🔗 Share this article

Here is a remarkably odd, undeniably entertaining real-life tale from the heartland of the American entertainment world; an endearing hit whose feelgood flavour does little to warn you for the way the narrative frequently and brutally turns 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 tightly with my hands.

The Stranger-Than-Fiction Story

The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, superbly portrayed by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were spouses from Milwaukee who had children from prior unions that during the 1990s formed a cheesy homage performance to Neil Diamond called Lightning and Thunder; they grew into an underground sensation in their home state and even opened for Pearl Jam, whose guitarist Eddie Vedder amiably accompanied them on stage for an encore.

But things were far from simple for the pair, and this film broods on the difficulty that arises 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 by 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 puts more emphasis on the delusional and absurd aspects of Mike and Claire’s life.

But that’s not how taken by this movie from writer-director Craig Brewer reimagines their tale. He, Jackman and Hudson transform the mockery into laugh-with. Jackman delivers a masterful performance portraying a Neil Diamond tribute artist, sounding almost like him, and appearing strikingly alike. He’s perfectly plausible as an individual not destined for the major leagues but who undoubtedly possesses the talent (and the vocal cords) to headline a performance.

Standout Performances

Hudson is also excellent, doing her own singing as Claire, who before she joined Mike in the world of Neil Diamond homage had a thriving act as Patsy Cline. The film depicts her powerfully singing Cline's songs, even though one particular Cline standard is curiously omitted from this movie.

Michael Imperioli plays a Buddy Holly tribute artist named Mark, and Mustafa Shakir is a James Brown act known as Sex Machine. The role of Claire’s teen daughter Rachel, and King Princess portrays Mike's daughter Angelina of about 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 dramatically packed life experiences, and replacing them Brewer installs those qualities that the couple themselves would have been aware of: the fragility and isolation of trying to make it in the margins of the music business, or indeed making it anywhere and within any profession.

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

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