Director: David Dobkin
Genre: Music, Comedy
Runtime: 123 Minutes
Main Cast: Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams, Pierce Brosnan, Dan Stevens, Demi Lovato, Jamie Demetriou, Olafur Darri Olafsson, Graham Norton
Plot: Lifelong friends Lars and Sigrit have forever dreamed of performing at the Eurovision Song Contest and representing their home country, Iceland. When the team responsible pick their 12th entry at random, Fire Saga is chosen to take part and Lars and Sigrit are given the chance to make their dreams come true.
My Thoughts: I’m not ashamed to say I was really looking forward to the release of this movie. Will Ferrell is hit and miss for me, but mostly a hit, and whilst I wouldn’t call myself one of the biggest Eurovision fans, I love the cheese of it all and the catchy tunes, so that’s what I was hoping for. This is a movie most will scoff at, but I found it a clever mix of pure comedy and feel good, follow your dreams and it paid off. It opens with a fantastically funny musical number and then takes a while to find it’s feet, but after the first half-hour I was sold.
That may, of course, be thanks to the character Dan Stevens plays. I haven’t been following movie news or watching trailers during these last couple of months so I kind of went in blind but when he showed up, I actually did a little scream. You can ask my husband. The spend the next 90 minutes rolling his eyes at me. This is Dan Stevens’ best role since The Guest (2014). I mean it. He’s arguably the best part of the whole movie.
If you enjoy the kind of comedy that comes with Will Ferrell, and if you like music-orientated movies like Pitch Perfect (2012), then you’re going to find a lot to love here. It was kind of ironic that we got this movie in a year when we didn’t get an actual Eurovision, but that’s just another thing to look forward to in 2021. Oh, and the UK still got 0 points. Cheers for that painful reminder!
Best Bit: I know they were written to be a bit daft but…I just love the songs in this! They’re all on Spotify thankfully, I can’t wait to sing them badly and loudly in the car on the way to work when I finally go back. But the best moment could have possibly been when those 4 dancers tore Dan Stevens’ shirt off of his body mid-song. You guys…they got PAID to make Dan Stevens shirtless. I’m in the wrong job for sure…
Worst Bit: With ABBA songs playing and Pierce Brosnan on screen doing a terrible accent, I got Mama Mia flashbacks. And what’s worse? I remembered how much I enjoyed the Mama Mia sequel.
Fun Trivia: Will Ferrell’s interest in the Eurovision Song Contest began when his Swedish wife Viveca Paulin took him to her cousin’s house in May 1999 and the family turned the competition on. Since then, he kept following it. In 2014, Ferrell travelled to Copenhagen, Denmark to watch the final.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stunning, well-endowed Greek statues which Dan Stevens’ character claims to have no idea that they look identical to him.
I’ve read/heard mixed reviews about this film as Will Ferrell has been hit/miss in recent years as I heard this is one of the better films mainly because of Eurovision which I know little about. I’m more interested in what Rachel McAdams brings to the table since she was a hoot in Game Night.
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I really like Will Ferrell but I can absolutely see why he isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. If you haven’t watched much of Eurovision this movie could go either way for you,but it’s a very camp and silly competition (in the best way) and the movie definitely embodies that.
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I think Dan Stevens is INarguably the best part of this movie! It’s such a fun character and he really embraces it without making it cartoonish, which is a tough balance, ESPECIALLY playing against Will Farrell.
…and Sean and I are still singing Ja Ja Ding Dong.
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I can’t get these tunes out of my head! And my husband, who definitely hated the movie, can’t help himself if I shout Ja Ja from somewhere in the house. It’s the new Marco Polo.
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This looks fun! I love Tenacious D and Lonely Island, so this soundtrack’s probably right up my alley too. And Dan Stevens is in it?! That’s one more reason to watch it pronto. Besides, best role since The Guest – I’m intrigued! 😉
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Dan Stevens is absolutely FABULOUS in this. He is having the time of his life. I thought at first he was just going to have a cameo role but he’s a much bigger part of it all.
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I love that he’s wearing what looks like a Hudson’s Bay coat!
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Not gonna lie…I quite like that coat!
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I’ve been waiting for a review of this. I absolutely adore Eurovision! My hesitation is Will Ferrell. I’m not a fan. Hes in some hilarious films, but mostly because of the cast around him, I’m normally a bit annoyed that hes there. Sounds awful I know. Great post, I’ll give this movie a go! X
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I get what you mean, I’m definitely a fan of his but I can see how he can come across as loud and annoying. I hope you enjoy this though – I think it really captures the spirit of Eurovision with all the cheesiness ❤
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I must’ve been paying even less attention to movie news than you because I had never heard of this until a couple days ago when it was suddenly all over my twitter timeline. Lately. Ferrell has been a miss for me. I’ll probably see it, but I’m in no rush.
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Ha! Netflix had been doing its best to remind me of it every time I tried to binge Modern Family. I hope it ends up being the long-awaited hit for you!
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Dan Stevens was awesome in this. I appreciate that the director knows how hot he is too considering how he was filmed.
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Dan Stevens was awesome here, good to see a role that shows his talents; loved him in The Guest!
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I originally wanted to skip this one, but now I’m intrigued!
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I’ve had absolutely zero desire to watch this. The only thing that was potentially tempting me was Dan Stevens. I might have to revisit my decision.
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