Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga / YMMV

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/YMMV/EurovisionSongContestTheStoryOfFireSaga

Alternative Character Interpretation
- For Lemtov:
  - Is he an opportunist who wants Sigrit and her talents for himself, or is he trying to free her from a relationship that may be holding her back artistically? Many fans subscribe to the second theory.
  - Is he non-binary? His suspiciously emphatic affirmation that he uses he/him pronouns, delivered just after he makes similar arguments that he is straight (which he clearly isn't), makes this a possibility; however, there is little other evidence in the film to support the conclusion.
  - It’s worth noting he's asked if he's genderfluid or nonbinary, and he doesn't say no to genderfluid. Plus his expression after giving his pronouns could show displeasure.
- Do Lars' self-centered manchild tendencies stem from getting what he wants from Sigrit, who will bend over backwards for him? Or are they the result of being subjected to constant insults and discouragement from nearly everybody in the community, including his only parental figure?
- Does Sigrit really care about Eurovision? Much of her motivation for wanting to get into the contest stems from her belief that with it over and done with, Lars will finally see her as a romantic partner and the two will be able to start a family.
And You Thought It Would Fail: Many viewers remarked that the film was substantially better than they had expected, with the performances of Rachel McAdams (Sigrit) and Dan Stevens (Lemtov) being particularly praised.
Angst? What Angst?:
- Upwards of twenty people,^note including many of the nation's most famous singers, die in a terrorist attack in a nation with only a few hundred thousand people that has literally never seen terrorism. Would that not dominate the news and politics for months on end? (Relative to each country's population, this attack was more than five times as deadly as the September 11 attacks, and more than three times as deadly as the 2011 Norway attacks.)
- Lars isn't too concerned by the fact that Karlosson tries to strangle him and is then himself stabbed by elves. Judging by the end of the film, most of the other Icelanders don't care too much either.
Anti-Climax Boss: Karlosson, although it could be argued that the song contest itself is the final boss.
Award Snub: Although "Húsavík" did pick up a nomination for Best Original Song at the 2021 Academy Awards, some felt that its failure to win outright was a snub, partly due to the fact that it was the only song amongst the five nominees that year that actually mattered to the plot of its movie (all of the others, including the winner—"Fight For You" by H.E.R.—merely played over their respective films' closing credits).
Awesome Ego: Lemtov and Mita.
Awesome Music:
- Fire Saga songs "Double Trouble" and "Húsavík" are regarded by many viewers as genuinely good songs that would be worthy of an actual Eurovision performance. "Húsavík" in particular is very popular, and it was even nominated at the 2021 Academy Award for Best Original Song.
- "Volcano Man" is also beloved by fans for its catchy tune and music video while "Jaja Ding Dong" has undergone Memetic Mutation.
- Lemtov's "Lion of Love" has gained fans for Lemtov's performance and Erik Mjönes's powerful vocals.
- "Come and Play (Masquerade)" is a catchy tune that is said to be reminiscent of Disney Villain songs by fans.
- The Song-Along is a fun three-minute medley of Eurovision classics and international pop hits, filled to the brim with cameos from past contestants including Sacred Cows like Loreen and Alexander Rybak, and an all-too-short rendition of Céline Dion's "Ne partez pas sans moi" by 2015 winner Conchita Wurst and 2018 fan favourite Elina Nechayeva.
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
- Lars looks at his reflection while giving himself a pep talk, only for his reflection to start talking back!
- The film's sudden shift to the supernatural with the ghost of Katiana suddenly appearing to Lars and the day being saved by murderous elves.
- The Song-Along sequence comes out of nowhere and goes straight back there once it's over, with nary a mention afterwards. That said, it's such a fun sequence that it's hard to complain.
Captain Obvious Reveal: It's not too hard to figure out that Karlosson is behind the deaths of the other contestants, even before he's Caught Monologuing about it.
Critical Dissonance: While not exactly critically panned, it would be fair to say the film received mixed reviews. However, it has been a Sleeper Hit, with fans of Eurovision in particular appreciating that it shows genuine appreciation for the competition rather than treating it as a joke.
