One Mann’s Movies review of “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” (2020).
Bob the Movie Man’s Rating:
Certification:
US: PG-13. UK: 12.
Will Ferrell‘s output over the last few years has been decidedly patchy. I have to go back to “Get Hard” to find one of his movies that really got to my funny bone. But this latest Netflix offering hits the spot for me.
“Volcano Man” belted out by “Fire Saga” (Rachel McAdams and Will Ferrell). (Source: Netflix).
Twelve Points.
We start with the song recently voted the number one Eurovision song of all time by UK viewers: “Waterloo” by Abba. Young Lars Erickssong (LOL) (Alfie Melia) is transfixed watching the 1974 Eurovision winner with his recently bereaved father and local Lothario Erick (Pierce Brosnan). (Mental note to women: never marry Brosnan on screen… he gets through wives faster than you can murder “S.O.S.”). Also present are his friends and young Sigrit (“probably not my sister”) Ericksdottir (Sophia-Grace Donnelly). Lars vows to one day stand on that stage and make his father and his remote Icelandic fishing village proud.
Now all grown up, Lars (now Will Ferrell) and Sigrit (now Rachel McAdams) are still pursuing their dream of representing Iceland in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest. They are, of course, dreadful – – so they should fit right in. But their way is blocked by the immensely talented Katiana (Demi Lovato) and all seems hopeless. Will Sigrit’s faith in the power of the Elves see them through?
Demi Lovato as the “sure thing” for Iceland, Katiana. (Source: Netflix)
Almost un-spoofable.
There’s an obvious problem here. The Eurovision Song Contest is in itself so bat-shit bonkers that it is almost impossible to spoof. (If anyone is not on this wavelength, the genuine Russian entry in this year’s (cancelled) contest was this one.) But the team here (writers Will Ferrell and Andrew Steele and director David “The Judge” Dobkin) do a really great job. I’d love to know what a US audience – who I guess will mostly be unfamiliar with Eurovision – make of this. Since Australia are now honorary Europeans in the contest…. wouldn’t it be great if there was a Mexican mariachi band attending and a country and western act from the States? (Brits would love the US to be involved…. as spoofed in the film, there’s only one country European’s hate more than the UK…. be nice to have someone else to join us in the “nul points” club!)
A dream come true? (Source: Netflix)
Rachel McAdams is both gorgeous and hilarious.
Wherever you may be on the “Ferrell-funny-or-not-ometer”, there’s one thing I hope we can all agree on here, and that is that Rachel McAdams continues to shine as a comic lead. She was fantastic in “Game Night” – one of my favourite comedies of recent years – and here she knocks it out of the park playing the elf-loving Icelandic pixie with the golden voice. (McAdams “sings” but is significantly “helped” in the mix by Swedish pop star Molly Sandén (aka My Marianne)).
Here she even gets to almost reprise her wonderful “YEESSSSS! Oh no, he died!” line from “Game Night“.
Almost matching her in the scene-stealing stakes though is Downton’s Dan Stevens as Lemtov: a Russian ‘Tom Jones’-like contestant singing “Lion of Love” (“Let’s get together; I’m a lion lover; And I hunt for love!“). He’s DEFINITELY not gay (“There are no gays in Russia”) but are his multi-millions enough to turn Sigrit’s head?
The Lion of Love, Dan Stevens as Russian millionaire Lemtov. (Source: Netflix).
For those who love their annual Eurovision parties, there are also an impressive array of nice cameos that will delight.
A must for Eurovision fans.
But where the film makers really score (no pun intended) is making the music so fitting. Some of the tracks make you think “Yeah, if this was the real content, this might have got my vote”. Director Dobkin is quoted as saying “It’s okay if it’s funny, but it has to be really good music. It has to still be great and just kitschy enough to be Eurovision, because that’s part of what’s fun about Eurovision” (Source: Vulture). Very true. This success is down to the involvement of pop writer/producer Savan Kotecha on the project: the man behind hits by Katy Perry, Ariana Grande and Ellie Goulding.
Just one of the many Eurovision cameos: the commentator Graham Norton. (Source: Netflix).
Just what’s needed: a really feelgood movie.
A comedy needs to make me laugh, and this one really did – numerous times. It’s not just the dialogue. Some of the cut-away scenes are priceless and perfectly executed: jumping whales; a collapsing glacier; a small slamming door!
Sure, it borrows from a number of other sources in its plot: most notably THAT episode of “Father Ted” and the rap-battle scenes from “Pitch Perfect“. And sure, some of the outRAGEOUS Icelandic accents sometimes swerve into an alarming mix of Indian, Welsh and Caribbean dialects! But above all, this is movie with real heart. The plot is pretty well signposted, but the finale still packs a (surprisingly) hefty emotional punch, and it leaves you with a really nice afterglow.
As we struggle out of Covid lockdown, it may not be a vaccine, but it is a pretty good medicine for the side-effects.
Did I love this? Jaja Ding Dong!
Trailer:
The (very good) trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q6Co-nd0lM. Very good because watching it again I am giggling like a schoolkid.
