Eurovision + Will Ferrell. That's not a combo I would have expected to want to watch, but the reviews were pretty positive (from people I know, at least) and Rachel McAdams is normally pretty great, so why not? Does it live up to the hype? Eh...

Eurovision is a fun enough movie with some surprisingly good songs, decent characters, and enough genuinely funny moments to see you through. There's still too much Will Ferrell "humour" going on, which does spoil some otherwise solid moments, but these are made up for by a highly entertaining finale. The plot isn't about to win any awards, but as a slightly unusual romcom it hits all the right emotional points, and does so in a way that feels at least a little fresh. Plus, whilst Ferrell's comedy may not be my cup of tea, his singing is perfectly manageable and the surrounding cast are all excellent. Pierce Brosnan was absolutely perfect in his role, the other Eurovision artists are all a lot of fun, and of course Rachel McAdams smashes it out of the park (even if she didn't sing all of her parts, though the editing was flawless so you couldn't tell at all).

I could have done without ghost Demi Lovato, but the ridiculous car race through Edinburgh (the cobbles!), the sing-off at the mansion, and the many ridiculous (and thoroughly Eurovision) songs were all a huge amount of fun. Getting Chris Evans to do the commentary was also a great touch and I feel like there was a surprising amount of fan-service for the actual contest, especially considering the American creative team behind it. The same could be said for their take on Icelandic culture; I'll forever love the fact that the elves murder the main villain in a bizarre twist 😂 That said, it must be noted that there is a certain irony in a movie about Iceland winning the Eurovision song contest in the same year that their entry to the real contest was easily the best, yet didn't get the chance to compete because of the pandemic 😥

By the final curtain, Eurovision had definitely won me over, and there's certainly enough here that I'd be happy to watch it again in the future.