Title – Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)

Director – David Dobkin (The Judge)

Cast – Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams, Dan Stevens, Pierce Brosnan, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Demi Lovato, Graham Norton

Plot – Long-term Icelandic friends and music lovers Lars (Ferrell) and Sigrit (McAdams) find themselves in Scotland competing in the famed Eurovision song contest, despite many doubters believing they’re no chance of taking out the top prize.

“The elves went too far!”

Review by Eddie on 01/07/2020

Much like the contest of its title, Netflix’s latest high-profile comedy, that re-teams Wedding Crashers director David Dobkin with that films participants Rachel McAdams and Will Ferrell, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is all over the top color and joy with little substance to substantiate it but delivers exactly what it promises to do, lots of silly and fun entertainment.

Sharing a great chemistry together, heightened by the fact McAdams continues to prove her powers in the comedy game after a stand out turn a few years back in Game Night, Eurovision may outstay its welcome slightly at a generous two hour runtime but there’s enough winning moments here to make the oddball trip we take worth it.

Filled with a killer soundtrack and some original ditties with titles such as scene stealer Ja Ja Ding Dong, Volcano Man and Lion of Love, Eurovision wears its heart on its sleeve as its game cast commit to every aspect of Dobkin and Ferrell’s wild ride (with Ferrell helping pen the script after being inspired by his own love for the famed singing contest), making this one of those infectiously enjoyable offerings, that despite your better judgement, you can’t help but enjoy.

Following the journey of Ferrell and McAdams long-time Icelandic based friends and music lovers Lars Erickssong and Sigrit Ericksdottir, as they find themselves unexpectedly representing their home country in the worlds biggest song contest, Eurovision introduces us to a wide range of colorful characters and side players from Dan Steven’s flamboyant Russian singer Alexander Lemtov, Pierce Brosnan’s grumpy music hater and father to Lars Erick and Demi Lovato’s unfortunate Katiana but the film really shines when its simply Ferrell and McAdams alone doing their best work.

Seeming a little too old for this kind of thing now, Ferrell is his usual overplaying it self as the obsessive Lars but when his playing alongside the elves-believing McAdams as Sigrit, the film finds a genuinely nice groove that it can bounce along from, especially with McAdams embedding so much charm and heart into her role, elevating Eurovision from acceptable comedy to the perfect dumb antidote to the world in which we find ourselves in now.

Final Say – 

A big dumb overblown comedy that never attempts to become anything more than a silly and brash comedic exercise, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga successfully reunites Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams as it delivers solid laughs and toe-tapping tunes.

3 portaloo’s out of 5