"Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga"

It's not much of a stretch for Will Ferrell to play a child stuck in a middle-aged man's body. He's already done that in "Elf," "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" and "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby."

In most of these movies, his female co-tstars were foils for his juvenile antics. While Christina Applegate and Amy Adams handled their responsibilities well, both seemed grossly overqualified to play second fiddle to Ferrell.

Thankfully, with "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of FireSaga," Ferrell, who produced the film and co-wrote the script with fellow "Saturday Night Live" alumnus Andrew Steele, has finally paired himself with someone who matches his unapologetic silliness note-for-note.

Rachel McAdams has an Oscar nomination, but most of her roles have been dramatic, so it's easy to forget how funny she was as one of the title characters in "Mean Girls." Here she and Ferrell star Lars and Sigrit, an Icelandic musical duo dubbed Fire Saga, who haven't managed to cross over the way Bjork has.

In fact, both have reached middle age and have yet to write or perform a song that appeals to anyone outside of their village of Húsavík, and the only tune the citizens can stand of theirs is the bawdy "Ja Ja Ding Dong."

No, it doesn't sound more sophisticated or witty in Icelandic.

Lars and Sigrit have made it to middle age despite never playing outside bars, admitting they love each other or honestly determining if they might be brother and sister. It seems Lars' disapproving father (Pierce Brosnan) has had a remarkably active love life after Lars' mother died young.

Thanks to flukes in both Iceland's national contest and with the Eurovision Song Contest in Edinburgh, Fire Saga inadvertently become contenders even though Iceland has never won the competition. This year they have a chance with the lovely chanteuse Katiana (played by real-life diva Demi Lovato), but the duo who can't get their hometown behind them end up making it to the Scottish capital.

Much of the humor in "Eurovision Song Contest" comes from the fact that many of the real performances are as overblown and head-scratching as the ones in the film. I can easily live without an album from Fire Saga, but some of the musical offerings are as catchy as they are corny. One gets a sense that the lyrics for "Volcano Man" would sound silly in any tongue.

McAdams talks to elves (they do exist) and wears outfits with color combinations that occur nowhere in the known spectrum of hues, and her Sigrid is as naïve and misguided as Lars, even if her singing voice and musical chops are superior (McAdams does some of her own singing and gets an assist from Swedish vocalist Molly Sanden). As a result, she helps prevent Ferrell's Lars from becoming a tiresomely one-note character.

As a writer and producer, Ferrell wisely shares the spotlight by casting Dan Stevens ("Beauty and the Beast") as Fire Saga's chief rival. His Alexander Lemtov is the pride of Russia, and he's had success that Fire Saga might have trouble even imagining. He also high self-regard. Like McAdams, Stevens has great comic instincts that have been underutilized.

Having past Eurovision host Graham Norton offer his usual caustic banter is another plus.

It also helps that Ferrell makes fun of everyone in this movie. Iceland gets some ribbing, but so do Yanks and the rest of Europe. Director David Dobkin ("The Wedding Crashers") makes the most of some gorgeous locations and nails the gaudy, tacky visuals of the actual competition. Sadly, his sense of pacing is a bit off. There are about 15 to 20 minutes that neither move the story nor produce the requisite giggles.

Fortunately, "Eurovision Song Contest" embraces the bombast of the real competition and never sinks into subtlety. There's conviction in Ferrell and Dobkin's commitment to bad taste.