Netflix “Eurovision Song Contest”

that looks kinda funny

Will Ferrell is an abomination America needs to rise up against.

I love Will Ferrell.

Should have been a parody of an ABBA reunion. Adding Jack Black and Kristen Wiig to round-out the foursome..

[quote] Adding Jack Black and Kristen Wiig to round-out the foursome

I feel physically sick

I'll watch it. I adore Rachel McAdams.

I hope it’s good. When Will is good he’s great.

I've only liked Ferrell in Blades of Glory.

I think it looks fun and the delightful Natasia Demetriou from What We Do in the Shadows is in it!

It's typical silly Will Ferrell fare, but as a fan of Eurovision I really enjoyed it. It also has Dan Stevens who flashes his chest throughout and is always surrounded by fit dancers.

It was a good thing to watch while lying on the couch feeling a bit sick. I fast-forwarded through lots of it. The best bits were the Eurovision/Eurotrash music parodies and Dan Stevens. Rachel McAdams was good.

Will is a comedian for retards, which America has plenty of.

I disagree, #12. He's one of the few comic actors who will still 'go there' and not care if he's acting a fool. Most actors are too cool for that.

This was a lot of fun. Rachel McAdams is approximately 110% better in this than she was in her Academy Award nominated performance in Spotlight. She has so much fun. Will Ferrell's accent disappears completely at times but he's also very good.

Dan Stevens is the highlight though, and I'm waiting for the backlash from the LGBTQIANBUSSR+ community for his stereotypical performance of a Russian.

Sorry not sorry to say I didn't recognise a certain American singer in a very well pitched cameo.

The Diva hits singalong is the best moment, and anyone who's a Eurovision fan will love the guest star appearances.

Two things irked me though: no strict rules on a maximum 6 performers for each performance, and there's no way a final held in Edinburgh would have had non-British hosts.

I can't wait! Looks fun.

[quote] there's no way a final held in Edinburgh would have had non-British hosts.

True. But I can forgive it because it gave me a chance to see Jon Kortajarena being lively.

A good number of Will Ferrell's comedies reach for low hanging fruit with obvious jokes: NASCAR, Eurovision Song Contest, etc.

Eurovision is so ripe for parody but really this is lazy. Written by Will Ferrel is the first sign of trouble. I agree Dan and Rachel were good but they deserve so much better than this and so does Eurovision. They even repeat perform the same songs multiple times!

Whenever someone mentions how tacky the Miss America contest is, I want to bring up Eurovision.

Haha I will watch this!

R14, the non-Scottish hosts struck me too. I think they were using Edinburgh as a location but didn't want to miss out on the cheesy, non-native-English-speaking hosts.

Will Ferrell does seem to know Eurovision.

[quote]Will Ferrell does seem to know Eurovision.

He was introduced to it by his Swedish wife.

I loved it! A bit long but fun and Rachel McAdams was adorable. The remix song thing at the party was fabulous.

Just saw this on Netflix and I agree: meh.

But WHERE WAS BJÖRK??? How could they make a movie like this without her? I thought maybe she would show up as an elf in the little elf house.

Just watching the trailer was a fucking chore to get through. I can't imagine seeing the actual film (at least not without getting a lobotomy first). I'm a huge Rachel McAdams fan but unfortunately Will Ferrell ruins everything he's in - the man just isn't funny in the slightest.

I'd prefer a more subtle comic take on the Eurovision: c'mon, the contest is absurd and often bizarre enough as it is; there's really no need for this kind of over-the-top comedy style in this case.

[quote]But WHERE WAS BJÖRK??? How could they make a movie like this without her? I thought maybe she would show up as an elf in the little elf house.

That would have been funny. I was waiting at least for a Björk song or a song by The Sugarcubes. If you're repping Iceland, you should showcase Icelandic artists but they made up for it by using three songs by Sigur Rós.

Is this movie available on Netflix in Europe... Russia specifically... yet? I'm curious about whether gay Russians would think it's funny, be offended, or just kind of sigh & say, "Yeah, right... I wish..."

It was fun. Not Anchor Man level funny - but amusing.

