That's Why Mum's Gone To Iceland

Rating: 5/10 (29 June 2020)

Although I know it's a big deal to some people, I don't really enjoy a Eurovision event that much and I worried before seeing this film that the contest was beyond parody to begin with. I think I was right and I wouldn't say I enjoyed this film, but I find it hard to generate any real venom for it either.
Since childhood, Lars Erickssong (Will Ferrell) has had one dream, to win the Eurovision song contest. To the chagrin of his father (Pierce Brosnan) and the majority of the Icelandic town he lives in, this dream has stayed strong, and along with his childhood friend Sigrit (Rachel McAdams) they have submitted a song each year to be the Icelandic entry. When all the remaining options are killed in an explosion, Lars and Sigrit head to Edinburgh to represent the nation. But there, as their affection grows, the Russian entry, Alexander Lemtov (Dan Stevens) begins to make a play for Sigrit.
So there are, for my money, three things wrong with the movie. Firstly, it's far too reverential of the Eurovision Song Contest itself to operate as a parody. None of the performances are that over the top, compared to what you'd actually see. This is probably because Ferrell is a fan of the show, and that it uses many of the official logos, themes and presenters of the actual event - and in order to secure that, they can't then poke too much fun at their hosts. Secondly, Ferrell himself. I know he's the only reason the film gets made in the first place, as he's the fan, but he's strikingly older than McAdams. Distractingly so and I felt the character could have done with more genuine charm or naivety that Ferrell didn't provide. But thirdly, and most crucially, it's just not that funny. It doesn't try for enough jokes to get by on the hit rate that the film has. It's not even prepared to allow for Fire Saga to be a bad band. Accidents befall every performance that they have, but they can sing as well as anyone else on the show.
That said, I can't bring myself to say I hated it like I did "Holmes and Watson" say. Dan Steven's is great, the Demetriou siblings are both in it, though not given enough to do, and the resolution of the Demi Lovato ghost subplot made me chuckle. It's all very amiable - just not funny.