🔗 Share this article

Here is a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable real-life tale emerging from the American entertainment world; an endearing hit whose feelgood flavour won’t prepare you for the way 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 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 with kids from previous relationships who in the 90s created a kitschy homage performance to Neil Diamond 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 far from simple for the pair, and this film broods on how tough it is when the lightning of ill fortune hits repeatedly.

Adapting a Real Story

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 film that was heavily reliant on the family's personal collection of home video. It’s fair to say that the documentary puts more emphasis on the unrealistic and ridiculous elements in the lives of Mike and Claire.

Yet this is not the approach this film from writer-director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. The director and stars turn the laugh-at into laugh-with. 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 in the big league but who undoubtedly possesses the talent (and the pipes) to carry a show.

Standout Performances

Hudson likewise shines, performing her own vocals as Claire, who prior to partnering with Mike in the world of Neil Diamond homage enjoyed a successful career as Patsy Cline. She is shown powerfully singing Cline's songs, although there is one Cline standard is curiously omitted from this movie.

Michael Imperioli plays a Buddy Holly impersonator called Mark, and Mustafa Shakir is a James Brown performer 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 meticulously excised from the account of Mike and Claire's dramatically packed life experiences, and replacing them Brewer installs those qualities which the pair personally would have recognized: the fragility and isolation involved in striving for success on the fringes of the music business, or for that matter succeeding in any field and in any business.

This is a tale of relentless perseverance and its bright hopefulness makes it a calorific Christmas treat.

Song Sung Blue is out on 25 December in the United States and 1 January in Australia and the UK.