The Eurovision Song Contest, which was created by the European Broadcasting Union and held annually since 1956, has become as much a global viewing experience as the World Cup or the Olympics. A contest that brings together talented singers from all around Europe (and now Australia) to show off their skills to the world in the most extravagant way possible is one that brings out the same sense of cultural pride and support that fans feel for their favourite sports team or for an Olympic athlete from their respective country. Due to the showmanship nature of the contest, it’s a spectacle that has enough visual flair and crazy antics to work for a film adaptation which could poke fun at the event, but still treat it with respect. With that said, what kind of story could you construct that wouldn’t just fall into the ballpark of several other music-based narratives about climbing to the top for small beginnings. Apparently to Will Ferrell, inserting himself was enough of a shake-up to the formula when he helped write and produce the 2020 Netflix musical comedy, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. In the small town of Húsavík, Iceland, Lars Erickssong and Sigrit Ericksdóttir (played by Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams) are aspiring musicians who wish to get into Eurovision, but no one in their town has any faith in them, especially Lars’ father, Erick (played by Pierce Brosnan) who views him as nothing more than a hopeless loser. By a stroke of dumb luck and chance, the two are chosen for the contest and manage to get in after a horrifying accident involving the other contestants removes a good chunk of the competition (quite literally in this case). Going up against professional performers, including a dramatic Russian singer named Alexander (played by Dan Stevens) who seems to take an interest in Sigrit, the two have to go against everybody’s disapproval and prove that they are capable of being part of this contest.  A movie with a typical ”battle of the bands” kind of story starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams led by the man who produced movies like Fred Clause and RIPD, should so easily fail. Thankfully, much like the two leads, it proved it had a lot more to offer than a lot of people were initially expecting, producing a still predictable and occasionally annoying, but overall, likeably harmless movie.

The story unfortunately still follows the traditional root which is distracting for a premise that could be a little more unique in its delivery. It’s not that this film couldn’t feature these elements as there are just certain expectations within a genre and narrative framework that sometimes can’t be helped, but the manner in which a lot of these events pan out through the screenplay written by Ferrell and fellow writer, Andrew Steele, are annoyingly generic and cliched. It’s annoying to have to trudge through scenes and conflicts that have been done-to-death already, but due to Ferrell’s comedies often being very loud and even childish, it makes for a unique blend that is equally as stale and predictable as it is kind of dumb and even a little inappropriate. The director for this film was David Dobkin, who has directed projects like Shanghai Knights, Wedding Crashers, Fred Clause, as well as helped produce movies like RIPD, Jack the Giant Slayer, Vacation and even King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, so it’s safe to say his track record is a little complicated. While it is a little too long for the premise that it has and this specific kind of tone and humor is a little obnoxious, the film doesn’t feel like it’s held down by its generic plot because you can feel that isn’t what the focus of the movie is. The real star of the movie is Eurovision; its presence is always felt and visually showcased in a way that feels respectable, but also open to mockery through the bizarre of the acts and sometimes even the performers, it shows off the glamour and size of the contest in a fun way and proves how it made a mark for itself through dramatic showmanship and fresh talent from all over the world. It does start to feel like the plot is moreso a tool to lead this presentation of Eurovision as well as several song sequences along, and even though that is a dumb idea and can’t be held together for its roughly two-hour running time, it’d could’ve been much worse.

