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This film presents a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable real-life tale emerging from American showbusiness; a lovable crowdpleaser whose feelgood flavour does little to warn you for how 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 with both fists.

The Stranger-Than-Fiction Story

The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, terrifically played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were spouses from Milwaukee who had children from previous relationships that during the 1990s formed a cheesy Neil Diamond tribute act named Lightning and Thunder; they grew into an underground sensation within their state and even performed before Pearl Jam, with the band's guitarist Eddie Vedder good-naturedly joined them during their performance for an encore.

However, life was not easy for them, and this movie contemplates how tough it is when misfortune's bolt strikes more than once.

Adapting a Real Story

It is in fact adapted from an existing documentary of the same title 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. One could argue that the documentary puts more emphasis on the delusional and absurd aspects of Mike and Claire’s life.

Yet this is not the approach this film from writer-director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. He, Jackman and Hudson transform the mockery into shared amusement. Jackman delivers a masterful performance portraying a Neil Diamond tribute artist, vocalizing in a remarkably similar manner, and looking almost like him. He’s perfectly plausible as someone who isn’t supposed to be the major leagues but who clearly has the chops (and the vocal cords) to headline a performance.

Notable Acting

Hudson likewise shines, doing her own singing in the role of Claire, who before she joined Mike in the Neil Diamond tribute world had a thriving act as Patsy Cline. The film depicts her belting out Cline numbers, even though one particular Cline standard is curiously omitted from this movie.

Actor Michael Imperioli portrays a Buddy Holly impersonator named Mark, while Mustafa Shakir appears as a James Brown performer called Sex Machine. The role of Claire's teenage daughter Rachel is played by Ella Anderson, and King Princess portrays Mike’s daughter Angelina who is around the same age – with their developing friendship serving as another subtle element 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 experiences, and replacing them Brewer installs those qualities which the pair personally would have recognized: the vulnerability and loneliness of trying to make it on the fringes of the music industry, or for that matter making it anywhere and in any business.

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

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