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Here is a remarkably odd, 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 repeatedly and savagely twists like an unsafe fairground ride. Personally, I found myself shutting my eyes with my jaw agape during several crucial moments, and was grabbing the chair ahead with both fists.

The Stranger-Than-Fiction Story

Mike and Claire Sardina, terrifically played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were spouses from Milwaukee who had children from prior unions who in the 90s formed a kitschy homage performance to Neil Diamond called Lightning and Thunder; they became an underground sensation in their home state and even performed before Pearl Jam, whose guitarist Eddie Vedder good-naturedly joined them during their performance for an encore.

However, life was far from simple for the pair, and this movie contemplates the difficulty that arises when misfortune's bolt strikes more than once.

Adapting a Real Story

It is in fact adapted from an existing documentary bearing the identical name from 2008 from filmmaker Greg Kohs about this stranger-than-fiction world, a film that was heavily reliant on the couple’s family archive of home video. It’s fair to say that the documentary puts more emphasis on the unrealistic and ridiculous elements of Mike and Claire’s life.

Yet this is not the approach this film from writer-director Craig Brewer reimagines their tale. He, Jackman and Hudson turn the laugh-at into laugh-with. Jackman delivers a masterful performance as a Neil Diamond impersonator, vocalizing in a remarkably similar manner, and looking almost like him. He’s perfectly plausible as someone who isn’t supposed to be in the big league but who undoubtedly possesses the talent (and the pipes) 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 performing as Patsy Cline. The film depicts her belting out Cline numbers, although there is one 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 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 serving as another subtle element of the film’s likability.

The Core Narrative

Irony and satire have been surgically removed from Mike and Claire’s dramatically packed life stories, and in their place Brewer installs those attributes that the couple themselves would have been aware of: 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 bright hopefulness renders it a calorific Christmas treat.

Song Sung Blue releases on 25 December in the US and 1 January in Australia and the United Kingdom.