Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Two small-town aspiring musicians chase their pop star dreams at a global music competition, where high stakes, scheming rivals and onstage mishaps test their bond.
- Released: 2020-06-26
- Runtime: 123 minutes
- Genre: Comedy, Music
- Stars: Rachel McAdams, Will Ferrell, Pierce Brosnan, Dan Stevens, Jamie Demetriou, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Melissanthi Mahut, Joi Johannsson, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Graham Norton, Demi Lovato, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Bobby Lockwood, Elena Saurel, Julian Miller, Mikael Persbrandt, Jon Kortajarena, Elina Alminas, Alfrun Rose, Elin Petersdottir, Christopher Jeffers, Rebecca Harrod, Josh Zaré, Eleanor Williams, Björn Stefánsson, Maxim De Villiers, Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Tómas Lemarquis, Smari Gunn, Kajsa Mohammar, Gudmundur Thorvaldsson, Arnar Jónsson, Natasia Demetriou, Hannes Óli Ágústsson, Hlynur Þorsteinsson, William Lee Adams, Heidi Niemi, Chris Beaumont, Laura Hayden, Joshua Rumble, Harry Balazs, Jackson Couzens, Halldora Thoell, Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir, Alfie Melia, Mark Adams, Zack Propert, Brie Kristiansen, Gunnar Cauthery, Milan van Weelden, Alexander Tol, Andrei Zayats, Junior Delius, Daniela Tocari, Tharan Sivapatham, Miguel Angelo, Eveline Suter, Tommy Ashby, Lydia Clowes, Aiste S. Gram, Salvador Sobral, Marcus Garvey, John Lundvik, Anna Odobescu, Bilal Hassani, Loreen, Jessy Matador, Alexander Rybak, Jamala, Elina Nechayeva, Thomas Neuwirth, Netta, Sophia-Grace Donnelly, Trevor Allan Davies, Spike Jefferson, Yevgeniy Malyarchuk, Jason Lines
- Director: David Dobkin
Comments
- bradleysemailis - 17 June 2024
What were you expecting?
I just saw a baiting article with a thumbnail of this movie called 10 worst movies... Now I didn't read it but thought come here and defend it.
If you go into a Will Ferrel Movie expecting more that what he has churned out before the problem isn't the movie.
I watched this for what it was, was it stupid? Yes. But was I expecting it, of course yes. But it wasn't trying not to be, and while watching it was more because of Rachael McAdams and wanting to see how silly she could be in such an outing, I was surprised to find some unexpected and genuine laugh out loud moments towards the end. Which is rare for me in such movies when the effort for laughs these days is so low brow and often forced into the story at expense of the story, the genuine laugh moment mome ts made me wish I had watched it with others to laugh along with. I think ratings for movies should be against what the movie is trying to be and the market it sits in. This is a story that is stupid, but funny, touching but still stupid, and for me, making you laugh is the goal for the movie, so when it succeeds at that, enjoy it for what it is. - davidallenxyz - 2 September 2023
Pulls its punches and is all the weaker for it
This plays like a safe piece of Eurovision fan-fic.
The Eurovision Song Contest is already known for dubious musical quality, campness and absurd performances. So it is hard to find a way to send it up. Fire Saga doesn't succeed.
Rachel McAdams puts in a strong comic performance. Will Ferrell is quite restrained, which may be for the best. The supporting cast don't really have much to get their teeth into.
But it simply isn't funny enough. And a large part of this is the refusal to explore the more dramatic elements of the story. There is an Icelandic TV producer who is willing to go to any lengths to stop them from winning because of the cost of hosting the following year's event (a real problem for Ireland in the past). And a devious Russian performer with a manipulative Greek sidekick who try to destroy the bond between the two stars.
But the TV producer appears in a couple of brief scenes before being killed in a throwaway scene. And the Russian isn't devious at all. He's just been been misunderstood as a result of keeping his sexuality in the closet, and actually he wanted to best for Fire Saga all along. It's just a bit sentimental.
The funniest moments are when Ferrell launches a couple of tirades of abuse at "dumb Americans" who don't realise they are being insulted. They are the only jokes with any kind of edge.
If you have never seen Eurovision, you might laugh at more of it. So perhaps it plays better to a non-European audience. But for those of us who know the contest well, The Story of Fire Saga simply fizzles out.
