Auto-Tuned

Rating: 4/10 (29 June 2020)

The auto-tuned songs aren't bad, whether they be melodic or parodic, but as a comedy-drama, "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga," it's a cluttered series of miscues. Even the title is an overlong and questionable attempt at humor with both the words "story" and "saga." I can can count on one hand how many moments in the movie gave me mirth. Any attempted exploitation of cultural differences becomes a lost cause. Only the anti-American ranting from the American Will Farrell in an American production somewhat works. Trying to poke fun at homophobia in Russia, for instance, is just depressing. Besides, why every hack piece of slapstick needs a love triangle in the first place is beyond me, although, still, the drama here manages to work better than the comedy. The ghost and elves stuff is stupid (albeit, the line, "The elves went too far," is kind of funny). A lot of the rest is the usual dick jokes. Perhaps, my favorite gag is Farrell's blasé response to the beauty, leaping wales included, of Húsavík, Iceland. Indeed, "Eurovision Song Contest" is in stark contrast to the usual cinematic leveraging of nature in the better pictures set in the Nordics. This one spends more time in a pub watching TV than, say, beside snow-covered mountains, more time swirling the camera around actors lip syncing than on any battle between man and nature.
Oh well, at least, Molly Sandén can sing--providing the voice for Rachel McAdams's character. Additionally, since the real Eurovision event has been cancelled for the first time in its history due to the pandemic, streaming this movie on Netflix may offer fans a substitute, pale as it may be, to the real thing, including cameos from several past Eurovision participants.