What do you get when you combine Will Ferrell, Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder and male-male pairs of figure skaters? The pretty hilarious and over-the-top comedy Blades of Glory.
Jimmy MacElroy (Heder) is the sincere, life-embracing orphan who becomes a world-class figure skater, and Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) is his leather-bedecked, sex-symbol, bad-boy rival. The two manage to tie for the gold at the 2002 World Wintersport Games. They beat each other up atop the podium and are banned for life from competition as a punishment.
Three and a half years later, the two previously famous skaters have been forgotten. A rather drunk Chazz has a job skating as the "evil wizard" in Grublets on Ice -- think really, really poor man's Disney on Ice -- and Jimmy works in a ski and skate shop. Jimmy's stalker shows up and points out that Jimmy is only banned from competing in his category, men's singles, and not from pairs skating.
One thing leads to another and Jimmy and Chazz become partners despite their hatred for each other.
Practicing with Jimmy's old coach (Craig Nelson), the two hesitantly learn to work together. This leads to the film's quintessential montage, including terrible hip-hop from Heder, interpretive dance by the pair, and a crude but funny stretching scene.
Physical gags are definitely one of the movie's strengths. The fire-and-ice skating routine is an instant classic. A variety of ridiculous bejeweled spandex costumes appear throughout the movie. You can predict from a mile away that the film is full of gay jokes, but it works most of the time.
As pairs skaters, Jimmy and Chazz have new rivals: Stranz (Will Arnett) and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (Amy Poehler), a ruthless brother-and-sister couple. Their sister Katie (Jenna Fischer) is forced to work for them but develops a liking for Jimmy. Her character is sweet but not memorable.
Just like in every sports comedy, the two pairs end up in a showdown at the 2006 World Wintersport Games. Predictably, various underhanded schemes, a dramatic misunderstanding and the attempt of a risky yet-unseen skating move ensue.
One particularly funny part involves a chase scene on skates, which abruptly slows when the parties get stuck hobbling clumsily on hard floor and an escalator. On the negative side, I didn't need to see the unnecessarily gross gag involving a tongue and toilet paper from a men's bathroom.
Skating fans will be happy to see many famous American figure skaters make appearances. Scott Hamilton and Jim Lampley serve as anchors during the competitions; Brian Boitano, Nancy Kerrigan, Dorothy Hamill, Peggy Fleming and Sasha Cohen all show up in cameos as well.
Ferrell is hilarious, as usual, but plays the same character he always does -- a crude, arrogant and slightly dumb (but quotable) antihero. Heder's Jimmy is earnest, overly nice and more than a little metro. The two actors play off of each other pretty well, but I've seen better chemistry elsewhere.
Overall, Blades of Glory provides an hour and a half of ridiculous humor. The movie might not be a standout, but it serves to entertain and will definitely satisfy Will Ferrell fans.
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