User reviews

My expectations were low, I love Will Ferrel but his movies are often shallow and stupid and rarely touches you. This one is not deep and smart, that is not what I'm saying! But it is well made and has a lot of heart in it that balances the shallow and stupid quite good. Add on top of that the end performance by Rachel McAdams, the sweetest actress in all of Hollywood, and you suddenly find yourself cheering for a fictional Icelandic band in a fictional Eurovision contest in this feel good movie of crazy corona summer of 2020. Well done! Well done indeed!

I think when people see Will Ferrell on the casting list, they immediately think that it's going to be a laugh out loud movie, which I myself fell victim for. The film wasnt as funny as I had thought it would be, but instead found myself in tears at the end of the film. This is because this movie PERFECTLY represents what Eurovison is about, a proud cultural phenomenon that strives in diversity and community. This is a MUST SEE movie. The final song is beautiful, and the characters that are developed on screen become more lovable by the end of the film. There were also a few cameos too, of course there were going to be cameos! If you love Eurovision, you will fall in love with this!

This is worth watching just for Dan Stevens's portrayal of the Russian entrant, Alexander - brilliant acting and worthy of an award. Iceland's Final song is fantastic and I've already saved it in my Spotify playlist - another reason to watch the movie. One of the best lines in the movie for me was about elves taking things too far... had me & my friend in stitches.

This is way way better than I expected. It's fun and entertaining. It even brings tears to my eyes at the end, which is very unexpected! I really enjoyed it.

I would have never guessed that one of my favorite songs of the summer would be Jaja Ding Dong by none other than Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams vocal stand-in but hey, here we are. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, much in the same vein as Ferrell's other film, Blades of Glory, tells a heartwarming story with tremendous comedic effect while also entertaining an audience with its musical thrills and surprising them with its heart. There's plenty to love about Eurovision, including an endearing turn from McAdams, who seems to be truly finding her home in Comedy, a production and costume design that is among the year's best, and Ferrell back at the top of his game. Safe to say, with many movies not releasing this year, Eurovision is near the top for me.

7.8/10

I expected to HATE this movie and almost turned it off after 10 minutes, but so glad I didn't! This movie is filled with stereotypes, which was a little distracting in the beginning. Isn't this offensive to the people of Iceland?? Then I did my research and found out that it's actually mostly foreigners who think it's offensive to Iceland, while Iceland gets the joke and is having a laugh. Stereotypes and over the top performances ARE Eurovision, so I ended up being glad they ran with it. They had some good Eurovision classic references in there and it was just an overall feel-good movie. I don't remember the last time I actually laughed out loud at a movie from the sheer sillyness of it. It wasn't a so bad it's good type of situation, but just genuinely an enjoyable movie.

So silly and exaggerated that it was fun ... A very delicate musical, with a "handsome father" ... Some shots so silly that they are fun, with inside jokes, between Europeans and Americans, "Are you gay? - No, me I am russian." (?!?!?!) I died, and undoubtedly the song "Husavik" deserves an Oscar, magnificently performed by My Marianne... Beautiful...

I will disclose this. I am not a Eurovision fan. I think it is a pretty lame exhibition of crummy pop music masquerading as something legitimate. Now of course, I am a moody nihilist from the US and find this kind of music benign and boring, but how does this thing exist? With that in mind, I kinda liked this movie.

It's stupid, it's over the top and it's like a hyper realized world like Blades of Glory or Zoolander. What makes this funny is how blurred is the reality versus the parody? I'm gonna go on a limb and say not a whole lot.

The story begins with the haphazard group Fire Saga, a neo-techno disco group desperately trying to make the Eurovision contest. Well at least one of them is, for it's quite obvious that Lars Ericksson is hung up on the contest while Sigrit is hung up on Lars (which is a huge reach...who would not desire Rachel McAdams!!). Lars is something of a loser, and the way he dresses and carries himself absolutely clashes with the small fishing village he lives in. But by a weird series of events, Fire Saga actually makes the Eurovision finals!!

The story pretty much follows any rom com ever made once they make it to Scotland. Lars makes bad arbitrary decisions, Sigrit is being chased by another man (or is she?), Lars makes a huge mistake, comes back, proves his love for Sigrit and after all is said and done, is content with his life.

