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Here is a startlingly strange, undeniably entertaining real-life tale from the heartland of American showbusiness; an endearing hit whose feelgood flavour won’t prepare you for the way the narrative frequently and brutally turns similar to a precarious carnival attraction. Personally, I found myself shutting my eyes with my jaw agape during several crucial moments, 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 a Milwaukee married couple with kids from previous relationships who in the 90s created a kitschy homage performance to Neil Diamond named Lightning and Thunder; they became an underground sensation within their state and even performed before Pearl Jam, whose guitarist Eddie Vedder good-naturedly joined them during their performance for an encore.

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.

Adapting a Real Story

The film is actually based on a prior documentary film of the same title created in 2008 from filmmaker Greg Kohs about this stranger-than-fiction world, a movie that relied extensively on the couple’s family archive of homemade recordings. It’s fair to say that the original documentary focuses more intently on the unrealistic and ridiculous elements in the lives of Mike and Claire.

Yet this is not the approach this film from director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. He, Jackman and Hudson turn the laugh-at into laugh-with. Jackman absolutely crushes it 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 pipes) to carry a show.

Standout Performances

Hudson is also excellent, performing her own vocals as Claire, who prior to partnering with Mike in the world of Neil Diamond homage had a thriving act performing 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 teen daughter Rachel, 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 Heart of the Story

Irony and satire have been surgically removed from Mike and Claire’s heart-stoppingly eventful life stories, and in their place Brewer substitutes those attributes which the pair personally would have recognized: the fragility and isolation of trying to make it on the fringes of the music business, or indeed making it anywhere and within any profession.

This is a never-say-die story and its cheerful optimism makes it a rich holiday delight.

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