Eurovision Movie – Here are the reviews
"Painfully unfunny"
"You’ll want to sing along"
"It's big, it's weird, it's overstuffed, but that's kind of the point"
The Eurovision Movie "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga" is just around the corner and coming to Netflix in just a few hours. The Eurovision Movie will premiere on Netflix on Friday 26 June at 09:00 CEST.
While the fans are still waiting to put their eyes on this Will Ferrell production, journalists and critics around the world have seen it first and have written about it.
Here are some of the Eurovision Movie reviews.
The Guardian: ★★
Too timid for satire
For The Guardian, the movie serves more the purpose of promoting the contest instead of mocking it: "The correct approach is celebratory affection."
Much to enjoy but much more to be desired
For David Rooney, the reviewer, the film has its funny moments but is way too focused in the Eurovision extravaganza.
You’ll Want to Sing Along to Will Ferrell’s Glorious Eurovision
Despite considering the movie predictable ("You know where the film is headed"), Bilge Ebiri – an obvious follower of Will Ferrell's work – says it may be "the most emotionally engaging movie Will Ferrell has ever made".
It looks like 'Anchorman' or 'Talladega Nights' minus the laughs
Variety has no good things to say about the movie. For Owen Gleiberman, Netflix should've been more careful towards this release. The author goes as far as calling it a "badly shot one-joke movie".
Not exactly a winner, but not nul points either
The author of the review claims that the writers feared mocking the contest which made the comedy lose its essence. For Ian Sandwell, the "Eurovision moments" save the movie.
It's big, it's weird, it's overstuffed, but that's kind of the point
Just like a few others, Esquire sees the movie as a good representation of the contest but also agrees that Will Ferrell's signature of "yell until they laugh" is missing.
Painfully unfunny, epically bad effort
For USA Today, one should only watch the Eurovision Movie if we're really running out of options.
Empire: ★★
This muddled misfire is closer to nil points than the coveted douze
Chris Hewitt compares the Eurovision Movie to Blue (United Kingdom 2011) Eurovision attempt. How the nation had so much expectations in the group but, at the end, they failed to make the top 10. For the author, the movie also fails at being the comedy it promised to be.
Far short of Ferrell's best
For EW, it was a good choice keeping low expectations for the Eurovision Movie. For the author, the attempt isn't good nor bad, it's enough.
Rolling Stone: ★★
Ferrell is too sweet on the show to camp it up with the low-comic lunacy it requires
Peter Travers sees Will Ferrell as too much of a fan of the contest to completely mock it. The author agrees with many on how the movie lacks comedy moments and ends up being too long.
Awful songs in occasionally amusing but over-the-top spoof
For Deadline, the movie's jokes fall flat and are certainly hurt by being a Netflix movie. Not surprised with Ferrell's performance, the author glorifies Dan Stevens role in the movie.
New York Post: ★★★
A hilarious parody
New York Post disagrees with most of the reviews and names the movie a "terribly funny sendup of the show" and "the most enjoyable music industry parody since Christopher Guest's "A Mighty Wind". (2003)
The results are glorious
For Alissa Wilkinson, the Eurovision movie is great. The author claims she has watched it multiple times and even loves the songs, despite not going into detail.
IndieWire: C
Netflix’s Will Ferrell Comedy Is Pitch Imperfect
The author wasn't impressed by the movie but highly compliments Rachel McAdams on her comedy skills. For David Ehrlich, this was a missed opportunity for the Americans to dive into the Eurovision world.
Telegraph: ★
Will Ferrell is painfully unfunny
Even though this review is only available for subscribers, the author isn't a fan of the show nor the movie itself. Robbie Collin claims the movie is unfunny and way too long.
It is as fun and silly as it sounds
Spoiler alert! Vanity Fair's review goes too much into detail but declares itself a fan of the movie and of a specific song, "Húsavík".
An unexceptional Will Ferrell comedy
Michael O'Sullivan puts himself in the shoes of North-American viewers and admits that Eurovision jokes weren't going to be perceived the same way a casual fan would. Either way, for the author Will didn't try very hard with the film itself.
Mirror: ★★★★
Funny and irreverent ode to the unique song contest
For Lewis Knight, a movie maker himself, the movie is "everything you would want from a comedy about the iconic annual competition, with a surreal, garish and utterly barmy plot and style to match its subject matter."
Eurovision Movie has one winner and it's not Will Ferrell
Stephanie Zacharek didn't go much into detail. Instead, the journalist complimented Dan Stevens whereas showed herself disappointed with Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams.