However, the song “Jaja, Ding Dong” is Hilario (because it is cheesy)

Agree with OP: Meh

I loved it. Rachel was amazing, Dan too, Will is too old but he did better than I expected. I loved the songs. They feel very 'Eurovisionary' . The last one could have won. Eurovision 2021 (if it happens) should award one of the film songs for Eurovision 2020.

Can Rachel really sing like that? I had fun.

You either love this movie or are a self-loathing gay whose father hated him. That's all.

Loved it. Watched it twice now.

I couldn't get past the first fifteen minutes. Boring and Icelandic accents (even fake ones) are grating to the senses.

Pierce Brosnan looks good. I quit watching when it began with a flashback and I saw it had a let's save dad's house plot. Tired.

I really enjoyed it. Sweet and funny. And no the plot is not about saving Dad's house or anything like that.

Meh. I didn't hate it. It was way too long.

Rachel was dubbed by Swede Molly Sanden (aka "My Marianne"). McAdams is only singing in her own voice in the hotel room.

I really wanted to love this. It was meh I agree.

It was kind of a let down, i feel they could have done a lot more with this. Some of the plot devices were stupid and not funny stupid, just stupid.

I loathe Will Ferrell.

Anyone who says meh about this movie has no heart. I loved it. A little too long but who cares. Very funny with a good heart and a sweet love story. I don’t even remember the last Will Ferrel movie I saw but I am a sucker for good musical number so I halfway watched it today and ended up loving it.

I forgot how good RachelMcAdams was in Game Nigh so we shouldn’t be surprised how great she is in comedy like she is in this movie. You heard it here first she will win a Golden Globe and might be nominated for an Oscar.

I also predict Husavik will win the Oscar for Best Song. I was trying to find out who wrote the songs the internet told it was the same guy who writes Demi Lovota songs but I think it’s actually her producer.

Dan Stevens is a hoot and this movie made him a star

I watched the credits and it said McAdams performed the songs. The internet said her voice was blended with a Swedish pop star and the only time it isn’t is when she is writing the killer song. . She asked the director how to lip synch good and he said you don’t lip synch.

You had me at first R42. Good job.

It was frothy good fun and I loved escaping the grimness of our current lives with this.

Rachel McAdams not only looked FANTASTIC, but she was wonderful and full of light in this.

Wil Ferrel is a guarantee of a stupid and not fun time. I will pass.

Will Farrell sucks the life out of scenes, but everyone else is really good. Dan Stevens steals the show with that ridiculous song and those clone-ish dancers.

[quote]I also predict Husavik will win the Oscar for Best Song. I was trying to find out who wrote the songs the internet told it was the same guy who writes Demi Lovota songs but I think it’s actually her producer.

Unless The Academy changes the rules there won't be any Oscar noms for Eurovision, which is a shame.

[quote]The rule allows any film to be considered for an Oscar, so long as they have a minimum seven-day theatrical run in a Los Angeles theatre.

The Guardian's Casper Salmon wrote a scathing review of the movie which featured this oddity of a line.

[quote]Of course, heterosexuality isn’t always an impediment to understanding the Eurovision song contest; indeed, one recent winner, Sweden’s Måns Zelmerlöw, is famously straight.

Salmon is a generally a dreadful writer you'd make an effort to avoid and is summed up by one of the comments in response to the review. "At least the movie is less pretentious than the critique."

I fell asleep half way into this. Granted, I was drunk but it seemed very long and unfunny.

I'd love to see the US compete in Eurovision, but it'll never happen if the EBU demands a full-blown 50-state American Eurovision-like competition as a prerequisite to choose the American team.

Our TV networks are national, and our affiliate markets are simultaneously hyper-regional AND state-spanning. There's NO WAY, for instance, that Chicago's NBC affiliate would trash its primetime Arbitron ratings & market share for days at a time broadcasting Indiana's competition for the sake of Gary, Indiana. Markets closer to 50-50 (Newark-New York, Pensacola-Mobile, etc. are even *worse* from their perspective.