- Some critics, most of whom were not from Iceland, accused the film of offensively stereotyping Icelandic culture; however, it has been largely embraced by Icelanders (see Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales below).
Crosses the Line Twice: The ship explosion. The fact that many innocent people have just been killed isn't particularly funny, but when Katiana's disembodied arm lands on the dock, accompanied by a horror-struck Sigrit moaning that "the elves went too far" while Lars tries to feign remorse, it becomes hard not to laugh.
- Later, it's taken up to eleven when Katiana's one-armed, half-charred ghost appears to Lars on two separate occasions.
Designated Love Interest: Some viewers find Lars to be this for Sigrit, and think he doesn't respect her artistry enough. This opinion is shared by several characters In-Universe.
- There's Sigrit's mother Helka:
  Helka: Ever since you were a baby you've been under the spell of Lars Erickssong.
  Sigrit: I know, mama, I know you don't like him...
  Helka: He is holding you back.
- And also the local police:
  Police officer a: He will never win at singing. You're throwing your life away on that IDIOT!!!
  Police officer b: Listen to him, Sigrit. Lars is weird. The whole town thinks so. You are smart and pretty. You should be with a good man.
Designated Villain: Lemtov and Mita. They're officially antagonists, but though they're a bit selfish they don't do anything particularly out of line (especially as Sigrit and Lars are not actually dating for most of the film, and Lars in fact explicitly rejected Sigrit, so it's not as if they're horning in on partnered people).
Diagnosed by the Audience: Lars' extremely direct and literal speech patterns and obliviousness to Mita's advances have caused some fans to suspect that he has Asperger syndrome or something similar.
Ensemble Dark Horse:
- Alexander Lemtov is probably more popular a character than Lars, and reviews frequently highlighted him as the best part of the film.
- Olaf. He's only in the film for about a minute but is beloved by the fandom for his over-the-top obsession with "Jaja Ding Dong" and his Chewing the Scenery tendencies.
Fan Wank: Some viewers have come up with theories as to why the contest would take place in Edinburgh without the UK—Eurovision's Memetic Loser—actually winning:
- Australia won the previous competition and as a result it defaulted to the Brits, being the closest country (culturally) within Europe.^note
- In the film's universe, Scotland has left the UK, and won the previous contest. This theory may be strengthened by the fact that a contestant is referred to as having won England's Got Talent, rather than Britain's Got Talent.
- Another country won the previous contest but declined to host on financial and capacity grounds, defaulting to the UK. This actually happened four times in the real-life history of the contest, including one edition (1972) held in Edinburgh after incumbent winner Monaco was unable to host, and would happen again in 2023 (hosting on Ukraine's behalf, due to the latter being at war with Russia)^note. Of course, if this option exists In-Universe, it nullifies Karlosson’s concerns about Iceland’s financial inability to theoretically host the show and means his mass murder of the other contestants was All for Nothing.
Fridge Brilliance: Lemtov doesn't care about winning the contest; he's looking to connect with other musicians and boost his career, while having fun. On the one hand, he says that you perform better when you aren't trying to win, as he advises Lars and Sigrit. On the other, of course he wouldn't want a homophobic country like Russia to be hosting next year's competition. It would put his friends like Mita in danger, and himself since he has to stay in the closet.
Fridge Horror: Lars is the last person seen with Victor, and gets his prints on the murder weapon, which he just leaves there. It looks really bad.
Harsher in Hindsight: Iceland, represented by the popular Daði Freyr, actually had a real chance of winning in 2020 before that year's contest was canceled.
- That October, him and his band (which includes his real life wife and his sister) was given the unconditional right to represent the country anew for the next contest. Although a late COVID diagnosis within the band prevented them from performing live in Rotterdam (their second rehearsal from the previous week was instead aired in the broadcast), their fourth-place finish became Iceland's third-best ever result. Furthermore, the music video for their entry involved a cameo from Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (who was Neils Brongus in the film) as a fictitious mayor.
