Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

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
  • campbel-11998 - 11 May 2024
    I love this silly movie
    I had been working as an "essential worker" on Oahu during the pandemic. My dream of moving to Hawaii had been an interesting journey, having moved there without a plan I made it work, but it was always temporary. Then, here we all were dealing with a completely new foreign and complex world full of restrictions and taboos. Not being sure when I was going to move back to mainland, I had been dealing with depressive thoughts, hoping work would drown out the madness. I decided to give Farrell a looks-y, not enjoying about half his movie catalogue...

    And was floored.

    The movie was fun. The acting, goofy. The Eurovision singers during the song-a-long, perfect. The ending: still makes me cry. I balled my eyes out the first time.

    Yes, very odd. I missed home though, and now home wasn't even possible because the world had changed forever. The sadness was just masking the beauty of the perfect song though. It is a perfect song, and now we are living in a completely new world with endless possibilities. The beauty of that ending still gets me and I've over-listened to Molly Sanden's "Husavik" ever since.
  • fredrikgunerius - 7 August 2023
    As if every pitched idea was kept
    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.
  • ollieojlewis - 29 November 2022
    Music shines through the zaniness
    Watch the film and then listen to the music by itself or vice versa The zaniness of the film is something to behold and possibly closer to a real Eurovision experience than some might think or want to believe.

    Songs like Ja Ja ding dong have quirkiness that wouldn't win Eurovision but would be better than the song that wins and Husavik is incredible in its own right - powerful and passionate Good casting, interesting plot and story, a couple of factual ambiguities but overall a really good and quite uplifting film to watch You don't need to necessarily pay attention to all of it but you probably should.
  • SnoopyStyle - 18 June 2022
    mildly amusing at times
    Since watching ABBA in 1974, Lars Erickssong (Will Ferrell) and Sigrit Ericksdóttir (Rachel McAdams) have been dreaming of competing in Eurovision for Iceland. They have a band called Fire Saga. His father (Pierce Brosnan) has always been dismissive and quite brutal in his criticism. In order to fill out the required number of competitors, the committee randomly selects Fire Saga as the last participant. It's a long murderous road to the top.

    This is Will Ferrell doing another goofball in another wacky competition. It's getting a little old by now. I would like for him to try something different. Unlike his character, McAdams is utterly endearing. It would work better if he could match her in personality. I almost yelled Oh No when they are sitting at the docks. I suddenly realized where the story is going. That would be an interesting path to go down but it needs to really lean into it. It has to turn into either a mass murder comedy or a murder mystery thriller. My other big issue is the length. Two hours is long for a comedy and the song singing turns it into Glee. I'm not that concerned about winning the contest. That part holds little interest. Still, there are some mildly amusing moments and that's fine.
  • jonathanweedin-73786 - 25 April 2022
    Surprisingly great
    I was expecting a stupid fun Ricky Bobby type movie, but this was genuinely good. It had some silly moments, but it also had touching, heartwarming, and cheer-worthy moments. Had me dancing in my living room (my dog was very confused).