It would have to be done "American Idol" style... regional non-televised auditions narrowed down to a few dozen finalists, then straight to a season of nationally-televised shows to choose the winner... with the song itself chosen AFTER the winner was chosen, and broadcast for the first time in the Grand Final. Otherwise, half the viewers will yawn & say, "we already saw them do that song". Remember, in the US, the live broadcast would be 3pm-7pm (eastern) and noon-4pm (pacific) on a Saturday, so it'll already be at a disadvantage. I can't think of *any* annual high-profile Saturday afternoon TV events. It's a TV dead zone.

On the other hand, if the US won, I think Europeans would be *delighted* to have the US host it in Miami. Hell, if someone like Ireland or Denmark won, they'd probably *ask* Miami to host it for them.

No offense r47, we are having a little thing called a pandemic and the Academy rules have been changed if a film has an release date ( and I don’t know if Eurovision did which would be a shame) and is only released on streaming it can be considered for Oscars.

How do you think this movie handled the gay aspects? Rachel asks Dan if he is gay like it is no big deal. When Dan said he was Russian I think he meant I’m gay and could be killed because he is Russian.

Demi Lovato has been having a hard time lately and wished they included her more. She was only shown in one or two short scenes as a dismembered ghost and they only played seconds of her song.

Uh, did Rachel McAdams just deliver a performance that would have been better recognized in a much better movie?! She definitely didn't dial it in. Put her in better movies!!!

R47 "Casper Salmon"?

There's no way that's his real name.

r42 it's too boring at the start and Will Ferrell is way too old for his part. They also picked the most annoying accent, Icelandic.

R50, yes, the Dan character was gay, which was clear the whole way through. He just wanted to be with the Rachel character as a music act. The bit where he denies being gay to her and she keeps probing ("non-binary?") is one of the funniest in the movie, the underlying message being that he can't be out and Russian.

Since the movie is a parody we shouldn't care about the accents. You are 100% right Farrel was too old but since I swallowed the movie whole I just shrugged my shoulders and thought his character didn't age well. I repeat the movie is a parody with a heart of gold. Although some of the violence didnt belong in a comedy. When all of Iceland's artists are killed it was funny when Ferrel tried to act like he was upset about it

Were all the singers in the singalongs or whatever it was called past winners?

The sexy Greek girl was very good too. Is she someone famous?

I have never traveled to Europe do they really hate us? Why? Is it because of Rump or are own entitled asses ?

I love that scene with Farrel undressing in front of her and McAdams was like at long last her dreams were coming true. That's acting, girlfriend! 😍

They could have just edited the very fun musical numbers together and it would have been over in 15 entertaining minutes. Instead we had to suffer with Will Ferrell’s atrocious writing.

Rachel McAdams looks good here.

Love her!

It was rather mediocre.

I miss that zany style of comedy. But I want them to be really funny, too.

This movie was trying to have its homophobia and eat it, too.

They tried to demonize the Russian character played by Dan Stevens by making he and his dancers gay.

Then they tried to be GLEE and make up for it with a bunch of LGBT representations in bit and background parts.

BITCH, PLEASE.

Steven’s character was not demonized at all. He was actually a nice guy the real villian of the movie was The murderous Politician from Iceland. I liked the male dancers normally the director would have mixed dancers and the Russian character would be bi. The movie had some parts unabashedly gay and pro gay and the people who didn’t like that are probably homophobic.

I had no idea how bad it was over in Russia until I started watching HBO’s Welcome to Chechnya

Will Ferrel is a acquired taste Most comedy is acting stupid maybe he is too convincing. I wasn’t a fan of his until this movie. As a screenwriter while he is no Quentin Tarantino or Billy Wilder but I think he and his co-writer did a good job. They definitely did good how they depicted Eurovision and Iceland. Are the elves thing for real?

I’m resigned that a lot of people refuse to like a movie I love. Many cult classics aren’t well received when they are first released. Maybe in time this movie will become one.

C’mon Oscar lovers surely you think this film is worthy of something. Without a doubt Best Song. Hair and Makeup? Costumes? Rachel McAdams was lit in look like an angel and I never seen Dan Stevens eyes look so dreamingly blue. Best Cinematography?

