What I thought was going to be an absolute joke (and not in the haha-this-is-funny kind), and a film that makes a mockery of a hugely popular and well-loved event, such as the Eurovision Song Contest, ended up being an uplifting, light-hearted, still silly, but ever so heart-warming movie spectacle. I am so glad I picked this one to watch on a gloomy day. It was the right pick up I needed and such a good fill in for the loss of the usually annual event, due to Covid-19.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga follows the journey of the small pub band, Fire Saga, consisting of Lars (Will Ferrell) and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams), as they make their way into one of Europe’s biggest weeks. With the track Double Trouble, the friendly duo is gifted the opportunity to head to Scotland to represent Iceland in Eurovision after some unfortunate events that give them safe passage to the song contest. Not widely appreciated, the determination of Lars to live up his never ending dream to win the contest sees the pair go through some character development of their own, with some influence from representatives of other countries such as Mita (Melissanthi Mahut) from Greece and Alexander (Dan Stevens) from Russia. All this, whilst Lars is also trying to win the love and respect of his ever disapproving father, Erick (Pierce Brosnan).
There is no doubt that this film is full of so many uplifting messages. With the silly humour of Ferrell and the elegance of McAdams, the balance is perfect to allow those messages of hope, love, determination and the little hidden one of acceptance, shine through.

There are plenty of bits that scream typical, dumb, Ferrell humour but it’s never distracting from the messages and the down-the-line story. You might even find yourself teary by the end, with the incredible song Husavik (My Hometown) with female vocals actually sung by My Marianne. Of course, we realise McAdams isn’t really singing. But even the miming is never distracting.
The only small confusion the audience might face, is the differentiating of the villain and what their intention are. Without giving it away, when it seems as though the villain might be one person who’s giving off all those bad guy vibes, almost making it seem as though the storyline was actually going somewhere else, eventually the villain is realised and his small part doesn’t really impact the story as a whole in the end. The plot is more centred around the relationship between Lars and Sigrit, so a villain isn’t exactly necessary.
If you’re looking for something a little fuzzy and warm to get you through a cold night, this is the one. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga surprisingly put a smile on my face. I actually cannot think of an eye-rolling fault. I’m usually very critical of Ferrell’s stuff, often finding his type of humour, cringeworthy, but I fell in love with this film. And I’m happy to report, there was no need to defend the greatness that is, Eurovision. The depiction, from style of music, to way of speech, was quite on point. Also, enjoy the little cameos. They sure put a smile on my face.

Rating: 3/5