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Starring: Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams, Pierce Brosnan
Director: David Dobkin
Running Time: 123 mins
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga is an American film about an eccentric Icelandic musical duo who are given the chance to represent their country at the famed Eurovision Song Contest.
I really can’t believe I’m saying it, but I absolutely loved this movie. A bizarre adaptation of the annual festival of insanity Eurovision Song Contest, this is such a funny movie, complete with a delightful blend of all-out chaotic slapstick and loving mockery. Narratively and structurally, the film is a nightmare, but it’s so much fun you’ll struggle to notice at all.
But first things first: if you don’t know what Eurovision is – then this film won’t make a lick of sense to you. It is a funny comedy in and of itself, but the lovably chaotic fun factor of the movie really comes from its mockery and tribute to Eurovision and its many idiosyncracies.
On the flipside, if you’re a big Eurovision fan (like myself), then you’re going to love this movie. It gets the essence of the contest exactly right, not only in the way it makes fun of Eurovision, but also in the form of its musical numbers, costume design and more.
In all honesty, some of the songs in this movie are real toe-tappers – and far, far better than they have any business being in what I expected to be just a throwaway slapstick comedy.
Perfectly paying tribute to the annually chaotic song contest, The Story Of Fire Saga is filled to the brim with references, cameos and more to the best that Eurovision has had to offer, all the while poking fun at its most ludicrous characteristics – of which there are hundreds.
As a result, I was laughing my socks off all the way through this movie. A love and affection for Eurovision definitely goes a long way in enjoying this film, but beyond the way it mocks the contest so brilliantly, there are still countless hilarious gags throughout.
Though it stumbles in a fairly low-energy opening act, when the contest really gets into gear, this film steps up to a whole new level. It pounds with the same delirious and insane energy that the real life contest does every year, and it throws joke after joke after joke at you – creating a comic momentum that’s totally irresistible.
Sure, the pacing may be all over the place, the screenplay might be predictable and structurally awful, and some of the songs might go on a bit too long, but such great comedic and musical energy hammering right the way to the finish, who really cares?
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga is as gleefully silly as the real-life show, and it knows it. So, while it’s not a film to engross yourself in, it is one that will deliver two hours of solid laughter and, for Eurovision fans at least, a pitch-perfect adaptation of the irresistibly bizzare competition. So, that’s why I’m giving this film a 7.9 overall.