Most of the cast in this film seems to know the kind of film they’re in and play accordingly, and it’s often the writing and the character’s they’re stuck with which determines how much you can stomach them. Will Ferrell is a very specific taste whenever he shows up in a comedy; he never really feels like he creates characters, but instead an exaggerated version of himself that at best has a hint of a difference in identity, and that matched with his annoying yelling and often kindergarten level of comedy doesn’t leave him impressing many and most of his movie’s feeling repetitive, annoying, and more along the lines of a sketch comedy rather than a proper feature length film. That is still an issue here, but it thankfully isn’t as problematic. He is annoying and it’s hard to say that his character is really likeable as he carries with him the usual cliches of a ”brow-beaten dreamer who grows more egocentric the more involved he gets into industry” kind of character, but it’s more tone down than usual, the voice (while over-the-top and does sound like a sketch character) isn’t too distracting, and even his acting overall isn’t too bad, he’s more just kind of obnoxious. On the other side, Rachel McAdams is very likeable in this and honestly makes for a more compelling lead than Ferrell does. For an actress who more often than not comes across as harmless but overall unmemorable, she handles the material pretty well and although stuck with a bland story arc and odd character decisions (anyone wanting to date Will Ferrell’s character in this is settling hard), she has some nice scenes throughout the movie, especially during the end where she’s given the chance to lead the performance. Familiar actors like Dan Stevens, Pierce Brosnan and Demi Lovato are clearly having fun in their standard roles and the inclusion of several different cultures and even former Eurovision winners is a really nice touch that almost acts as a collective celebration of the contest and its participants. Seeing all these legitimately talented performers sing is always going to be a cool inclusion in a movie about music and to see all these people who probably haven’t gotten much screen time after their singular showcase on stage from past contests is pretty awesome to see.

For a movie about Eurovision, the film isn’t technically a musical; rather a movie where music is a dominant characteristic. Music doesn’t really advance the story or happen in realistic moments, instead its reserved for the actual performances, but the manner in which the songs are chosen and portrayed does convey a sense of progression (like the style of the musical numbers the leads perform during the opening to the ending does show a sense of change) and it’s clear that these moments were the stars of the film. All the musical moments in this film are a lot of fun to watch and capture that similar spectacle that the contest has showcased several times over. Knowing that Eurovision is as much about the performance as it is about the singing, it needs that extra level of energy and kinetic motion to make it stand out. The final song performed by the leads, “Husavik” is honestly a really solid number that even actually got nominated for an Oscar and has the potential to get people emotional for how well its performed (with Swedish singer, Molly Sandén, providing the dubbing for McAdams which sounds absolutely fantastic). They sound really good, the dubbing isn’t too distracting that anyone would notice, and even most of the numbers are given a unique filming presentation that matches the tone and style they’re portraying. Dobkin had also helped direct several music video for artists like 2Pac and Maroon 5, and this allows him along with cinematographer Danny Cohen to capture the appropriate theme and energy that each music number would require, with a song number at a party being like a typical music video with fast editing and close ups, most of the audition tapes having a traditional music-video quality to them through the staging, choice of shots and even wardrobe attire, and the stage performances having a lot of swooping shots that show off the singer as well as the stage effectively, it’s a small touch, but it works out. Even most of the costume design by Anna B. Shepard is likeable over-the-top and portrays garbs that are culturally appropriate to each location being presented but goes that extra step into extravagant territory to make it a bit outlandish but fitting. The humor for the film isn’t especially strong as it’s just not good or even fresh material, outside of a few choice moments that get a little chuckle. It feels very reminiscent to a sketch comedy in delivery, execution and even set-up (which comes from Ferrell and Steele’s past history with Saturday Night Live). It’s a shame that Ferrell’s work can’t provide better material because this could have been a great satirical look into the pros and cons of Eurovision as a whole, but as it is, it’s not really taking advantage of its idea that much in the joke department. It’s not painful like some of his other work thankfully, but it could’ve been much better.

Even though the typical filmgoer might shun this away as a typical Will Ferrell comedy and even though the title is definitely a mouthful, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is honestly a pretty entertaining movie. It’s hard to say that it’s really remarkable or anything that different as its honestly just impressive that this kind of movie produced something entertaining at all, but for what people might’ve been expecting, it delivers something not hugely better, but better, nonetheless. The story is still pretty standard, the jokes aren’t anything amazing, and Ferrell is still pretty annoying (his performance style isn’t that engaging anymore), but the music is really impressive and cool, the rest of the actors are a lot of fun to watch, and even though it’s not laugh-out-loud funny, it’s not annoying either which is a much better trade off. It might not be the showstopper like the contest its portraying, but like the film shows, there’s something very endearing about being surprised by something (or someone) who you originally didn’t think much of. Check it out and it may surprise you.

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