Movie: Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga
My Rating: 5 stars
I kinda loved this movie. Go figure. Even I can’t figure out my own taste. None of my favorite genres seem to fit together even a little bit. I mean, the last movie I fell in love with was an extremely dark, existential horror (The Platform). And, this movie is the cheesiest, silliest, physical-humor comedy about Euro-pop. Although, I have been known to enjoy a good dance-off to save the community center, so . . . maybe it’s not completely out of left field. But, I think this kinda thing is so much fun. Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams are aspiring Icelandic popstars that somehow find themselves as contestants in the Eurovision song contest. I’m not too cool to admit that pop music gets me dancing. I don’t normally go for goofy, slapstick humor, but this is a Will Farrell movie, and he always manages to get the balance just right.
I think this movie was intended for actual followers of the Eurovision song contest. Of course, you don’t need all that background knowledge to enjoy this as a funny competition movie. All the recognizable tropes are there. And, the music bops. But, I did notice that the movie does have a lot of fan service—cameos from past Eurovision winners and favorites, inside jokes, that sort of thing. I’ve never actually followed (or even seen) the Eurovision contest before, but I watch enough British comedy series to catch a lot of the references. In fact, one of the small subplots in this movie seems like it was taken straight out of the Eurovision episode of Father Ted.
It seems like a lot of original music was written for this movie, and I find that pretty impressive. Especially since it’s all so catchy. Just try not to start singing along to Ja Ja Ding Dong! I mean, I guess there’s a whole Swedish industry out there, churning out pop songs that are scientifically calibrated to catch your attention. And, I think I read that the filmmakers collaborated with just such a songwriter. And of course, I’ve fallen right into their trap. I won’t make excuses. In fact, I’ve gone back a number of times to watch some of the music videos again on YouTube.
This movie is very fun. I definitely recommend watching it if you’re in the mood for something light and silly. It’s a Netflix original, so you’d have to be signed up with that to see it at the moment. But, they’ve been turning out some pretty top-notch stuff lately. Well worth it.