

This film presents a remarkably odd, certainly enjoyable true-life story from the heartland of American showbusiness; a lovable crowdpleaser with its uplifting tone does little to warn you for how the plot frequently and brutally turns like an unsafe fairground ride. Personally, I found myself shutting my eyes and mouth open at certain key points, and was grabbing the seat in front of me tightly with my hands.

The Unbelievable True Tale

The couple 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 formed a cheesy Neil Diamond tribute act called Lightning and Thunder; they became a cult hit within their state and even opened for Pearl Jam, with the band's guitarist Eddie Vedder amiably accompanied them during their performance for an additional song.

But things were not easy for them, and this film broods on the difficulty that arises when the lightning of ill fortune strikes more than once.

From Documentary to Drama

It is in fact adapted from an existing documentary of the same title from 2008 from filmmaker Greg Kohs concerning this surreal reality, a film that was heavily reliant on the couple’s family archive of homemade recordings. 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 this film from writer-director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. 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 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 headline a performance.

Notable Acting

Hudson is also excellent, performing her own vocals as Claire, who before she joined Mike in the Neil Diamond tribute world had a thriving act 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 impersonator called Mark, while Mustafa Shakir appears as a James Brown act called Sex Machine. Ella Anderson plays Claire's teenage daughter Rachel is played by Ella Anderson, 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 surgically removed from the account of Mike and Claire's heart-stoppingly eventful life stories, and replacing them Brewer substitutes those qualities that the couple themselves would have been aware of: the vulnerability and loneliness of trying to make it in the margins of the music business, or indeed making it anywhere and within any profession.

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

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