Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
netflix
Will Ferrell (Lars) and Rachel McAdams (Sigrit) join forces in a bid to win Eurovision for Iceland in this patchy comedy from David Dobkin. It doesn’t always hit the mark but certainly has its heart in the right place.
Eurovision is certainly an easy target for comedy; it would have all too simple to eviscerate the long-running competition with mean jokes and cruel barbs. Thankfully, that’s not the approach taken here, as this is has been a passion project for Ferrell for a number of years and the creative team’s love for Eurovision really shines through.
Despite the passion on offer, it’s surprisingly something of mixed bag. There are times when the audience will feel every minute of the film's bloated running time. Even the most ardent of Ferrell fans can’t argue that we haven’t seen this shtick before: he’s on autopilot here and carried to some extent by Rachel McAdams, who clearly had a great time making this and, for the most part, plays off well against Ferrell.
McAdams isn’t the best part of the film, though; that accolade has to go to Dan Stevens' delightful turn as the Russian Competitor Alexander Lemtov. He single-handily steals every scene he’s in and it’s hard to imagine that he wouldn’t be front and centre of any sequels or spin offs that inevitably appear. His character is not only very funny but also one of the most developed. Originally framed as the villain of the piece, he’s more layered than the other characters and occupies something a grey area that is always fascinating and not often seen in an out and out comedy like this.
With the cast having such a great time, it’s a shame that all the jokes don’t land. There are some painfully unfunny and lazy gags on offer here, delivering some long swathes of the film that really could have been cut to make a much tighter running time. If it wasn’t for the enduring popularity of the subject matter and the music, Netflix really could have been looking something of misfire here, and when you consider that Ferrell co-wrote the film, it could be concern for the calibre of his future projects.
Thankfully though, for a film about Eurovision, the music is quite another matter. The soundtrack is inspiring and definitely worms its way into the audience's head at a rapid pace – it would take a heart of stone not to get caught up in the joy of the song and dance numbers on offer. The songs perfectly capture the mood of the competition and are undoubtedly the film's strength.
On the strength of the soundtrack alone Eurovison: The Story of Fire Saga seems destined for a cult following and, despite the films obvious shortcomings, there is a lot of fun to be had but it certainly falls short of the full twelve points.