There is nothing really special in the second half of the film, but the Fire Saga songs are pretty darn awesome (even if they are parodic). I mean, they trot out all these other past real life Eurovision competitors and you realize their music is equally ridiculous and benign...so is this a true representation?

I will say this, the song at the end is a real banger. I would venture to say if pop music had that kind of heart, I might listen more often. But of course, real pop music is far too easily digestible to be that moving.

Yea, I have taken a lot of pot shots at the movie, but I gave it a seven because of the college students. I hate Arizona State, and the portrayal of ASU male students was pretty darn spot on. And of course, they had to have a self hating Arizona student with them. All of the insults Will Ferrell hurled at them had me rolling in the aisles. Anyway, bravo film, bravo.

Thank you Will Farell. We did not get a song contest this year but you gave us the best Eurovision I have ever seen! As an elf loving Icelanders I loved the silly humor and the end song brought me to tears. Rachel was adorable as ever.

...for which I give Rachel McAdams and the supporting cast all the credit. By now we recognize the buffoonish character that Ferrell plays in every movie. What really carries this flick is the charm that McAdams exudes in every scene. IMHO, McAdams is a seriously underrated actress and her ability to make you forget Ferrell's potty humor showcases it beautifully. Now not every joke lands but there are some good bits that buoy you beyond the cringe-inducing moments. There is a good deal of fun throughout and some songs contestants sing in the contest are actually quite catchy. If you're looking for something to put on in the background while doing other things, you could find far worse than this fluffy Netflix original.

This movie i feel is two separate movies. It is one part a Romanic Comedy/love story and then the other is a Bizarre Eurovision parody/satire. And I feel like this movie gets in the way of it's self.

The most successful part for me was the Eurovision side. It just works better. It captures the silly, fun, cheesy aspects of the Eurovision Song Contest. People have been saying that this movie is "weird and bizarre" and I agree somewhat but I think it can take it self serious at times. It has flashes of bizarreness but then gets weighed down by other things. I think the best scene is at the big party where it is a huge "flash mod/singing medley". It is so strange but so fantastical.

The jokes...they are not that great. Some are like fine but others just don't land at all and to make it even worse you are forced to listen to them twice a lot of the time. Characters will constantly repeat a joke that has just left another characters lips seconds ago. I don't know if they thought it was so funny that we needed to hear it twice or if they just didn't want us to not hear it and miss out.

The songs are really good. They really capture that cheesy, over the top, fun energy of Eurovision. They could all pass as Eurovision songs but they are also tinged with humour so I really think they did a good job on them and someone really took the time to get that right.

The start of the movie is also very pretty with the shots of Iceland, it really makes you want to go and visit it.

Unfortunately this movie is also too long. 2 hours for a story that could have been told in 1 hour 20. I think they needed to trim it down and tighten it up. It also seems paced strange as there seems to be a few like climaxes where you think "oh it must be ending soon...oh no wait there is still 30 minutes left".

So you could watch it especially if you love Eurovision. You will find something you like about this movie.

If you are a fan of song contests and emotional success stories which might evoke your inner feelings, then you will be well entertained with this film. If you are a fan of Eurovision you will like this even more! And if you are a fan of Will Ferrell, then don't miss this! He depicts a funny Icelandic musician who is willing to give anything to win the Eurovision Song Contest, He has some great scenes together with the female lead Rachel McAdams, (also an Icelandic musician in the film), who is giving an amazingly heartfelt and sweet performance. The music in the film is great and the performances of various artists are rather notable and give that special Eurovision vibe. Also the production of this film is supported officially by EBU (European broadcast union) so the realism in the competition rules, style and overall look in the film is great. Not to mention the beautiful Icelandic scenery and some funny stereotypical comments from Europeans about other Europeans, and mentions to countries such as Greece, Russia, Sweden etc. All together, creates a kind-of magical sweet success story about true love, about following your passion and about being proud of what you do. 9/10 this was a very fun film!

First thing to say is that I'm a big Will Ferrell, and Eurovision, fan, and so I was a little dubious as to what to expect of this film. I was very pleased to see that my fears were totally unfounded. In a year when there was no Eurovision to watch, this made for an acceptable substitute. Whilst a viewer would not need to be totally au fait with Eurovision to enjoy this movie, I do feel that a liking for the subject helps increase the pleasure. There were several laugh out loud moments for me. The storyline was a little predictable, but this did not matter at all for me. Very enjoyable.

