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This film presents 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 plot frequently and brutally turns like an unsafe fairground ride. I actually had my eyes closed with my jaw agape during several crucial moments, while clutching the seat in front of me with both fists.

The Stranger-Than-Fiction Story

The couple Mike and Claire Sardina, terrifically played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were spouses from Milwaukee with kids from previous relationships that during the 1990s formed a kitschy Neil Diamond tribute act called Lightning and Thunder; they grew into an underground sensation within their state and even performed before Pearl Jam, with the band's guitarist Eddie Vedder amiably accompanied them during their performance for an additional song.

But things were far from simple for the pair, and this movie contemplates how tough it is when misfortune's bolt hits repeatedly.

From Documentary to Drama

It is in fact adapted from a prior documentary film of the same title from 2008 from filmmaker Greg Kohs about this stranger-than-fiction world, a movie that relied extensively on the couple’s family archive of homemade recordings. One could argue that the documentary focuses more intently on the unrealistic and ridiculous elements of Mike and Claire’s life.

Yet this is not the approach taken by this movie from director Craig Brewer reinvents their story. He, Jackman and Hudson turn the laugh-at into shared amusement. 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 in the big league but who clearly has the chops (and the pipes) to headline a performance.

Standout Performances

Hudson likewise shines, performing her own vocals as Claire, who prior to partnering with Mike in the world of Neil Diamond homage enjoyed a successful career as Patsy Cline. She is shown powerfully singing Cline's songs, even though one particular iconic Cline tune that this film interestingly misses out.

Michael Imperioli plays a Buddy Holly impersonator called 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 – with their developing friendship is another underplayed aspect of the film’s likability.

The Core Narrative

Irony and satire have been meticulously excised from Mike and Claire’s heart-stoppingly eventful life experiences, and replacing them Brewer substitutes those qualities which the pair personally would have been aware of: the vulnerability and loneliness of trying to make it in the margins of the music industry, or for that matter succeeding in any field and in any business.

This is a never-say-die story and its cheerful optimism renders it a calorific Christmas treat.

The film "Song Sung Blue" is out on 25 December in the US and January 1st in Australia and the UK.