Alicia Veliz – Guest Writer
If you love music, especially pop and symphonic rock, this movie is going to be your jam. Written by Will Ferrell and Andrew Steele, the film is about two aspiring small-town Icelandic singers who through a weird twist of fate are given the opportunity to represent their country at the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest.
The Eurovision Song Contest is an actual International song competition which is organised by the European Broadcasting Union. The 65th competition was scheduled to have taken place in Rotterdam, Netherlands between the 12th May – 16th May 2020. Unfortunately, it was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The movie was scheduled to be released also in May to coincide with the contest, but ended up being released in June on Netflix. I should also mention that all the songs being performed at this contest are supposed to be original compositions.
The singers Lars Erickssong (Ferrell) and Sigrit Ericksdottir (Rachel McAdams) are from a small fishing town in Iceland called Husavik. The scenes that were actually filmed in Iceland are extremely breathtaking when they pan to the landscapes. Don’t miss it.
Although, on the surface you wouldn’t expect a movie like this to have any deep messages or meanings there are a few here. Never give up on your dreams even in the face of adversity. You will always end up feeling unfulfilled for the rest of your life. On the other hand, it’s tricky to not let it consume you and destroy your relationships with your loved ones. It’s a difficult balance to achieve but I believe anyone can do it with a proper support system.
The songs are sometimes over the top but it is so refreshing not to be hearing the same ones on the market today. However, there are a few oldies thrown in for our enjoyment including one of my favorites from ABBA – Waterloo. The main songs performed by Fire Saga are really good. Especially the ones that they chose to perform for the Eurovision contest: Double Trouble & Husavik.
The vocals are done by Ferrell who surprisingly is not a bad singer (we’ve heard his singing chops before), and Rachel McAdams who does lend her actual vocals but they are meshed with that of powerful Swedish singer Molly Sandén, who was actually a past winner in 2006 children’s version to the Eurovision contest. Husavik is a very beautiful song that encompasses one’s strong emotions and love for their homeland. It really brought tears to my eyes to hear the entire composition being performed. I would go as far to say that I would purchase the actual soundtrack for this movie.
The movie is extremely fun because Ferrell always has to take it one step further as usual with his on-screen jokes. It lost a few points from me due to a couple scenes that I thought were unnecessary and the jokes weren’t really that funny.
At the end of the day guys,L if you are looking for a fun movie with songs that you can sing along to and tear at the heartstrings a bit this is the one for you. Hint: this is a great quirky couples movie too. Hope you have as much of a good time as I had watching this one! And don’t forget to never give up on your dreams, and you can do anything once you put your mind to it!
Rating: 7 out of 10
For my Quick Bite Review of thriller Relic you can click here.