🔗 Share this article

This film presents a startlingly strange, undeniably entertaining true-life story from the heartland of American showbusiness; a lovable crowdpleaser with its uplifting tone does little to warn you for the way the plot repeatedly and savagely twists similar to a precarious carnival attraction. Personally, I found myself shutting my eyes and mouth open during several crucial moments, while clutching the seat in front of me tightly with my hands.

The Stranger-Than-Fiction Story

The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, terrifically played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were a Milwaukee married couple with kids from previous relationships that during the 1990s formed a cheesy Neil Diamond tribute act named Lightning and Thunder; they became an underground sensation within their state and even opened for Pearl Jam, whose guitarist Eddie Vedder good-naturedly joined them on stage 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

The film is actually based on a prior documentary film bearing the identical name created in 2008 from filmmaker Greg Kohs concerning this surreal reality, a movie that relied heavily reliant on the family's personal collection of home video. It’s fair to say that the documentary puts more emphasis on the delusional and absurd aspects in the lives of Mike and Claire.

But that’s not how taken by this movie from director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. The director and stars turn the laugh-at into shared amusement. Jackman delivers a masterful performance as a Neil Diamond impersonator, sounding almost like him, and looking almost like him. He is entirely believable as someone who isn’t supposed to be in the big league but who clearly has the chops (and the vocal cords) to carry a show.

Notable Acting

Hudson is also excellent, performing her own vocals as Claire, who before she joined Mike in the world of Neil Diamond homage had a thriving act as Patsy Cline. The film depicts her powerfully singing Cline's songs, even though one particular Cline standard is curiously omitted from this movie.

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

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 in their place Brewer installs those attributes which the pair personally would have been aware of: the vulnerability and loneliness of trying to make it on the fringes of the music business, or indeed making it anywhere and within any profession.

It is a tale of relentless perseverance and its bright hopefulness renders it a calorific Christmas treat.

Song Sung Blue is out December 25th in the US and January 1st in Australia and the UK.