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Here is a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable real-life tale emerging from the American entertainment world; an endearing hit whose feelgood flavour does little to warn you for how the plot frequently and brutally turns similar to a precarious carnival attraction. I actually had my eyes closed and mouth open 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 a Milwaukee married couple with kids from previous relationships that during the 1990s created a kitschy Neil Diamond tribute act named Lightning and Thunder; they became an underground sensation within their state and even opened for Pearl Jam, whose guitarist Eddie Vedder amiably accompanied them on stage for an encore.

But things were not easy for them, and this film broods on how tough it is when the lightning of ill fortune strikes more than once.

From Documentary to Drama

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 extensively on the couple’s family archive of home video. One could argue that the documentary puts more emphasis on the unrealistic and ridiculous elements in the lives of Mike and Claire.

But that’s not how this film from writer-director Craig Brewer reimagines their tale. He, Jackman and Hudson turn the laugh-at into shared amusement. Jackman absolutely crushes it as a Neil Diamond impersonator, sounding almost like him, and looking almost like him. He’s perfectly plausible 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 in the role of Claire, who before she joined Mike in the world of Neil Diamond homage enjoyed a successful career as Patsy Cline. The film depicts her powerfully singing Cline's songs, although there is one 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 known as 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 is another underplayed aspect of the film’s likability.

The Heart of the Story

Irony and satire have been meticulously excised from Mike and Claire’s heart-stoppingly eventful life stories, and in their place Brewer substitutes those attributes that the couple themselves would have been aware of: the fragility and isolation involved in striving for success in the margins of the music business, or for that matter making it anywhere and in any business.

This is a tale of relentless perseverance and its cheerful optimism makes it a rich holiday delight.

The film "Song Sung Blue" is out December 25th in the United States and 1 January in Australia and the UK.