Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams star as Icelandic pop duo Lars and Sigrit in Netflix’s Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

If I was a responsible tournament participant, I would’ve watched one of the 2010 films on my priority list. Instead, I watched Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga and I’m so happy that I did. I’d been looking forward to Eurovision ever since it was announced because as if a film revolving around the over-the-top production values of the Eurovision Song Contest wasn’t enough to solidify my interest, Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams starring as an Icelandic pop duo sure was.

For the uninitiated into the gloriousness of the long-running song contest, Eurovision features active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union competing to have the best song in Europe, with some of the contest’s real life winners including Celine Dion and ABBA. Think American Idol but for all of North America.

In Eurovision Song Contest, Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams are Lars and Sigrit, a pop duo known as Fire Saga who has complete confidence in their singing, songwriting, and yes, costuming abilities even when no one else in their small Islandic fishing village of Húsavík does. They play local pubs but have dreams of something bigger, especially Lars who has dreamed of winning Eurovision since he and Sigrit were children. Through a series of comedic coincidences that allow them to actually enter the contest and perform at Eurovision, they get one step closer to achieving their dreams of winning.

Despite Lars being one of his more grounded, less hyper characters, Will Ferrell’s natural comedy chops are still on display. Whether through Lars’s unflinching confidence or social unawareness, Ferrell fully embodies Lars and makes him feel like a fully-realized person—with wants and fears and doubts—rather than a caricature (which would’ve been much easier). I suppose it also helps that he co-wrote the screenplay, giving him more of an investment and closer connection to the characters and material. As for Rachel McAdams? She’s fantastic here, nailing both the dramatic and comedic beats of Sigrit’s character, imbuing her with childlike innocence and earnestness, determination and resolve. After hits like Mean Girls and the more recent Game Night, hopefully Eurovision will finally get people to realize McAdams’s skill at comedy in addition to drama. The film is also filled with fantastic comedic supporting performances from Dan Stevens and Demi Lovato as fellow Eurovision contestants Alexander and Katiana.

I went into Eurovision expecting a joke-a-minute laugh-out-loud comedy and while it’s not that, I found that the longer I watched, I didn’t mind. Because what it is instead is an incredibly heartfelt and genuinely sweet story about friendship, the important things in life, and following your dreams no matter who tells you to give up. Which is not to say that the film isn’t funny. The jokes and sight gags genuinely land, especially because they’re character-based rather than of the raunchy, lowbrow sex and profanity variety that most comedies seem to have now. Some highlights include Lars insulting a group of American tourists, a sight gag featuring Icelandic elves, and a boat explosion. Yes, that’s right. Only in Eurovision can a fatal yacht explosion be so uproariously funny.

Another absolute pleasure that I wasn’t expecting was the music. When they released the kooky music video for Fire Saga’s “Volcano Man”, I was expecting the music in the film to be similarly over-the-top and played for laughs. But man, that’s not the case at all. Damn if the film’s entire soundtrack isn’t completely mesmerizing. As I watched the film, I found myself not only enjoying the songs but completely entranced. Like the recent A Star is Born, so much of Eurovision feels like a big European concert complete with glow sticks and wonky costumes. I even bought the soundtrack (which I rarely do for a film) and am listening to it as I write this review. Some of the songs are outrageous (and gloriously catchy) like the local Húsavík pub song “Ja Ja Ding Dong” and “Lion of Love” (sung by Dan Stevens’s character but dubbed by Erik Mjönes), but Fire Saga’s “Double Trouble” and “Húsavik” (Will Ferrell sings while Rachel McAdams is dubbed by real-life Junior Eurovision Song Contest contestant Molly Sandén) are genuinely enjoyable and perfectly fitting for the characters of Lars and Sigrit, the kind of Icelandic electro pop—good music and lyrics without being over-produced—that’s perfectly suited to these characters.

If I had one criticism, I almost wish that they had leaned even further into the absurdity of the whole thing—the Icelandic lyrics, the over-the-top costumes, Fire Saga’s unflinching confidence—but can see why they chose to play it more straight and keeping Lars and Sigrit grounded. From a comedy standpoint, I’m not sure if it was the right move, but from a drama perspective in creating fully realized characters, it works.

Some have said that the film’s two-hour runtime is too long, but the time flew by for me. It was well paced, the comedy landed, and the fantastic music and contest format of the film kept things moving along nicely. Honestly? I wouldn’t have minded if it were longer because I’d love to spend more time with these characters. In a summer (and year) filled with so much uncertainty and negativity, it’s incredibly refreshing to find a film that’s not only so unapologetically positive without being schmaltzy, but one that I’m already looking forward to re-watching.

8.5/10