Festival Eurovision da Canção: A Saga de Sigrit e Lars

I think when people see Will Ferrell on the casting list, they immediately think that it's going to be a laugh out loud movie, which I myself fell victim for. The film wasnt as funny as I had thought it would be, but instead found myself in tears at the end of the film. This is because this movie PERFECTLY represents what Eurovison is about, a proud cultural phenomenon that strives in diversity and community. This is a MUST SEE movie. The final song is beautiful, and the characters that are developed on screen become more lovable by the end of the film. There were also a few cameos too, of course there were going to be cameos! If you love Eurovision, you will fall in love with this!

I will disclose this. I am not a Eurovision fan. I think it is a pretty lame exhibition of crummy pop music masquerading as something legitimate. Now of course, I am a moody nihilist from the US and find this kind of music benign and boring, but how does this thing exist? With that in mind, I kinda liked this movie.

It's stupid, it's over the top and it's like a hyper realized world like Blades of Glory or Zoolander. What makes this funny is how blurred is the reality versus the parody? I'm gonna go on a limb and say not a whole lot.

The story begins with the haphazard group Fire Saga, a neo-techno disco group desperately trying to make the Eurovision contest. Well at least one of them is, for it's quite obvious that Lars Ericksson is hung up on the contest while Sigrit is hung up on Lars (which is a huge reach...who would not desire Rachel McAdams!!). Lars is something of a loser, and the way he dresses and carries himself absolutely clashes with the small fishing village he lives in. But by a weird series of events, Fire Saga actually makes the Eurovision finals!!

The story pretty much follows any rom com ever made once they make it to Scotland. Lars makes bad arbitrary decisions, Sigrit is being chased by another man (or is she?), Lars makes a huge mistake, comes back, proves his love for Sigrit and after all is said and done, is content with his life.

There is nothing really special in the second half of the film, but the Fire Saga songs are pretty darn awesome (even if they are parodic). I mean, they trot out all these other past real life Eurovision competitors and you realize their music is equally ridiculous and benign...so is this a true representation?

I will say this, the song at the end is a real banger. I would venture to say if pop music had that kind of heart, I might listen more often. But of course, real pop music is far too easily digestible to be that moving.

Yea, I have taken a lot of pot shots at the movie, but I gave it a seven because of the college students. I hate Arizona State, and the portrayal of ASU male students was pretty darn spot on. And of course, they had to have a self hating Arizona student with them. All of the insults Will Ferrell hurled at them had me rolling in the aisles. Anyway, bravo film, bravo.

This is worth watching just for Dan Stevens's portrayal of the Russian entrant, Alexander - brilliant acting and worthy of an award. Iceland's Final song is fantastic and I've already saved it in my Spotify playlist - another reason to watch the movie. One of the best lines in the movie for me was about elves taking things too far... had me & my friend in stitches.

My expectations were low, I love Will Ferrel but his movies are often shallow and stupid and rarely touches you. This one is not deep and smart, that is not what I'm saying! But it is well made and has a lot of heart in it that balances the shallow and stupid quite good. Add on top of that the end performance by Rachel McAdams, the sweetest actress in all of Hollywood, and you suddenly find yourself cheering for a fictional Icelandic band in a fictional Eurovision contest in this feel good movie of crazy corona summer of 2020. Well done! Well done indeed!

I would have never guessed that one of my favorite songs of the summer would be Jaja Ding Dong by none other than Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams vocal stand-in but hey, here we are. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, much in the same vein as Ferrell's other film, Blades of Glory, tells a heartwarming story with tremendous comedic effect while also entertaining an audience with its musical thrills and surprising them with its heart. There's plenty to love about Eurovision, including an endearing turn from McAdams, who seems to be truly finding her home in Comedy, a production and costume design that is among the year's best, and Ferrell back at the top of his game. Safe to say, with many movies not releasing this year, Eurovision is near the top for me.

7.8/10