The movie LITERALLY RAPED ME with its homophobia!@# I am FOREVER SCARRED!@@#$#

Eh, it was sweet and low key. It was a bit too PG, but then again I'm a jaded mess, and I like it when they go further. Will Farrell isn't aging well AT ALL. That was my biggest take away.

Why would any of you watch this shit? I mean really, why would you?

Will Ferrel has made some bad movies but this one isn’t one of them. It has good musical numbers! I know nothing about the Eurovision contest but someone says it ends with a song that could have won! Beautiful Iceland scenery! A little mean-spirited but has a good heart! A sweet love story! A winning Rachel McAdams performance! Sexy shirtless Dan Stevens in a gay star making role! Finally!

For those who have already made up your mind without watching try to think of it is a guilty pleasure. I also thought the same but when I heard it had good music numbers I gave it half a chance ending up loving it.

I wish Netflix would release just the musical numbers. I have watched the singalong and The Eurovision Contest Song many times.

Wonder what serious as cancer Bjork would think if she watched the movie.

Wow. Will Ferrell is only 52. I thought he was older so he is only around 10 years younger than Rachel McAdams. He probably hasn’t used moisturizer his whole life and care to use cgi to look younger like Tammy Cruise would.

Um, these aren't $100 million budget movies.

I wonder If Netflix considers the film a hit? How do they determine? I think their top 10 list is bogus.

The Elves have gone too far!

I think it will definitely be a cult favorite.

I have been inspired to make little elf houses in my garden!

I really enjoyed it. Rachel and Dan are very good. Will is just too old looking. The character is also unlikable so I didn't root for him and couldn't understand why Rachel's character would want to be with him.

If you cast Mellissa McCarthy and Will Ferrell as the songwriting duo, it would be a funny concept, but McAdams? Strange choice.

Were you people expecting it to be High Art? It’s a silly comedy. It’s slightly too long but it’s good fun.

[quote]The bit where he denies being gay to her and she keeps probing ("non-binary?") is one of the funniest in the movie, the underlying message being that he can't be out and Russian.

That bit was one of the funniest scenes.

Alexander: There are no gay people in Russia.

Sigrid: Statistically speaking I think that's impossible.

Alexander: That's true - 100% fucked up truth no gay Russian.

As a fan of Eurovision and not a particular fan of Will Ferrell, I thought the film would be too absurd but he came at it with great heart. It was an homage to Eurovision as well as silly comedy. The music was top-tier which shows how much he truly respects Eurovision. All of the songs could easily be entries for the song contest.

[quote]I have never traveled to Europe do they really hate us? Why? Is it because of Rump or are own entitled asses ?

I'm sure many Europeans do hate Americans with great cause, the same way other European countries hate the United Kingdom, hence the joke in the film from Alexander where he says the UK musical act was great but she's from England so "zero points".

An Icelandic woman reviewed the film and pointed out some of her minor quibbles with it, and one was that not all Icelanders hate Americans - some do, but not all. She also says maybe 5% of the population actually believes in elves and not the half the country as was said in the film.

I have rewatched the singalongs segment and The Eurovision song countless times. In some scenes Will Farrell doesnt look so bad. He plays a character who only cares about winning the contest and at the end he sees the light. Sometimes you fall in love with someone when you see something about that person no one else sees. I loved their love story.

I read McAdams studied sourpuss Bjork for her accent. Also read the film had a release date so it will qualify for Oscar's. C'mon you naysayers have to admit it deserves Best Song.

I haven't read one bad thing about McAdams performance. This is the second time she has been great in a comedy (Game Night) and I think she is the Carole Lombard of our generation and I hope Hollywood is working on some good comedy scripts for her right now..

I didnt really understand the conversation between McAdams and Sexy Dan until I watched it with subtitles. I also watched some of that HBO documentary I hope Putin , that closet case leader of Chechnya and Rump for being so chummy with them burn in hell.

