Will Ferrel used to be a name that made you excited to see his next hilarious comedy. Now a days, I cringe whenever I hear he has a new movie out, as his recent track record has been less than stellar (i.e. Holmes and Watson, The House, Zoolander 2). I still love the guy, and something about him just makes me root for him. After the trailer for Eurovision came out, I had a spark of hope. Something about the trailer and cast spoke to me and made me believe that Will Ferrel would go back to his Step Brothers days. While Eurovision is not even close to that caliber, I still found myself having a really good time watching it.
The story of Eurovision Song Contest is really pretty basic. Will Ferrel’s character, Hans, has dreamed of winning the popular Eurovision competition since he was a child along with his best friend Sigrit (Rachel McAdams). They get their big break after a tragedy(?) and madness ensues. One thing that I didn’t expect from the story is how heartwarming it would be. It ends up hitting home that you should always chase your dreams and never give up, but also being home is not so bad either. There are some pretty good laughs, but nothing left my side hurting at all. Rachel McAdams was great in a rare serious roll, but I think that Dan Stevens as the Russian heartthrob really shined. He is just so damn sexy. Like wow. His character has some cringe-worthy jokes, but his swagger makes up for it.
Speaking of cringe-worthy jokes, there is cringe-a-plenty. I really found that most things that were supposed to be funny were pretty awkward. Demi Lovato in particular is made me really uncomfortable. Her “Icelandic” accent was awful (although other accents are not great either) and she is just not much of an actress. Also, while the scenery in Iceland is beautiful, some CGI just really misses the mark.
The soundtrack for Eurovision is also super hit-or-miss. I actually cried during the film when Sigrit sings “Husavik”. Granted I’m an easy crier, but it was a beautiful song and a really sweet part of the movie. I’ve also had “Double Trouble” in my head for 24 hours straight. Other songs are really cheesy, and they will not be added to my car playlist. With the music in the film, one annoying thing is that the only actor who actually sings his part is Will Ferrel. Everyone else is dubbed over with real professional singers, and while their voices are great, it’s really jarring and not done particularly well. The lip syncing is just pretty lazy looking.
This movie was exactly what I needed to watch last night. Life has been hectic, and this was a great movie to just turn my brain off for. I understand that as an American I do not know anything about the real Eurovision, but if it’s anything like this, maybe I should get into it. Will it win any awards? In a year like this, who knows? Will I be blasting some so-so Will Ferrel vocals in my car for a while? Heck yes. I totally recommend this movie for anyone looking for something brainless and fun. It has it’s issues, but it is a harmless amount of fun.
6.5/10
CinemAddikted 
Was playing the music in my car yesterday; yes, a return to form to be sure!
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