I knew the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes were low, but it stars Rachel McAdams, Will Ferrell, Dan Stevens and Pierce Brosnan, how bad can it be? So I saw it just for the cast and it's even worse than I was prepared for. What they writers had in mind could have been a satire of Eurovision, but it comes across as a parody of a parody, where the result is borderline caricature-esque. It's on Netflix, so no extra money wasted, but only give it a go if you don't fancy anything else.

I loved this movie, and I don't understand why it isn't better rated so felt obliged to leave a good rating. I feel like I owe that to the movie. Is that insane? Possibly. I can only assume the low ratings are left by people that don't know or understand Eurovision. This movie was everything I needed and took me back to watching Eurovision as a kid. Can't say enough good things about it.

I think what a true movie passionate as I consider myself is the ability to adjust expectations according to the type pf movie you watch and still find enjoyment in it. This means to be able to enjoy also a funny and easy feel good movie like this that, btw, has a lot of really funny moments and had me in stitches a couple of time. So yeah, suspend your disbelief and let yourself enjoy a funny trip from Iceland to Edimburgh and back! Finally a film to watch with family too. I cannot help to underline the great job that Rachel McAdams makes with her role. I felt that her expressivity really holds large part of the movie. Kudos to her.

This is one of Will Ferrell's best movies and is that Rachel McAdams' voice?! She's amazing! This movie is maybe not as over the top as some of Will's other movies, so if that's what you were looking for I guess you might be disappointed .Personally, we really enjoyed it! It was witty, endearing and just all around feel good.

Has Will Ferrell ever been anything but himself? "I can't stand Will Ferrell" So does every chocolate bar get a 1 star if you don't like chocolate? This movie isn't a gripping drama. It's not edgy or groundbreaking. It's cute, and it's fun. It's definitely not for everyone. Expect some classic feel goods. Expect to immediately YouTube the main songs to hear them again. Expect Will Ferrell. Expect to fall in love with Rachell McAdams and silver lip gloss. Don't expect unforseeable twists. It's "hallmark" meets "pitch perfect" meets "elf".

Thanks Netflix and those who made this film for some feel goods in the middle of a globally not chipper time. To you 1 star critics, take your negativity back to your comment threads and let us have a moment of Joy.

Please and thank you

The singer that sings for Rachel McAdams character is so unbelievably talented, and the final song honestly deserves to win the Oscar for best original song (move over Shallow) however I feel like Will Ferrells singing and part almost ruined the songs. I've never been a huge Will fan, and from the previews I thought he may surprise me, but it's just Will being Will. And the singer that does duets with him just blows me away every time she sings, and then he sings and it just really dampers it. With that being said, besides the weird romance between the "maybe siblings" it was a great plot and very entertaining.

I also really really loved Olafur Darri Olafsson in this. I watch him as Bing on the show NOS4A2U and I'm very impressed with his range of acting.

Terrible film, not funny at all... I thought it was as bad if not worse than the Sherlock film Will Ferrel was in. Struggled to find anything redeeming about the film, I'm a big fan of Rachel McAdams & she deserves to be in better films than this. Watching some Will Ferrel films is like watching a joke you're not in on & don't get....

That song will forever be stuck in my head. Well done everyone, very entertaining.

The music is beyond belief. If you are not crying for the last quarter of the movie you have no heart. A truly wonderful musical love story. This is not a typical Will Ferrell comedy.

Almost every aspect is awkward. Acting production quality audio mixing writing. Some laughs but not really worth the time investment. The real star is the beauty of the island landscape.

As many stated before me, this movie surpasses your expectations. Hilarious at times, but also thrilling and captivating. I disagree that everything is predictable in it, there are some great twists and even shocking scenes. The casting is almost perfect although I'd given the main role (Lars') to someone else. Pierce Brosnan and Dan Stevens are fantastic, in fact, I liked the Russian character the most. " A pet tiger? It can be arranged." I laughed so hard at that line. The music was Eurovision Song Contest level great, the performances well-thought and designed, the actors very good and if nothing else, this movie definitely promoted Iceland rather than ridiculed. The 9 is simply because I so wanted the main character to go and have that exciting life with that hot and super-talented singer instead of choosing a mediocre life. The ending was kind of cute but also a bit disappointing. Gonna watch it again for sure. Pure entertainment.