Blades of Glory (2007)

Overall Rating From 1 to 100: 54

Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck
Will Ferrell / Jon Heder / Jenna Fischer
93 min. Comedy
MPAA: PG-13 (for crude and sexual humor, language, a comic violent image and some drug references)

Review by Jason Pyles / April 5, 2007

No one will stumble into “Blades of Glory” without knowing what’s coming: Will Ferrell and Jon Heder team up as partners in a couples’ skating division. How much can we really expect from such a premise?

Writing fair reviews for movies like “Blades of Glory” is difficult. The narratives are thin and simple. The most humorous parts are spoiled if they’re described. And it wouldn’t be right for me to criticize any “dumb parts” of a movie whose objective is stupid humor.

But “Blades of Glory” is funnier than you might anticipate. It begins with a four-year-old orphan who is an ice-skating prodigy. This young phenom is Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder). He is adopted by a billionaire who develops the boy’s talents further with state-of-the-art training methods.

We flash forward to see 26-year-old Jimmy competing in an ice-skating competition in Stockholm. His nemesis, Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) is the coarse, arrogant antithesis of Jimmy’s gentle grace and style. When the two skaters tie for the gold medal, they erupt into a skirmish that results in their being stripped of their medals and banned from men’s figure skating for life.

In order to be able to skate professionally again, Chazz and Jimmy find a loophole that enables them to compete in the couples’ skating division — together. The unlikely pair must deal with reconciling their differences that they may skate as a unified team, and face their unscrupulous competition, the Van Waldenberg siblings (Will Arnett and Amy Poehler).

I have to hand it to Heder for stealing the show from Ferrell. Heder’s effeminate, pastel-loving figure skater is a better character than Ferrell’s macho, cowboy, sex-addict ice slasher. Plus, Ferrell’s vulgar, incessant, sexual humor wears thin — especially during a sex addicts’ meeting.

There are many surprises in the casting, including cameos. Jenna Fischer (also known as Pam from “The Office”) plays Heder’s love interest. Her character complements the film. I also appreciated seeing (and hearing) William Daniels; he was the voice of K.I.T.T. from “Knight Rider.”

For fans of Jimmy’s scarily obsessed fanboy, Hector (Nick Swardson), keep watching the movie after the credits begin to roll.

“Blades of Glory” is similar to, but better than, “The Benchwarmers” (2006). It’s the same kind of ridiculousness. Both movies are fun and both have plenty of advertisements and product placement.

Like everyone, I believe I have a good sense of humor. I had a few hearty laughs during “Blades of Glory.” Nevertheless, for the most part, these idiotic comedies are wasted on me, but I’m sure middle schoolers appreciate them.

O Masterpiece (95-100)
O Excellent (75-94)
O Good video rental (60-74)
X Merely OK (50-59)
O Pure mediocrity (30-49)
O Medusa: don’t watch (1-29)

Copyright 2007.
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