Heartwarming in Hindsight: Many Eurovision fans who were heartbroken at the 2020 contest's cancellation accepted the film as a welcome substitute.
Heartwarming Moments:
- The "Song-Along" where a bunch of fictional and real-life Eurovision stars come together to sing. It establishes that Eurovision is meant to be fun and where a bunch of great talents can come together and cut loose.
  - In the same scene, Sigrit belts out the lyrics to "Waterloo", wowing everyone in the room. Extra heartwarming since ABBA's 1974 performance of "Waterloo" at Eurovision was what inspired her in the first place.
- Mita comes to Sigrit to tell her that Lars turned her down when Mita wanted to sleep with him. She didn't have to say it, but everyone witnessed how Lars and Sigrit were fighting during their dress rehearsal. It also sidesteps the implications that Double Standard Rape: Female on Male may have happened.
- Lemtov comforting Sigrit, with no mention of his previous offer, after Lars walks out on her in Edinburgh.
- When Lars finally stops caring about the competition and encourages Sigrit to sing her own song "Húsavík," despite knowing that this will disqualify them.
- Those recurring American tourists make it to Iceland in time for Erick's wedding.
Hilarious in Hindsight: A good portion of the film focuses on how Lars and Sigrit are awed and overwhelmed to actually be on the Eurovision stage with real and fictional stars. As Dan Stevens revealed laughingly in a video, it was the opposite during filming; the other actors were squeeing over working with Will Ferrell in between takes.
- Alexander Lemtov's "She's quite good, but everybody hates the UK, so zero points!" remark became this after the 2021 edition of the real contest, where the United Kingdom pulled off such a loss for the first time under the current scoring system. When the UK actually managed to come second in 2022 it led to many jokes about how people suddenly didn't hate the UK anymore.
- UK being the host country in this movie was seen by many Eurofans as one of the most unrealistic things of the story, since the host country is the previous year's winner and the UK has a Memetic Loser reputation at Eurovision due to their poor results since 2003 (ironically, even this movie makes a joke about it). However, thanks to their aforementioned and incredible second place finish in 2022, UK was chosen as the host country for Eurovision 2023 on behalf of the winning country Ukraine, who couldn't host because of security concerns amid their ongoing war with Russia. The venue seen in the movie, Glasgow's OVO Hydro Arena, was almost the one chosen to host that year, with Liverpool's bid ultimately beating out Glasgow.
- Dan Stevens and Rachel MacAdams are both dubbed by other singers, which means Will Ferrell is technically the only actor using his real voice in the Song Along. ^note
Ho Yay: Mita's act is fairly homoerotic, possibly as a nod to the actual Eurovision's passionate LGBTQ+ fanbase.
Informed Attribute: The Icelandic Eurovision selection committee seems to unanimously regard Fire Saga as being terrible, despite the fact that there's nothing particularly wrong with their submission (in fact, it is arguably more "Eurovision-esque" than some of the other competing songs) or with their singing voices. Furthermore, they behave as though the mishaps that occur during both of Fire Saga's performances of "Double Trouble" are the fault of their being a bad band, rather than issues with staging and equipment.
LGBT Fanbase: Even considering that Eurovision already has a substantial amount of LGBT fans, this movie in particular gained a huge following within the community thanks to Lemtov becoming an Ensemble Dark Horse in his own right; plus, unusually for a modern comedy, his homosexuality in itself is not Played for Laughs (quite the opposite, in fact). Additionally, it also gained a large following among those who are non-binary, as this is one of the first feature films to mention the idea of someone being non-binary in a non-joking manner^note.
Memetic Mutation:
- "PLAY JAJA DING DONG!"
  - This has become an Ascended Meme, with Netflix Nordic leaving comments all over the internet demanding "Jaja Ding Dong" be played. The pinnacle of ascendancy is the Netflix Nordic video "10 Hours of Jaja Ding Dong". During the 2021 grand final the Icelandic jury votes were announced by Hannes Óli Ágústsson in character as Olaf Yohansson, supposedly speaking from Húsavík and delivering his memetic line.
