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This film presents a remarkably odd, certainly enjoyable true-life story emerging from American showbusiness; an endearing hit whose feelgood flavour won’t prepare you for how the plot repeatedly and savagely twists similar to a precarious carnival attraction. Personally, I found my eyes closed with my jaw agape at certain key points, while clutching the chair ahead with both fists.

The Unbelievable True Tale

Mike and Claire Sardina, terrifically played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were a Milwaukee married couple with kids from prior unions who in the 90s formed a cheesy Neil Diamond tribute act called Lightning and Thunder; they grew into an underground sensation in their home state and even opened for Pearl Jam, with the band's 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 hits repeatedly.

Adapting a Real Story

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 movie that relied heavily reliant on the family's personal collection of home video. One could argue that the original documentary puts more emphasis on the unrealistic and ridiculous elements of Mike and Claire’s life.

Yet this is not the approach this film from writer-director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. He, Jackman and Hudson transform the mockery into laugh-with. Jackman absolutely crushes it as a Neil Diamond impersonator, vocalizing in a remarkably similar manner, and appearing strikingly alike. He is entirely believable as an individual not destined for the major leagues but who clearly has the chops (and the pipes) to carry a show.

Notable Acting

Hudson likewise shines, doing her own singing as Claire, who before she joined Mike in the Neil Diamond tribute world enjoyed a successful career performing as Patsy Cline. She is shown belting out Cline numbers, although there is one iconic Cline tune is curiously omitted from this movie.

Actor Michael Imperioli portrays a Buddy Holly tribute artist named Mark, while Mustafa Shakir appears as a James Brown act 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 serving as another subtle element contributing to the movie's charm.

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 been aware of: the fragility and isolation of trying to make it on the fringes of the music business, or for that matter succeeding in any field and within any profession.

It is a tale of relentless perseverance and its bright hopefulness renders it a calorific Christmas treat.

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