Blades of Glory

Ice skating conjures up images of grace, precision and wholesome family values. You’ll find none of these in Blades of Glory, the latest vehicle for funnyman Will Ferrell. The comedian who was nominated for Golden Globe’s Best Performance in Musical or Comedy for last year’s Stranger Than Fiction, is cast as Chazz Michael Michaels, a bad ice skater boy with a huge sex addiction problem.

Pit him against a renowned if effeminate ice skater Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) known for his quick thinking and improvisation in the world of competitive figure skating, and you have the quintessential Odd Couple on ice.

In a show of true sportsmanship, the 2 brawl on national TV when they tie for the gold medal position at the 2002 World Winter Sports Games. This earns them a lifetime ban from their category: Men’s Singles. Following the interdiction, Jimmy is promptly disowned by his adoptive father, billionaire Darren MacElroy (William Fichtner).

Pirouette 3 years ahead and the 2 still can’t skate past their past glories. Jimmy works in the shoe department of a skating goods store while Chazz performs as an evil wizard in a children ice skating show.

An ardent fan of Jimmy, Hector (Nick Swardson) offers the solution to his idol- a loophole in the ban allows Jimmy to sign up for the pairs category.

But his coach (Craig T. Nelson) claims there’s insufficient time to look for a suitable partner, until, surprise, surprise, his nemesis gets the sack for getting drunk on the job.

Coach convinces the deadly rivals to settle their differences and they make history by forming the first same-sex team to join the competition in Montreal.

Angered that the limelight is no longer on them, long standing champions, siblings Stranz (Will Arnett) and Fairchild Van Waldenburg (Amy Poehler), resort to their usual scheming to bring down Jimmy and Chazz. Living under the same roof with the evil pair is their younger sister, Katie (Jenna Fischer).

Katie, the sole survivor of a car accident that killed their parents, has been on 1 long guilt trip sponsored by her 2 older siblings. To atone, she works like a servant. While the blatant themes of partnership and loyalty were prevalent, expect a Cinderella story as a forbidden love blossoms between Katie and Jimmy.

Directed by Josh Grodon and Will Speck, who previously directed Culture and Angry Boy together, the script is brought to life by the exchange of biting and crude remarks between the 2 main characters, for example when Chazz makes fun of Jimmy’s feminine behaviour, and when they both clash over each other’s skating styles. This movie is simply not to be missed if you appreciate tongue-in-cheek humour.

You can’t help but be impressed by the painstakingly choreographed figure skating moves too. According to their official website, “while [the movie] does take advantage of wires, green screen, and other sophisticated effects to create the dazzling and physically impossible routines executed onscreen, [the cast] underwent extensive training (apart and together) to approximate the speed and agility of professional pairs skaters”. The only failing of the production was the deliberate slow-motion of otherwise flawless figure skating moves that injected an unnecessary lagging feeling.

Though the storyline is pretty run of the mill and predictable, the star-studded cast of humourists hams it up with exaggerated acting and subtle homosexual innuendos that make it a light hearted joy to watch.

Also, if nothing else, it’s worth the ticket price just to watch Will Ferrell’s expression as he grabbed Jon Heder’s groin while prancing to Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing”.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Movie Details
Opens: May 17
Runtime: 93 minutes
Cast: Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Craig Nelson
Director: Josh Gordon and Will Speck

Pictures courtesy of UIP.