- "The elves went too far!"
- "No gay people in Russia."
Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales:
- Despite its leads being played by an American and a Canadian, the film was well-received in Iceland. Recently, a bar has opened in Húsavík called "Jaja Ding Dong."
- While many fans of the real contest were initially apprehensive, once the film came out it was received warmly. It helps that it's an Affectionate Parody officially sanctioned by the real Eurovision, relying more on character-driven humour than excessive national stereotypes or mocking the contest itself, and that since the 2020 contest was cancelled the film was for many their yearly dose of Eurovision.
Narm Charm: The Song-Along sequence. There's no Foreshadowing leading up to it, it brings the plot to an absolute standstill, makes no physical or logistical sense, and is never mentioned again, meaning that, overall, it could have been cut from the film and not much would change. It's also widely considered the best scene in the entire film because it's so epic that all of the listed issues can be completely ignored.
Moment of Awesome: When Sigrit hits the mythical "speorg note" in the final performance.
Moral Event Horizon: Karlosson crosses it by killing off all of the other Icelandic contestants and later attempting to murder Lars as well.
Older Than They Think: Many Americans were stunned to find out that Eurovision is a real thing.
One-Scene Wonder: The "Twenty-First Century Viking" has a lot of fans, as does Olaf (the guy who keeps loudly demanding that Fire Saga play "Jaja Ding Dong").
Shipping:
- Some fans have shipped Sigrit and Lemtov, despite the latter's canonical homosexuality.
- A few people have even shipped Sigrit with Mita. The wider belief amongst the shippers seems to be that Lars is not good enough for Sigrit.
Signature Scene:
- The Song-Along Sequence, especially for fans of Real Life Eurovision.
- Sigrit performing "Húsavík" in the finals of the competition.
Spiritual Sequel: To Blades of Glory, another Will Ferrell comedy in which he plays one half of a Fish out of Water duo looking to bring home the gold.
Tear Jerker:
- The reason why Lemtov wants Sigrit as his musical partner; while they could boost both of their careers as an act, he wants The Beard that can protect him since gay men are not looked kindly upon in Russia. Sigrit figures it out and turns him down, but she's flattered by the gesture and considers him a good friend.
- The final performance of "Húsavík," for some viewers.
Unintentional Period Piece:
- Just two years after the release of the film, Russia would be expelled from Eurovision following the country's invasion of Ukraine.
- Belarus, featured in the movie with a parody hard rock outfit, were disqualified from the 2021 edition for their broadcaster banning their 2020 act, a critic of the country’s dictatorship, and deliberately replacing them with an internally chosen song by a satirical folk act who supports the country’s dictator Lukaschenko, which degraded dissidents. The Belarusian TV network was than suspended from the EBU, and therefore banned from subsequent Song Contests, a few weeks later for their violations of EBU rules. They were also Russia’s accomplice in its invasion of Ukraine.
Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Lars. The film presents him as a hero chasing his dreams, but to many viewers he comes across as an immature manchild who can't bear the humiliation of losing in any way, and leaves Sigrit to pick up the pieces after Fire Saga's semi-finals performance goes seriously awry.
Visual Effects of Awesome: The scene in which Lars and Sigrit arrive at their hotel features a oner that goes from the street up the building and through the window of their room, with almost no indication of the transition needed so that Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams could be in both the beginning and end of the sequence. This is something much bigger productions that stitch multiple shots into oners struggle to do smoothly.
The Woobie:
- Lemtov is gay, but is forced by the politics of his country to remain deeply closeted.
  Mita: You deserve to be happy.
  Lemtov: Mother Russia does not agree.
- Lars is implied to have been particularly close with his mother, who died before the events of the film. It seems that his passion for music was the only thing that helped him get over his grief.
- It's easy to feel sorry for Sigrit when she is backstage after the semi-final performance, distraught at the thought of getting no points and completely alone because Lars has left for Iceland.

YMMV / Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

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