Parents' Guide to

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

By Renee Longstreet, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Silly spoof has swearing, comic violence, sexual humor.

Movie PG-13 2020 123 minutes
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 13+

Based on 17 parent reviews

KayRC
KayRC Adult
July 6, 2020
age 11+

Sweeter than expected

The Commonsense Media description of the movie is accurate. I'd add that the overall tone was sweeter than I expected. Our family doesn't make a big deal out of swearing so that wasn't a problem. There was quite a bit of sexual/genital humor, but only maybe two kisses (at which my 10-year-olds hid their faces because that's "icky" to them) and no sex. It's silly, the songs are catchy (and ridiculous), the scenes in Iceland are beautiful, there were cameos of great Eurovision performers and we all laughed, so I'd call it a win.
2 people found this helpful.
Peliculas2021
Peliculas2021 Parent
April 9, 2022
age 14+

Ok film

Not the best movie but the singing is pretty good.

This title has:

Great role models
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 17 parent reviews

What's the Story?

The lifetime goal of Lars Erickssong (Will Ferrell) is to participate and win Europe's most important annual singing competition in EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA. Still living at home with his disapproving dad (Pierce Brosnan) in a small town in Iceland, Lars and childhood best friend Sigrit Erickssdottir (Rachel McAdams) have worked for decades to make Fire Saga, their band, a worthy competitor. In Lars' mind, 2020 will be their year to shine. Sigrit's beautiful voice, however, cannot compensate for her partner's limited talent and propensity for messing up. A fluke gets them into Iceland's regional finals. A tragic explosion sends them to Edinburgh, Scotland, as Iceland's entry. Complicating their quest for the championship is Sigrit's longstanding but unspoken love for the clueless Lars, as well as an unsettling connection (for Lars) with Alexander Lemtov (Dan Stevens), a Russian singer with a yen for Sigrit.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (17):
Kids say (31):

The filmmakers and high-spirited cast simply can't sustain more than two hours of comic frenzy along in this sometimes funny but crude spoof. There are some musical highlights (Demi Lovato makes a surprising appearance, and Molly Sanden, voice performer for McAdams, is wonderful). Ferrell's devoted following and fans of over-the-top goofiness will still find much to like, but judicious editing plus a little less of Ferrell's man-child persona and Dan Stevens' sleaziness might have taken Eurovision Song Contest up a notch.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the violence in this movie. Was it meant to be realistic and disturbing, or cartoon-like? How can you tell? What is the impact of different types of media violence on kids?

  • What does the term "predictable" mean when it applies to movies? When did you know how Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga would end? Do you think it's OK for a movie to be predictable if taking the journey with the characters is entertaining or enlightening? Why or why not?

  • Were you aware of the Eurovision Song Contest before you saw the film? If you weren't, did the movie work anyway? What are some of the universal characteristics of talent competitions that evoke humor? Find out more about the famous competition, whose past winners include ABBA (1974) and Celine Dion (1988).

Movie Details

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