It bums me out at the end no one wants to hear the Eurovision song. I have listened to it countless times and not sick of it. I guess that was a way to play Ding Dong which was hilarious

When the townspeople and the Iceland representatives are watching Rachel singing their reactions seem so real. I wonder if they are a truly watching her performance for the first time.

Also you naysayers, you must admit Will Farrell in a musical sounds like an embarrassment and actually it wasnt at all. He was good even his script was not perfect it was still pretty good.

OP you’re being really uncool right now. Just be cool, guy.

R35- there is no let’s save Dad’s house plot.

Anyone else notice that the verse of Ya Ya Ding Dog is the same tune as the verse for My Life Would Suck Without Yoy?

[quote]I was trying to find out who wrote the songs the internet told it was the same guy who writes Demi Lovota songs but I think it’s actually her producer.

Vulture broke down all the songs. "Husavik" was written by Rickard Göransson (one of the writers on Jessie J, Nicki Minaj and Arian Grande's "Bang Bang") and FatMax

Behind the music: “I have to give a lot of the credit to the co-writers Fatmax [Gsus] and Rickard Göransson,” says Savan Kotecha, “because they were in another room while I was working on ‘Lion of Love.’” Kotecha had called friends in Sweden and others who had written for Eurovision and given them assignments. “This was the hardest nut to crack,” he says. “I had them try to come up with ideas, because this one wasn’t necessarily clear [in advance]. It could change the story if you get it right; it adds so much heart to the story. They came and they presented this rough melody with some of the lyrics, and we talked about the themes of the lyrics, and about what the characters are kind of going through, because this one is personal for Rachel’s character. You have to see the movie, but it ties their relationship together.” As the songwriters went back and forth revising the song, they began to try some Icelandic and “a lot of Google translating,” says Kotecha.

Of all the songs in the film, “Husavik” is the one Dobkin is most proud of. “The number of bars — dropping the pre-chorus on the second verse, all of it was just an incredible piece of construction. The way that works in the movie is what you as a filmmaker hope for,” he says. “Savan and I went back and forth over dozens of versions of the same song, reworking it — what should be in Icelandic, what should not, when does it come in. It needed to work for the movie in a very specific way in my head.”

Though the final song combines the vocals of Rachel McAdams and Molly Sandén, we do hear the actress herself singing “Husavik” solo earlier in the film, when she’s alone in her room composing the song. Crucial to the climactic performance’s effect, however, was when Ferrell’s voice comes in, as the actor’s voice already carries comic overtones; Lars is supposed to be supportive and muted in this scene, and it would not have made sense for him to barge in, Will Ferrell style, and elicit laughs in the middle of this highly emotional scene. “We’re playing the scene very earnestly and very straight, because the movie gets you there,” says Dobkin. “And his backup vocals are beautiful in that song, actually. And his harmonies, which he writes, are great.”

It’s cute. The writing lets it down. Ferrel’s character is such an asshole throughout it’s hard to see McAdam’s character waking away from the chance to be a pop star to be with him as a satisfying ending.

Dan Steven’s character and his relationship with the Green singer was the best part. Such a sweet, authentic friendship.

R8 agree, BLADES is the only consistently funny and watchable Ferrell comedy imo.

Ferrell seems to me the type of heavyweight central personality who wants and is best suited to lead a team of comic actors - never the razor-sharp wit in the room and not suited to performing alone, but ideal to set the tone and lead a troupe. He’s like a pilot or a captain, rather than a genius engineer or athlete. For that he needs talented players around him to make his movies successful, which is where a film like BLADES shines (boasting the talents of Arnett/Poehler among others) and this Eurovision one collapses flat.

Just compare the chemistry Ferrell has with Jon Heder (WHET him, btw?) and with Amy Adams. Will has Jon in absolute awe of him while still keeping him kicking back enough to create a spark between the Jimmy & Chazz characters that keeps them together. By contrast Will has charmed Amy and got her to believe in her role, but there is no convincing push-pull there - as other posters have said, it doesn’t seem realistic that Sigrit should want to stay with Lars(?)

You are in the minority if you think Farrell didnt have chemistry with McAdams.

^^ok, so it’s just me with that opinion. But why are you booing me? I’m right.

