Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga Review

Eurovision Song Contest Insanely Inanely Entertaining Comedy

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga(Netflix)

Rating: *** ½

When was  the last time  I had so much fun  at a movie? With an impossible title  like  Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga, it can only get  worse from there, right? Well, right and wrong. The film strings together  a series of insane  laughs. Miraculously  it holds together,  never falling off that imaginary cliff where  people  often find themselves  perched  when high on non-prescriptive  drugs.

 The   trick is  to  enjoy  the  ride.  Plus, if you are an ABBA fanatic(like I am)  the cheesy humour is not only bearable  it’s even  fun.So bring it on!

The  film opens  with a family in Iceland  watching that historic moment when ABBA sang the song  ‘Waterloo’  and  won the Eurovision  contest  . That’s  how  we  first meet little Lars Eriksson and Sigrit Eriksdóttir, childhood pals  who dream of  winning the Eurovision. Who  would think they would grow up to be  Will Farrell and  Rachel McAdams?!  If only the locals knew, they would have  put a restraining order on God’s will.

Will and Rachel are as  mismatched as  humanly possible, He is  an oversized middleaged  hulk. She  is a petite  young beauty with a voice  that  soars above the skies.

Oh, by the way, make  sure you have good headphones  for this one.The music  and songs are  fantastic. They include  a cover version of  ABBA’s ‘Waterloo’ which had me jumping out of seat  to sing along.

The  fun never ends. No one is counting the torrent  of asininity  and the  stream  of  absurdity  in the plot. The fun part  of  the  Farrell-McAdams chemistry is that they have no chemistry. They  are in this  together  since their childhood because they are  both dreamers. Their  journey from their quaint snow-swathed  town in Iceland to the  venue   of the Eurovision contest  is  dotted with ditsy episodes that  will  seem like fun  only  if you  enjoy  de-intellectualized wit.

 Both Will Farrell and  Rachel McAdams  get the point. That there is none. Except to have fun as you  chase  your dreams. But the  best most  endearing performance  in the film comes  from  Dan Stevens. Playing a criminally handsome pseudo-Adonis Eurovision contestant  from Russia,  Stevens  does the impossible: he makes the arrogant twit  not only sympathetic  but even likable. This  is  a great  performance in a  film where greatness is  not  to be sought.

 Wildly   over-the-top and  insanely aspirational   Eurovision  Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga is  that flaky flick you  missed because it looked too stupid  to  get your attention. But that’s the key to  the film’s supreme efficacy.  It makes stupid seem cool.The songs help. But the attitude of  brainless salvation is what gets to you.