A Nordic Triumph

Rating: 10/10 (2 July 2020)

I'm an American who's been living in Europe for 15 years and had never heard of Eurovision before moving here. I now watch it each year and think it's hilariously kitschy, spectacular, and, every now and then, there's even a great song. This film brilliantly captures all of those elements of Eurovision in a film that's both extremely funny and moving. The song "Husavik" is genuinely great and there are some other fabulous musical moments as well, such as the "songalong". I suspect that most of the bad ratings come from Americans who've never seen Eurovision before and probably haven't ever been to the Nordic countries, so don't have a sense of what's funny about the characterizations of both. I don't say that with arrogance - I also didn't know before I moved here! In any case, I hope Americans will give this gem of a film a chance. It was clearly made with love and Will Ferrell took a risk making a film about a country he must have known most Americans have no interest in. Probably the most fun I've had watching a film this year, and I watch a lot. . .