Song Sung Blue Review: A Neil Diamond Tribute Act Gets a Sweet Treat from Hollywood Thanks to Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson

This film presents a remarkably odd, undeniably entertaining real-life tale emerging from the American entertainment world; 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 myself shutting my eyes with my jaw agape at certain key points, and was grabbing the seat in front of me with both fists.

The Unbelievable True Tale

Mike and Claire Sardina, superbly portrayed by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, were a Milwaukee married couple with kids from prior unions that during the 1990s formed a kitschy Neil Diamond tribute act named 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 movie contemplates 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 bearing the identical name created in 2008 by Greg Kohs about this stranger-than-fiction world, a film that was heavily reliant on the couple’s family archive of home video. It’s fair to say that the original documentary puts more emphasis on the delusional and absurd aspects in the lives of Mike and Claire.

But that’s not how 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’s perfectly plausible as someone who isn’t supposed to be the major leagues but who clearly has the chops (and the vocal cords) to carry a show.

Standout Performances

Hudson likewise shines, doing her own singing in the role of Claire, who before she joined Mike in the Neil Diamond tribute world had a thriving act performing as Patsy Cline. She is shown powerfully singing Cline's songs, even though one particular Cline standard is curiously omitted from this movie.

Michael Imperioli plays a Buddy Holly tribute artist named Mark, and Mustafa Shakir is a James Brown performer called Sex Machine. The role of 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 is another underplayed aspect of the film’s likability.

The Core Narrative

Sarcasm and mockery have been surgically removed from Mike and Claire’s heart-stoppingly eventful life stories, and replacing them Brewer substitutes those qualities which the pair personally would have recognized: the fragility and isolation involved in striving for success on the fringes of the music industry, or indeed making it anywhere and in any business.

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

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