Song Sung Blue Review: A Musical Homage Act Gets a Heartwarming Boost of Movie Magic Courtesy of Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson

This film presents a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable real-life tale emerging from American showbusiness; a lovable crowdpleaser whose feelgood flavour does little to warn you for how the narrative frequently and brutally turns like an unsafe fairground ride. Personally, I found myself shutting my eyes and mouth open 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 a Milwaukee married couple with kids from previous relationships that during the 1990s formed a kitschy Neil Diamond tribute act called Lightning and Thunder; they became a cult hit within their state and even opened for Pearl Jam, with the band's guitarist Eddie Vedder amiably accompanied them during their performance for an additional song.

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

From Documentary to Drama

It is in fact adapted from a prior documentary film bearing the identical name created in 2008 from filmmaker 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 unrealistic and ridiculous elements in the lives of Mike and Claire.

Yet this is not the approach this film from director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. He, Jackman and Hudson transform the mockery into laugh-with. Jackman delivers a masterful performance as a Neil Diamond impersonator, sounding almost like him, and looking almost like him. He is entirely believable as an individual not destined for the major leagues but who clearly has the chops (and the vocal cords) to carry a show.

Standout Performances

Hudson is also excellent, performing her own vocals as Claire, who before she joined Mike in the Neil Diamond tribute world enjoyed a successful career as Patsy Cline. The film depicts her belting out Cline numbers, even though one particular Cline standard is curiously omitted from this movie.

Actor Michael Imperioli portrays a Buddy Holly tribute artist named Mark, and Mustafa Shakir is a James Brown performer known as Sex Machine. Ella Anderson plays Claire's teenage daughter Rachel is played by Ella Anderson, and King Princess portrays Mike's daughter Angelina who is around the same age – and their burgeoning friendship serving as another subtle element contributing to the movie's charm.

The Core Narrative

Sarcasm and mockery have been surgically removed from Mike and Claire’s dramatically packed life experiences, and replacing them Brewer installs those attributes which the pair personally would have recognized: the fragility and isolation involved in striving for success 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 renders it a rich holiday delight.

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