CRACKERS AND CHEESE (EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA)

On first consideration, releasing 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' in June seems like a missed opportunity.

After all, in the absence of a song contest this year because of Covid-19, surely May would have been the perfect month to launch it on Netflix?

On second thoughts, it seems perverse to release David Dobkin's feature film on the weekend that Brits are mourning the loss of Glastonbury, by gorging on highlights of great live music from previous years' festivals.

However it might be a genius move because 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' has generated a lot of debate on social media.

Opinions of the comedy among those who have already caught it differ sharply.

'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' is, however, like most films starring Will Ferrell.

It has no pretensions other than to be relentlessly silly.

And given the cheese fest that is Eurovision, then clearly you have got to have some crackers?

Dobkins' comedy begins in the small fishing town of Husavik in Iceland, where Pierce Brosnan's recently widowed Erick Ericksson is having friends around the house to drink while the Eurovision Song Contest is on TV.

His young son Lars is mourning the loss of his mum but is stirred from his depression by the joyous sound of ABBA performing 'Waterloo'.

Dancing in front of the TV to the delight of many of the adults and embarrassment of his dad, he is joined by a young girl Sigrit who hasn't even spoken since she was born.

Outraged that the adults are laughing at him, Lars declares that one day he will represent Iceland in the contest and bring them Eurovision glory.

Fast forward to the present day and Lars and Sigrit, played by Ferrell and Rachel McAdams, are in his basement practising their Eurovision act.

Going by the name of Fire Saga, they gig in a local tavern with a pre-pubescent drummer - performing covers of Pharrell Williams' 'Happy' and a crude crowd favourite 'Ja Ja Ding Dong'.

Lars, however, is obsessed with them getting to the Eurovision and out of Husavik.

Clearly smitten, Sigrit goes along with his dream while bringing offerings to some tiny houses purported to be occupied by elves in the hope they grant Lars his wish.

Opportunity knocks when Iceland's broadcaster holds a meeting to decide the finalists for their national song contest.

Headed by Olafur Darri Olafsson's Neils Brongus, the panel has high hopes for one song being performed by Demi Lovato's pop princess Katiana which stands head and shoulders above the rest.

However, Mikael Persbrandt's Victor Karlosson, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iceland who for some bizarre reason is on the selection panel, is less than enthusiastic as he fears the country will not be able to afford staging the contest should they win.

When the panel realise they have only selected 11 songs for the Songvakeppnin in Reykjavik, they randomly choose the twelfth from a box of demos and select Fire Saga's 'Double Trouble'.

Lars and Sigrit are overjoyed and head off to Reykjavik with high hopes, despite Erick's disapproval and the rest of their town laughing at them.

They not surprisingly have a disastrous performance on live TV as Lars loses track of the time, almost misses his slot and his overambitious high wire performance of the song gets the better of them.

Katiana cruises to victory.

Distraught at having messed up, Lars sobs on a harbour wall while being consoled by Sigrit when they should be attending a post-show party with the other contestants on a yacht.

As he tearfully looks out to sea, the yacht explodes wiping out Katiana and all of the other contestants.

Shocked by the tragedy, Nelis Brongus insists Iceland must under the rules of the natioal song contest send the only surviving act, Fire Saga to represent them at the Eurovision in Edinburgh.

Amazed by their good fortune, Lars and Sigrit are starstruck in the Scottish capital despite being rank outsiders for the contest.

As they prepare for their semi-final, Lars resists Sigrit's romantic advances out of fear that love and desire will wreck Fire Saga just like it took its toll on Fleetwood Mac, ABBA, Post Malone and "Semen and Garfunkel".

Sigrit catches the eye of Dan Stevens' wealthy,. vain, manipulative Russian contestant Alexander Lemtov who wants her to be his singing partner, while Lars has to fend off the advances of Melissanthi Mahut's Greek singer Mita.

Can Sigrit capture Lars' heart without Lemtov or Mika coming between them?

Will Lars' lofty ambitions and constant tinkering with the act - including the hiring of Chris Lew Kum Hoi's former K Pop boyband member Jae-Bong to remix the song and Jamie Demetriou's choreographer Kevin Swain - only wreck their chances even further?

Can Lars finally win the approval of his daddy?

Will Fire Saga be able to avoid falling apart on and offstage?

Do you care?

The answer to that last question probably depends on whether Ferrell, who co-wrote the screenplay with Andrew Steele, floats your boat.

Like 'Elf' and the 'Anchorman' movies, 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' relies heavily on his trademark goofy man child persona and McAdams provides a double dose, with a female version of it.

Depending where you stand on Ferrell and Eurovision, the film will either delight or it will grate.

In this reviewer's opinion, while far from perfect, Dobkins' film works - in large part thanks to its affectionate parodying of Eurovision.

The film does a pretty good job recreating the ridiculousness of a song contest that knows how cheesy it is.

Ferrell and McAdams attack their roles as wide-eyed Icelandic Eurovision aficionados with gusto - a sequence where they dream up a video for a thumping Europop song called 'Volcano Man' is spot on.

Stevens is also good value as the scheming Lemtov - revelling in all the camp alongside Mahut, Lovato, Demitriou and Kum Hoi.

Olafsson, Persbrandt and the other Icelandic Song Contest panel members Alfrun Rose and Joi Johansson also have fun.

Brosnan does exactly what is expected of him as Lars' gruff, emotionally stunted dad - although occasionally his Scandanavian accent slips dangerously towards Cork.

Graham Norton pops up to give a running commentary in the Eurovision sequences to add a bit of authenticity and there are also appearances from previous winners and contestants like Austria's Conchita Wurst, Norway's Alexander Rybak, Portugal's Salvador Sobral, Israel's Netta and Ukraine's Jamala.

However, at a running time of just over two hours, the story of Fire Saga could do with some paring back by at least a half an hour and it comes close to overstaying its welcome.

Special mention should go to the cinematographer Danny Cohen who captures some beautiful shots of the Icelandic landscape and of Edinburgh, as well as the glittery camp of Lemtov's mansion and the song contest itself.

'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' knows it's not the greatest movie in the world now or ever.

It also knows it will not be everyone's cup of tea.

But it raises a few laughs at a time when the world could do with some.

Most Eurovision fans should enjoy it - even if it doesn't merit dix or douze points.

So don't be surprised if Ferrell and McAdams actually find themselves onstage when the song contest returns in 2021.

The clamour is already building.

('Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' was made available for streaming on Netflix on June 26, 2020)