Title: Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: David Dobkin
Starring: Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams, Dan Stevens
Runtime: 2 hr 3 mins

What It Is: Ever since they were children, Lars (Ferrell) and Sigrit (McAdams) have dreamed of representing their home country of Iceland in the world’s biggest song competition, Eurovision. Having finally gotten the opportunity to do so, the duo must prove that they have not wasted their entire lives chasing a bogus dream and that performing their music on a global scale will make the world a better place. But the competition proves tough and the other contestants are set on weakening their opponents. Will Lars and Sigrit be able to outperform everyone else and prove to the world that they aren’t a joke?   

What We Think: This movie is a lot more exciting than how the premise sounds on paper. Yes, the Eurovision contest is a real thing, and I’m glad that a movie has brought more attention to it! That said, this movie is a comedy starring Will Ferrell. Needless to say, I didn’t go into it with the highest of hopes. Then all of a sudden I found myself an hour in and completely invested in the plot, the characters, and the music. The music itself exceeded even my craziest expectations—it’s not just good but it’s pretty spectacular in some cases. There wasn’t a character that I didn’t think added something to the story. Even the smallest of roles felt as though they were cast perfectly. However, sometimes I did wish that they had gotten someone else besides Ferrell. At times his character felt very similar to his character in Elf (and maybe most of his characters do, I don’t generally watch his stuff) and I can’t help but think what would have been if someone less famous had been cast. In my opinion, Ferrell wasn’t great but the rest of the cast really shined. While it may seem like I thought this movie was nearly perfect, that’s not the case. The humor relied on delivery and it only sometimes worked. Additionally, some of the bits lasted way too long which caused scenes to drag on and as a result, the movie felt a little too long. But what caught me by surprise the most was the number of emotions I felt throughout this movie. You really can’t help but feel hopeful and inspired after the movie wraps up and that’s far from what I expected to feel after watching a two-hour-long Will Ferrell movie.     

Our Grade: B+, This movie is essentially the perfect balance between drama and comedy. If you’re expecting it to rely more heavily on comedy than you may be disappointed. It’s definitely there but a good chunk of it falls flat. This is a must-watch if you’re a Ferrell fan and/or if you want to watch a movie that strays away from typical American cinema (the scenes in Iceland were definitely my favorite). If you’re like me you’d probably think this movie is just going to be a dumb comedy but there’s quite a bit of surprise for you in-store. The characters feel real, the music is astounding and there are some actual plot twists that really help develop the plot. You should definitely watch this movie and notice how much you enjoy it.