🔗 Share this article

This film presents a remarkably odd, undeniably entertaining true-life story emerging from American showbusiness; a lovable crowdpleaser with its uplifting tone does little to warn you for the way the plot frequently and brutally turns similar to a precarious carnival attraction. Personally, I found my eyes closed with my jaw agape during several crucial moments, and was grabbing the chair ahead with both fists.

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 previous relationships who in the 90s formed a kitschy homage performance to Neil Diamond named Lightning and Thunder; they grew into an underground sensation in their home state and even performed before Pearl Jam, with the band's guitarist Eddie Vedder amiably accompanied them during their performance for an encore.

However, life was far from simple for the pair, and this film broods on how tough it is when the lightning of ill fortune strikes more than once.

From Documentary to Drama

The film is actually based on a prior documentary film of the same title from 2008 by Greg Kohs concerning this surreal reality, a film that was extensively on the couple’s family archive of home video. It’s fair to say that the original 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 shared amusement. Jackman absolutely crushes it portraying a Neil Diamond tribute artist, sounding almost like him, and looking almost like him. He’s perfectly plausible as an individual not destined for in the big league but who clearly has the chops (and the pipes) to headline a performance.

Notable Acting

Hudson likewise shines, doing her own singing in the role of Claire, who prior to partnering with Mike in the world of Neil Diamond homage had a thriving act as Patsy Cline. She is shown belting out Cline numbers, even though one particular iconic Cline tune is curiously omitted from this movie.

Michael Imperioli plays a Buddy Holly impersonator named Mark, while Mustafa Shakir appears as a James Brown act called Sex Machine. Ella Anderson plays Claire’s teen daughter Rachel, and King Princess portrays Mike’s daughter Angelina of about 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 dramatically packed life stories, and in their place Brewer substitutes those attributes that the couple themselves would have recognized: the vulnerability and loneliness of trying to make it on the fringes of the music industry, or for that matter making it anywhere and within any profession.

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

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