FIRST LOOK: Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga – Netflix

The title is too long and unexciting, but this stars Will Ferrell trying to win a worldwide songwriting contest which raises the interest level.

Who doesn’t remember Ferrell on SNL in various musical skits. Song parodies are his forte. Remember him playing the cowbell as a fictional band member of Blue Oyster Cult? Nobody ever thought of “Don’t Fear The Reaper” the same. I was hoping for at least one cowbell moment easter egg here when watching.

Be honest, how many of you reading knew about the Eurovision Song Contest? First time I’ve heard of it. American Idol, The Voice, have heard of both of those, but I don’t follow song contests. It’s a real annual event that according to Wikipedia has been running since 1956. Thanks to the pandemic, it’s missing 2020, breaking a long running annual tradition. Seems like a good backdrop for a film, but not sure how much comedic value can be mined from a music contest.

The trailer had me stoked to see this, even though it was a weird Will Ferrell character that seemed like something we’ve seen from him before.

Watched it and it wasn’t for me. I think Will Ferrell is strong musically but didn’t care for the music choices herein. That definitely swayed my review (to be posted today at some point), also the comedy just didn’t land well for me.

It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a funny, laugh out loud Will Ferrell movie. I just looked through his filmography and he’s had a run of unfunny movies (some weren’t even comedies) I’ve been disappointed by (he might be more one-dimensional than I though). I didn’t see Anchorman 2, so before that is the most awesome Stepbrothers (2008), now that is a funny Will Ferrell movie.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is streaming on Netflix as of June 26, 2020.