🔗 Share this article

Here is a remarkably odd, certainly enjoyable real-life tale from the heartland of American showbusiness; an endearing hit whose feelgood flavour does little to warn you for how the narrative repeatedly and savagely twists similar to a precarious carnival attraction. Personally, I found myself shutting my eyes and mouth open during several crucial moments, and was grabbing the chair ahead with both fists.

The Unbelievable True Tale

The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, terrifically played by Jackman and Hudson, were a Milwaukee married couple who had children from prior unions who in the 90s formed a kitschy homage performance to Neil Diamond 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 not easy for them, and this film broods on how tough it is when misfortune's bolt strikes more than once.

From Documentary to Drama

It is in fact adapted from an existing documentary bearing the identical name created in 2008 from filmmaker Greg Kohs about this stranger-than-fiction world, a movie that relied heavily reliant on the couple’s family archive of home video. One could argue that the documentary focuses more intently on the delusional and absurd aspects of Mike and Claire’s life.

Yet this is not the approach this film from director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. The director and stars 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 carry a show.

Standout Performances

Hudson likewise shines, performing her own vocals as Claire, who before she joined Mike in the Neil Diamond tribute world had a thriving act as Patsy Cline. She is shown powerfully singing Cline's songs, even though one particular Cline standard is curiously omitted from this movie.

Actor Michael Imperioli portrays a Buddy Holly tribute artist called Mark, while Mustafa Shakir appears as a James Brown performer known as Sex Machine. Ella Anderson plays 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 Core Narrative

Sarcasm and mockery have been meticulously excised 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 vulnerability and loneliness involved in striving for success on the fringes of the music business, or indeed succeeding in any field and in any business.

This is a tale of relentless perseverance and its cheerful optimism renders it a calorific Christmas treat.

Song Sung Blue releases December 25th in the US and 1 January in Australia and the UK.