Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga Review

The story of the underdog is as old as humanity.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga premiered on Netflix on Wednesday. Lars (Will Ferrell) and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams) have been best friends since childhood. Coming from a small town in Iceland, their dream is to win the Eurovision Song Contest.

It appears that their dream will be just that. Then an opportunity reveals itself. But like any dream, there are roadblocks. Lar’s father, Erick (Pierce Brosnan) is a cold fish when it comes to his son.

Alexander (Dan Stevens) is a Russian competitor who appears to be romantically interested in Sigrit. He also might be using Sigrit to break up the duo. But Sigrit and Lars have been doing the will they/wont they dance for years. Can they win the contest and finally admit of their feelings for one another?

I have mixed feelings about this movie. It is supposed to be part absurdist comedy and part inspirational film. The inspirational half of the film works just fine. But the absurdist comedy falls flat on it’s face. I should have been laughing out loud, but I wasn’t.

Do I recommend it? Not really.

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Wearing a Mask Should Not Be Political

Human history is full of people who ignore logic (especially scientific and medical logic) for their own comfort.

Back in the 17th century, the groundbreaking astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei was accused of heresy by the Church. His crime was that his theories were contrary to the belief that the sun moved around the Earth. Today, we know that his discoveries are respected scientific facts. But to the authorities of his time, his statement was a punishable crime.

Flash forward to 2020. Covid-19 has ravaged our nation and our world. For months, doctors and scientists have been telling us to stay home and wear protection when we have to go outside. Logic would dictate that listening to the experts is simply common sense. This is an airborne disease that has the ability to kill indiscriminately. But when politics get involved, both common sense and logic go out the window.

As the number of cases starts to decrease in the Northeast, other states in the South and the West have seen a sharp increase. One might think that given the overwhelming evidence, the residents and political leaders of these states would follow the guidance from the experts. But some still have their head in the sand.

I hate wearing masks and gloves when I go out as much as the next person. In this summer heat, the gloves cause my hands to sweat. It can be difficult to breathe under the masks. But I wear them not for my protection, but for someone else. The last thing I would want on my conscious is that someone is in the hospital, on a ventilator because I was too selfish to wear a mask.

The fact is that protecting ourselves from Covid-19 should not be a political act. But it has become one. If nothing else, that speaks volumes about where this nation stands, both politically and socially.