The Song Sung Blue Film Review: An Musical Homage Story Gets a Heartwarming Boost from Hollywood Thanks to Jackman and Hudson

Here is a startlingly strange, certainly enjoyable real-life tale emerging from American showbusiness; a lovable crowdpleaser whose feelgood flavour won’t prepare you for how the narrative repeatedly and savagely twists similar to a precarious carnival attraction. Personally, I found my eyes closed with my jaw agape at certain key points, and was grabbing the chair ahead tightly with my hands.

The Unbelievable True Tale

The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, superbly portrayed by Jackman and Hudson, were spouses from Milwaukee who had children from previous relationships who in the 90s created a kitschy homage performance to Neil Diamond named Lightning and Thunder; they grew into an underground sensation within their state and even opened for Pearl Jam, with the band's guitarist Eddie Vedder good-naturedly joined them during their performance for an encore.

However, life was far from simple for the pair, and this movie contemplates how tough it is when misfortune's bolt hits repeatedly.

Adapting a Real Story

It is in fact adapted from an existing documentary of the same title from 2008 by Greg Kohs concerning this surreal reality, a movie that relied heavily reliant on the couple’s family archive of homemade recordings. It’s fair to say that the original documentary focuses more intently on the delusional and absurd aspects in the lives of Mike and Claire.

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 delivers a masterful performance portraying a Neil Diamond tribute artist, sounding almost like him, and looking almost like him. He is entirely believable as someone who isn’t supposed to be the major leagues but who undoubtedly possesses the talent (and the vocal cords) to headline a performance.

Notable Acting

Hudson is also excellent, performing her own vocals in the role of Claire, who before she joined Mike in the world of Neil Diamond homage had a thriving act as Patsy Cline. The film depicts her belting out Cline numbers, although there is one Cline standard that this film interestingly misses out.

Michael Imperioli plays a Buddy Holly impersonator called Mark, and Mustafa Shakir is a James Brown performer known as Sex Machine. Ella Anderson plays Claire’s teen daughter Rachel, and King Princess is 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 surgically removed from the account of Mike and Claire's heart-stoppingly eventful life stories, and replacing them Brewer installs those qualities that the couple themselves would have recognized: the fragility and isolation involved in striving for success on the fringes of the music business, or indeed succeeding in any field and in any business.

This is a tale of relentless perseverance and its cheerful optimism renders it a calorific Christmas treat.

Song Sung Blue releases on 25 December in the United States and January 1st in Australia and the United Kingdom.