Many of the characters in the movie told her Lars was no good. You are missing the point.

One more thing. I swear. The point when Lars is undressing in front of her the chemistry was VERY good.

I never watched the ice skating movie. Amy Adam's is in that? I might have to check it out.

[quote]Many of the characters in the movie told her Lars was no good. You are missing the point.

Yeah, even his father thought he was a waste of space. His arc was finally putting his ambition aside and allowing Sigrit her center stage and perform her own song. Also, they settled down and had a baby, something that was a dream of hers.

[quote]I never watched the ice skating movie. Amy Adam's is in that?

no, but Amy Poehler is

And Lars dream was having the respect of his town which he got when the whole town was cheering coming home. Very sweet movie. Sometimes a little mean-spirited.

All of Iceland’s artists are dead!

Good interview w/Ferrell, if anyone's interested.

I agree that Will Ferrell is the weak link in this, but am surprised at how many people don't like him in general. He goes all-in on characters and can be hit or miss, but have you all never seen Anchorman? This child of the 70s/80s thought it was hilarious.

As to the songs, I actually liked the opening sequence (Volcano Man) song and video best--it was so perfectly Eurotrash. I thought it was going to be their Eurovision entry.

Yes I never got around to see Anchorman either. I guess I avoided Will Farrell films for some reason. I rented Blad s of Glory. Gonna watch Anchorman next.

Thank you for the link 89. Farrell sounded like a smart guy instead of the dumb guy he plays in movies. He was wearing a Make America Gay hat and said McAdams was too busy with her kids to socialize. I forgot she was in Mean Girls another film I have never seen.

Thank you r81 while I have a different opinion of Eurovision you got me to watch Blades of glory ( plots were very similar) and I love it. First time I saw Jon Heder in a movie and I loved him. Some of the things he did in this movie was very brave. Still I like Eurovision better.

Damn you comic genius Will Farrell ! Now I’m going to have to watch a movie about NASCAR !

I liked it, Will Ferrell always entertains me. And of course he’s too old for the character, he’s ill-suited for all of his characters. It’s the joke we’re all in.

He’s not making high cinema, he doesn’t pretend to. He just makes funny warm-hearted comedies that rarely offend. I think I kind of love him for that.

I like Will in a lot of movies, but not this one. I had to fast forward a lot.

Gasp! A gay person fast forwarding a musical!

* Faints *

Is this at all what Icelandic people sound like speaking English? None of their dialects seem to be matching, like they are not even trying. Maybe the should have gotten actual Icelandic actors to be in this?

I read Rachel McAdams actually studied Bjork videos.

Their accents are all over the place and sometimes Will doesn’t even bother with one at all, but I think that is kind of part of the joke.

Isn’t this a biopic about one of the surprise winners of the contest, I thought I read that somewhere?

No,dear...

I know everything has been cancelled this year but is it usually broadcast in the USA?

I can’t stop thinking about this movie. I don’t know why. Maybe the movie was just what I needed. I’m hoping for Oscar nominations. Of course Rachel and the song but the more I rewatch I’m thinking Dan Stevens and Pierce Brosnan. Everyone will have trouble because no one will take a Will Ferrell movie seriously. Dan will also have a hard time because it is a comedic role. If Sam Elliot can get a nomination for a 2 second look Pierce can get a career nomination for this one. He is grumpy the whole movie but when he hears Rachel’s song I love how he lights up like a Christmas tree.

yes, it is touching a nerve and is a hit in its own way.

[quote]I know everything has been cancelled this year but is it usually broadcast in the USA?

Yes, on Logo and BBC America. Or maybe Logo lost the rights to air it last year. I usually just livestream it from various sites.

While I would love for Husavik to be nominated for an Oscar, I think the film itself has a better chance at the Golden Globes. The Globes has a comedy/music category and the Globes are voted on by the Hollywood Foreign Press so I think there would be many members who would be favorable towards the film.

It wasn't amazing, but it was very good. I probably wouldn't have liked it as much if I had paid money to see it in a theater, but seeing it at home on Netflix was just fine.