Is the Neil Diamond film 'Song Sung Blue' a true story? We fact check

• "Song Sung Blue," the movie about of Neil Diamond tribute act Lightning & Thunder, hits theaters on Christmas Day.
• The film depicts the duo's highs (opening for Pearl Jam) and lows (a devastating car accident).
• The real Thunder, aka Claire Sardina, 64, fact-checks the movie.

Spoiler alert! We're discussing key plot points in the movie "Song Sung Blue" (in theaters now). Beware if you haven't seen it yet and don't want to know.

You have to brace yourself for "Song Sung Blue."

The actual story of real-life Neil Diamond "interpreter" Mike Sardina (played by Hugh Jackman) and his wife, Claire (Kate Hudson) − the husband-and-wife duo known as Lightning & Thunder − has more drama than the movie. The struggling musicians rose to regional stardom in the 1990s, admired by superfans like Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder, before facing staggering life setbacks.

Many of these obstacles are depicted in director Greg Koh's 2008 documentary (also called "Song Sung Blue"), which followed the Sardinas for eight years and inspired writer and director Craig Brewer to make the new film.

Mike died in 2006. But Claire, 64, tells USA TODAY that she cried watching the movie at a private screening set up for her family, including her two grown children, Dayna and Rachel, from a previous marriage.

"We relived it all. Thank God we had a box of tissues," she says. "The movie is based on a true story. There's some Hollywood there. But it's pretty spot-on."

Here's what's true and what's not in "Song Sung Blue."

Claire and Mike met as middle-aged divorcées and became a star couple

"Song Sung Blue" shows the two performers meeting at the Wisconsin State Fair. In reality, the two met because Claire was a fan of Mike's band, Positive Traction, and even submitted a blind audition tape in 1987. When the divorcées subsequently met at a gig, Mike told her, "You're more beautiful than I ever imagined." In 1989, Mike started Lightning & Thunder with Claire.

"We were supposed to be business associates," says Sardina, who says the duo ended up parking by a lake after their first work meeting. "It turned into love."

Mike morphed into a full-time Diamond performer in Lightning & Thunder, and the duo often performed at the state fair. The couple even famously held their 1994 wedding during a set break at the Wisconsin fair. With their blended families (Mike had two children from his earlier marriage), the two experienced more than a decade of success and heartbreak together.

"Mike changed my life. I wanted to be with him 24/7. He was my soulmate," Sardina says.

Lightning & Thunder opened for superfan Eddie Vedder

Vedder was an even bigger fan of Lightning & Thunder than shown in the movie. The duo also opened for Pearl Jam on a bigger stage, in front of a sold-out Summerfest in Milwaukee's Marcus Amphitheater in July 1995, and they returned for an encore.

"After my marriage to Lightning, and my children's birth, it was the greatest moment in my life," Sardina says. "There were 40,000 people singing 'Forever in Blue Jeans.' "

Lightning & Thunder took off when the duo booked gigs in Chicago, like at the House of Blues. "All due to Eddie and Pearl Jam," Sardina says.

Not shown in "Song Sung Blue": Vedder sent a touching two-page letter to Claire after Mike died, along with his Gibson guitar. "It's my prized possession," Sardina says.

Claire Sardina really did get hit by a car while gardening: 'The ultimate shock'

The filmmakers have prepared audiences in the trailer for the impactful scene when Claire is gardening in her front yard when a car careens off the road and hits her. It still brings an audible gasp in theaters.

The freak accident happened in 1999, and it's depicted wildly close to how it occurred.

"I was gardening in my front yard and a car came up on my property and ran over me," Sardina says. "People are always like 'Oh, my gosh!' when I tell them."

She recalls very little of the aftermath. She was airlifted to the hospital, and her left leg was amputated below the knee.

"There's the feeling of slow motion as it happened that people talk about. And then I was in shock," Sardina says. "I could hear voices, but I felt no pain. It was the ultimate shock."

Another car hit the Sardinas' home, proving lightning can strike twice

As Claire dealt with the trauma of the accident and the family navigated financial problems, another car ran into the house about two years later. No one was injured.

"That was shocking," says Sardina, who didn't have the cathartic laugh seen in the movie. There was a humorous aspect to the TV interview Claire gave after the accident. "When I was interviewed for one station, I was wearing a T-shirt for the competing news station. I still laugh about that."

Mike Sardina's tragic death was different than shown in the film

Lightning & Thunder did make a comeback. But Mike's sad death did not come in the back of the car before meeting Diamond, as seen on-screen.

In real life, Mike hit his head on a dresser − not a sink − before a show in July 2006.

"Mike refused to have treatment because we had a gig coming up," Sardina says. "And he deteriorated after that."

After a playing a show a week later, Mike finally went to the hospital, where doctors discovered bleeding around his brain. He died after surgery on July 27, 2006, at age 55.

Though Mike never met Diamond, Claire met the singer backstage before his Milwaukee concert in November 2008.

"He was the most gracious man on Earth and treated me as if we were best friends," she says.

She believes her husband is enjoying the movie from beyond.

"Mike is taking all of this in. He's here. But I know he's performing in heaven right now. Because that was his passion."