Eurovision Song Contest : The Story of Fire Saga

Showing on Netflix.

Will Ferrell writes (with Andrew Steele) and stars in a fictional story of an Icelandic small town band Fire Saga who find themselves as thier countries entry into the Eurovision song contest.

Ferrell plays Lars, enamored by the contest as a young boy still grieving the loss of his mother, he vows to one day win it with his lifelong friend Sigrit, played by Rachel McAdams, who credits Lars with literally helping her to find her voice.

Now it would be untrue to say that this film does not have problems, especially in an uneven first half, but it would be equally untrue to say even with its flaws, I didn’t find it enjoyable fun.

Problem wise, its first half particularly feels pedestrian with not enough laughs. It’s also unclear who it’s aimed at with a range of actors from around the globe delivering a set of seemingly stereotypical views of Icelanders with varying quality Swedish chef style accents, while also seemingly poking fun at the very competition at the centre of the story.

However half way through, as we find ourselves at the actual contest, we get a fantastically entertaining musical “mashup” which lifts the film and from their it finds its feet, focussing on the seemingly unrequited love Sigrid has for Lars, a fun performance from Dan Stevens as Russian contestant Alexander Lemtov and a surprisingly convincing appearance by Graham Norton as himself.

Rachel McAdams is a big part of how the film gets past many of its flaws as she brings a warmth and one of the less ridiculous accents to Sigrid.

It’s too long at just over 2 hours but it does has plenty to enjoy and brings more than the occasional smile.