Although I actually viewed this marvellous movie more than 5 months ago, and then reviewed it on Facebook shortly afterwards, I have deliberately delayed uploading my review onto Shuker In MovieLand until today. After all, what better date for doing so than the day upon which the real event takes place this year? For in just a few hours' time, millions of viewers all around the world will be welcoming on screen and on stage the Eurovision Song Contest 2022!
To date, this film has never received a UK DVD release (although it has done in various other territories), so it took me quite a while to track down a DVD of the hilarious 2020 Will Ferrell movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. However, as a longstanding Eurovision fan (less nowadays but more formerly), as far as I was concerned it just had to be done, and during the morning of 30 November 2021, thanks to DVD aficionado friend John, I finally did so, watched it that evening – and enjoyed every second!
Directed by David Dobkin, co-written by Will Ferrell, and digitally released by Netflix, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is totally off the wall, crazy, insane – a worthy tribute indeed to the annual madness that is the ESC! I get the impression that its American creators' intention was to parody Eurovision, but someone should have told them that Eurovision is far, far beyond parody!
Nevertheless, there is certainly much to cherish and be amused by here, with Ferrell and Rachel McAdams as the fictional singing duo Fire Saga (consisting of Ferrell's Lars and McAdams's Sigrit) representing Iceland at the Contest, held in Edinburgh, Scotland, whose attempts to put on a worthy performance during the Contest's warm-ups are beset with hysterical mishaps. (NB - they are dubbed by professional singers, as is Dan Stevens, see below.)
Among all the mayhem, however, their valiant if seemingly vain attempt to achieve success receives unexpected assistance from some unseen but murderous Icelandic elves, and very sweet but ingenuous, unworldly Sigrit receives flattering attention from the Contest's favourite entry to win it, Russia's suave lurve god Alexander Lemtov (an audaciously scene-stealing OTT Dan Stevens), only much later realising that his primary interest is not directed towards the Contest's female contingent...
Lars's disapproving father Erick Erickssong is drily portrayed by Pierce Brosnan, with Demi Lovato as the seductive yet scurrilous Icelandic representative, Katiana Lindsdóttir. Speaking of representatives, a particular joy is that several real-life Eurovision representatives appear in this film, including six previous winners – namely, Netta (for Israel, 2018), Salvador Sobral (Portugal, 2017, who plays a busker), Jamala (Ukraine, 2016), Conchita Wurst (Austria, 2014), Loreen (Sweden, 2012), and Alexander Rybak (Norway, 2009); not Abba or Celine Dion, sadly, but you can't have everything! So too does the UK's own real-life Eurovision commentator, Graham Norton. There is even a monster-masked group named Moon Fang, parodying Finland's 2006 winning representatives, the Metal monster group Lordi.
Add to all of this the fantastic, almost lunar Icelandic scenery that I remember so well from my own visits to this fascinating country, and some genuinely very fine songs (one, 'Husavik', a paean of praise to Fire Saga's small home town back in Iceland, was actually nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar at the 2021 Academy Awards – click here to watch Fire Saga performing it, with McAdams dubbed by My Marianne aka Molly Sandén), and you have a thoroughly zany but effortlessly entertaining movie that whether or not you're a Eurovision fan I defy you not to enjoy.
There are even a few unexpectedly touching, poignant moments amidst all of the anarchy, as the somewhat slow-on-the-uptake Lars finally comes to realise how he truly feels about his loyal, longstanding singing partner. And in spite of his insufferable air of superiority, Alexander does try his best to offer Sigrit some genuine albeit platonic comfort when she bravely faces the other contestants alone after Fire Saga's disastrous semi-final performance, which has caused Lars to flee back in shame to Iceland. A giant runaway hamster wheel was heavily involved – I'll say no more!
But do Fire Saga win the Contest? Now that would be telling! But what I will tell you is to watch the video here on YouTube for Dan 'Alexander Lemtov' Stevens's flamboyant performance of his country's song, 'Lion of Love' (dubbed by Erik Mjönes). The song is superb, and the video? As the late great Eddie Cochran would have said: "Man, that's somethin' else!' – perhaps the only time in its long history that Eurovision has ever been beaten at its own outrageous game!! You have been warned!
Best of all, however, is 'Jaja Ding Dong', Lars's slightly suggestive, non-serious ditty that in a running joke is the only song that anyone in Iceland wants Fire Saga to sing – click here to view them performing it in their local tavern. Awesome!
As a brief aside – it is only too well known that the UK has not achieved much success of late in the real ESC, but tonight we have as our representative a seriously talented singer in Sam Ryder, who has not only a very decent song ('SPACE MAN' – click here for the official music video) but also a massive TikTok following. So, who knows, we may even make it into the top ten this year, if predictions and betting odds for Sam are to be believed. So I'd like to take this opportunity to wish him the very best of British luck tonight – we'll all be rooting for you, Sam, right across the UK [in the event, Sam came second, losing out perhaps not too surprisingly, given current events, to Ukraine, but still providing us with our best result since 1997!).
Back to the movie: if you'd like a taster of what to expect from this fantastic, laugh-out-loud film, be sure to click here to watch an official trailer for Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga on YouTube Go on, you know you want to!
To view a complete chronological listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE, and please click HERE to view a complete fully-clickable alphabetical listing of them.
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