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Here is a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable true-life story emerging from American showbusiness; a lovable crowdpleaser with its uplifting tone won’t prepare you for how the plot frequently and brutally turns similar to a precarious carnival attraction. Personally, I found myself shutting my eyes with my jaw agape at certain key points, and was grabbing the chair ahead with both fists.

The Unbelievable True Tale

Mike and Claire Sardina, superbly portrayed by Jackman and Hudson, were spouses from Milwaukee with kids from prior unions that during the 1990s created a kitschy homage performance to Neil Diamond named Lightning and Thunder; they became a cult hit in their home state and even performed before Pearl Jam, whose guitarist Eddie Vedder good-naturedly joined them on stage for an encore.

But things were far from simple for the pair, and this movie contemplates the difficulty that arises when the lightning of ill fortune strikes more than once.

From Documentary to Drama

The film is actually based on a prior documentary film bearing the identical name created in 2008 by Greg Kohs about this stranger-than-fiction world, a movie that relied heavily reliant on the family's personal collection of homemade recordings. One could argue that the documentary focuses more intently on the unrealistic and ridiculous elements of Mike and Claire’s life.

But that’s not how taken by this movie from director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. The director and stars transform the mockery into shared amusement. Jackman absolutely crushes it as a Neil Diamond impersonator, 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 carry a show.

Standout Performances

Hudson is also excellent, doing her own singing as Claire, who before she joined Mike in the Neil Diamond tribute world had a thriving act as Patsy Cline. She is shown belting out Cline numbers, even though one particular iconic Cline tune that this film interestingly misses out.

Actor Michael Imperioli portrays a Buddy Holly impersonator named Mark, and Mustafa Shakir is a James Brown act called Sex Machine. The role of Claire’s teen daughter Rachel, and King Princess is 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

Sarcasm and mockery have been surgically removed from Mike and Claire’s dramatically packed life experiences, and in their place Brewer substitutes those attributes which the pair personally would have been aware of: the vulnerability and loneliness involved in striving for success in the margins of the music business, or for that matter making it anywhere and within any profession.

It is a tale of relentless perseverance and its cheerful optimism makes it a calorific Christmas treat.

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