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Eurovision Song Contest:
The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
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Director:
David Dobkin |
COUNTRY
USA |
Genre
Comedy |
NORWEGIAN
TITLE
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga |
RUNNING
TIME
123
minutes |
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Producer:
Will Ferrell
Jessica Elbaum
Chris Henchy |
Screenwriter:
Will Ferrell
Andrew Steele |
Review
The Eurovision extravaganza is
undoubtedly quite comical, and especially seen from a distance, such as
from the U.S. Unfortunately for the filmmaking team behind the spoof
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, the Eurovision is
in many ways spoofing itself each and every year. It's a spectacle which
is already more satirical and over-the-top than what Will Ferrell et.
al. is able to depict it as in this uneven comedy. The film isn’t only a
parody on Eurovision, however, it’s also a parody on all things
Icelandic. In this respect, the dabs are arguably less on target and far
more stereotypical, but nevertheless occasionally quite funny. The
subplots involving Pierce Brosnan and Mikael Persbrandt, respectively,
are more effective than the creation of Will Ferrell’s man-child
character. The main problem with him is in the writing; the dialogue
simply isn’t funny enough. It’s as if every idea that was thrown at the
story pitch meetings was kept. His asexual romance with Rachel McAdams
as Sigrit is the usual cringe stuff that some may find funny, but the
film doesn’t really come into its own and hit a nerve until the very
end, when the denouement of the Alexander Lemtov character (brilliantly
played by Dan Stevens) and the performance of the song "Húsavik" lifts
everything to a welcome emotional conclusion. The real star of this show
is Molly Sandén, who sings all of Sigrit’s vocals. Look for numerous
past Eurovision stars in cameos, particularly in the "song-along"
segment, which is director David Dobkin's best achievement here.
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