Breaking news! Will Ferrell has co-written and stars in a surprisingly fun (and funny) look at one of one of Europe’s most popular and unique contests. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of the Fire Saga bows on Netflix today and as the film opens, it salutes the real life contests’ most famous moment. To see how it spurs our characters into their lifelong pursuit of Eurovision greatness is perfection.
See, it was 1974 and a little known quartet out of Sweden took to the Eurovision Song Contest stage and the reaction was seismic. Of course, the group was ABBA and the song they performed (and won with) was Waterloo. As director David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) starts his funny farce, a crowd has gathered at Erick Erickssong’s (Pierce Brosnan) Icelandic home to watch the big show. As ABBA rocks the house, Erick’s son—who has been morose since his mother passed—suddenly gets up from his depressed stupor and proceeds to dance like no one’s ever danced before. By his side is a little girl who, until she discovered singing, had never spoken.
Fast forward to today and that little girl, Sigrit Ericksdottir (Rachel McAdams), is singing her heart out with her lifetime crush Lars Erickssong (Ferrell). Collectively, the duo are known as Fire Saga and it is their perennial dream to win that song contest—something nobody in their small Icelandic fishing village believes exists in any kind of reality. How these two even end up in the contest is a case of tragic hilarity (trust me, you’ll hate yourself, but you’ll laugh uncontrollably). Look out Europe (and the world), Iceland is in the house and Fire Saga believes that now is their time to shine.
Eurovision Song Contest: The Rise of Fire Saga comes from Ferrell and Adam McKay’s comedic production house, Gary Sanchez Productions, and it is exactly what one would expect when McKay and Ferrell are operating at the top of their game.
Just like Christina Applegate in Anchorman, McAdams is paired with Ferrell and the actress is more than game to dive into some absolutely outrageous silly cinema. And like Applegate in Anchorman, McAdams goes toe-to-toe with Ferrell in the humor department and we honestly do not know how she and Ferrell made it through so many of their takes without breaking into laughter. I sure hope there’s a gag reel when the flick comes out on home video in a few months, because it will likely be like Anchorman and require not one, but two gag reels!
McAdams is no stranger to comedy, after all, Eurovision is a reunion for her with her Wedding Crashers director, Dobkin. One traditionally thinks of her as a “serious” actress, what with her riveting roles in The Notebook, and as part of the Best Picture Oscar-winning ensemble of Spotlight. But the Canadian-born actress has some seriously comedic chops, lest we forget she anchored Mean Girls and the surprisingly hilarious Game Night from 2018. Not only is she tasked with maintaining a straight face opposite a long-haired and very European Ferrell, complete with an Icelandic accent, but she must also sing some raucously ridiculous lyrics with the utmost of serious demeanors. She slays it and brings some raw emotion into the mix as the script by Ferrell and Andrew Steele (Saturday Night Live) requires it. See, what passive audiences do not get about a film such as this, what makes it so hilarious, is how these characters do not know they are the subject of laughs. To them, this is raw and real. McAdams’ Sigrit is madly in love with her clueless cohort and this dream is everything … so as it starts to happen and emotions are explored (and crushed), the actress goes places that truly cull at audiences’ hearts. Of course, it’s funny, but painting it as true and honest by the thespians in the ensemble is the key to making us laugh.
Comparing it to Anchorman is quite apt. As that film lampooned the local news landscape, Eurovision Song Contest has a field day spawning laughs from a competition that is so uniquely and firmly European. The continent is a study in vastly different cultures co-existing on a landmass that is no bigger than middle America. As such, there is a vat of cultural traditions that make the States’ “history” seem trite. After experiencing frequent laughs throughout the two-and-a-quarter hours of Dobkin’s film that is simultaneously heartfelt and hilarious, a realization emerged. The venue for the laughs may be the song contest, but at the heart of Ferrell and Steele’s script is a farcical focus on the European continent as a whole. There are even some great moments with Ferrell’s Lars going off on some Americans—when it comes to Gary Sanchez flicks, everyone is fair game for serving as a laugh generator.
Ferrell hits the notes he has been hitting with varied success, particularly in the last five to 10 years. It’s just this time out it works because of the subject matter and a smart script—which is something he has been lacking from his projects for what feels like some time. Of late, his characters have even borderline gotten on our nerves. There is something about how Lars is written, treated onscreen, and how Ferrell brings him to life, that he is someone we can laugh at and cheer for.
If there is an MVP (most valuable performer) in this comedy, it is Dan Stevens. He stars as Russia’s hopeful (and favorite to win it all), Alexander Lemtov. What he achieves is nothing short of a cinematic miracle. There is a fine line in comedy between going over-the-top and finding that perfect sweet spot where raw reality meets lampoon. Stevens achieves that excellence with his characterization of the Russian singer. He is equal parts pure panache, bombastic buffoonery, and full of stereotypical blind and ill-informed Russian confidence… And when he sings—let’s just say his vocal tonal choices are another stunning spoke in his awesomeness wheel. Oh, and before we move on from saluting Stevens, let me take another opportunity to voice my opinion that he should be the next James Bond. Been saying it for years now, and believe it or not, witnessing him in this film only further enhanced that belief.
Like McKay and Ferrell’s Anchorman, Eurovision Song Contest: The Rise of Fire Saga makes light of its subject with an enormous amount of respect. In the end, when it all matters in both films, audiences are firmly locked into the laughter, but there’s an emotive connection between viewers and players on the screen that allows for a deeper response that goes well past hilarity. We pull for Fire Saga to succeed because by the time the finals roll around, audiences’ are firmly vested in these characters (and even the souls cheering them on at home). The same thing happened at the conclusion of Anchorman. We wanted Ron Burgundy to dive into that animal’s cage and rise to the occasion and redeem himself in front of his beloved San Diego and the world.
With Netflix’s latest film foray, Ferrell and company have delivered a shockingly endearing lesson in love, a salute to never quitting on your dreams and above all else, a film that will produce smiles throughout and often times, lots of LOL. Lastly, the songs the performers deliver are ripe with humor (a la Popstar), sure, but are well crafted in their own way that adds layers to the unexpected joy. In the end, the winner of Eurovision Song Contest is us.
Grade: B+