🔗 Share this article

This film presents a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable real-life tale emerging from American showbusiness; a lovable crowdpleaser with its uplifting tone won’t prepare you for the way the plot 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, while clutching the seat in front of me tightly with my hands.

The Unbelievable True Tale

Mike and Claire Sardina, superbly portrayed by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were spouses from Milwaukee with kids from prior unions who in the 90s formed a kitschy Neil Diamond tribute act named Lightning and Thunder; they became a cult hit in their home state and even performed before Pearl Jam, with the band's 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 hits repeatedly.

From Documentary to Drama

The film is actually based on an existing documentary bearing the identical name created in 2008 from filmmaker Greg Kohs concerning this surreal reality, a film that was heavily reliant on the couple’s family archive of home video. One could argue that the original documentary focuses more intently on the delusional and absurd aspects in the lives of Mike and Claire.

Yet this is not the approach taken by this movie from 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, 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 pipes) to headline a performance.

Standout Performances

Hudson likewise shines, performing her own vocals in the role of Claire, who prior to partnering with Mike in the world of Neil Diamond homage enjoyed a successful career performing as Patsy Cline. She is shown powerfully singing Cline's songs, even though one particular iconic Cline tune that this film interestingly misses out.

Michael Imperioli plays a Buddy Holly impersonator named Mark, and Mustafa Shakir is a James Brown act 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 – with their developing friendship serving as another subtle element 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 heart-stoppingly eventful life stories, and replacing them Brewer substitutes those attributes that the couple themselves would have been aware of: 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 within any profession.

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

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