SEATTLE — Will Ferrell’s new comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is based on a time-honored television tradition that is a mystery to most people in the United States.
“It's delightful to me that there is a country - several countries, but particularly America - who've never heard of this and explaining it to adults is so weird and fun,” said British actor Dan Stevens.
The annual contest first debuted in 1956. Dozens of countries compete on-stage, performing original songs that tend to have themes of unity and hope. In 1974, the winning song was "Waterloo" and the singers would later become world renowned as ABBA.
But there are also lots of performances that fall into the category of “bizarre.”
"Ireland for example, they once submitted a turkey puppet to sing a song,” Stevens said. "It is a perfect playground for a film like ours."
Ferrell and Rachel McAdams play a duo from Iceland named Fire Saga, determined to win against all odds. Their biggest challenge is his general lack of musical ability.
The movie was shot on location in Iceland, and McAdams did much of her own singing. She also spent weeks prepping her Icelandic accent.
"I did do a lot around the house and my partner likes to do it, but he's not practicing it properly so I have to tell him to stop because he's messing me up,” she said, laughing.
Stevens plays Fire Saga’s biggest competitor - an audacious singer from the Czech Republic whose wardrobe is 90% gold lame pants.
“They were fine until your started to try and dance in them, and then sometimes they weren't,” he said.
Like the competition it's based on, Eurovision is flashy, silly and uplifting - and all the songs are catchy.
“Thank god they're good songs, that's all I have to say,” McAdams said.
Ironically, the film is coming out at a time when the real competition is on-hold.
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is now streaming on Netflix.
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