Blades of Glory

BLADES OF GLORY seems like a natural follow-up to Will Farrell's TALLADEGA NIGHTS, as its spirit and silliness are sure reminiscent of this wonderful comedy. However, here the setting is ice skating and Jon Heder ("Napoleon Dynamite") is also the co-star.

The film begins with Heder and Farrell tying for the gold medal in the world championship that is obviously supposed to be the Olympics. However, the Olympics are an extremely litigious organization and would have sued the studio for every penny they could get, so the Olympic trademark rings were changed and the word "Olympics" never were uttered in the film. Despite both men winning the men's individual gold, however, they were bitter rivals and began a hilarious fight on the podium--with horribly unexpected results. In retaliation, the men are stripped of their medals and banned from Men's Figure Skating. However, later they learn that this did NOT mean that they could not compete in pairs and they men create the most unusual skating team in history!! Now before you read on, it's very, very important that if you see the film you are the type person who can suspend disbelief. Sure, the moves they make aren't legal, two guys are NOT allowed to skate in pairs skating and the film is chock-full of impossibilities....and don't even get me started on the ending!! The bottom line is that if you are a nit-picking twit, you'll drive yourself crazy making sense of the impossibilities in the movie. My advice is to resist this urge strongly and just sit back and enjoy. The film is hilarious and it's amazing to see Farrell and Heder skate as well as they did (though it's obvious that some CGI was used--believe me, NO ONE could do much of what was done in the film!).

Original and exceptionally silly and stupid, this is a great "turn off your brain and enjoy" sort of film (much like TALLADEGA NIGHTS). While I often like very cerebral films and art films, sometimes I just need a liberal does of stupid and fun and this film fits the bill very nicely.

I saw the press screening of Blades of Glory last night, and I have to say...I haven't laughed so much at a movie for quite some time. Jon Heder shines in his role and portrays a character that seems carefully written to avoid any similarities with Napoleon Dynamite; I was actually surprised that there weren't any references to ND (that I noticed), since there were a few Ferrell lines that reminded me of Anchorman (which was just fine!). Ferrell and Heder work wonderfully together; the ice skating scenes are pulled off very well; and, of course, there are tons of quotable lines. Overall, a funny, satisfying movie (especially if you're into ice skating or Anchorman/Talledega Nights-type humor).

What can I say? The whole theater laughed during this whole movie. There were a few cheap laughs and some very obvious jokes thrown in, but the delivery was par for the course as far as Farrell is concerned. In other words, if Farrell is your kind of comedic character, you'll love this movie. If, say, Hugh Grant is your idea of a comic character, you'll probably hate this movie. Will Farrell's character was essentially Ron Burgundy on ice skates, which is a great idea. Ron Burgundy was, of course, the embodiment of the so-called "alpha-masculine" persona of the '70s and '80s. - unabashedly proud, sexist, and narcissistic. Put him into a sport that in many peoples' eyes in inherently effeminate and you've got a sure-fire crowd pleaser.

Jon Heder was a little less Napolean Dynamite-ish in this movie. He is still the same innocent, ignorant, nerdy, awkward person as in his debut character. That said, he is a little more image-aware in this character, and as the movie progressed I saw less Napolean Dynamite (a major problem in his career until now, IMO), and I saw more of this "other" character. Heder's character is hard to describe other than to say it is Napolean Dynamite combined with Derek Zoolander - a lovable ignorant narcissist. Put that on ice skates opposite Ron Burgundy the figure skater and you have 93 minutes of great fun.

What really makes this film work is Farrell's willingness to do anything in a movie and Heder's reluctance to do such things. They are polar opposites as far as comedic actors and their comedic emphasis are concerned. But those two personalities really work well to complement each other on screen in this film. 8/10

When I first saw the trailer for this film I didn't think much of it. It looked as if it were just trying to cash in on the popularity of Will Ferrel after the success of Talladega Nights. Well, I was wrong, big time wrong. First off, almost every scene in this film is hilarious and the trailer does it no justice. Don't get me wrong, I love Will Ferrel films for the most part but this one looked like it would be an exception. Instead this film fits perfectly with my taste in comedies like Talladega Nights, Zoolander, Anchorman, Water Boy, Old School and Billy Madison. If you like these kinds of films you will love this film.

I skip most current comedies because the humor is geared to the lowest common denominator, and I prefer the screwball comedies of the '30s and the more sophisticated comedies. So normally I wouldn't have seen "Blades of Glory" except that I am a figure skating fan.

It's the story of two top American figure skaters, Chazz and Jimmy (played by Will Ferrell and John Heder), two bitter enemies, who, after a fight on the winners podium are stripped of their medals and banned from skating. Jimmy ends up working in a sports shoe store and Chazz wears a costume in a children's' skating shoe.

Jimmy's stalker finds a notation in the rule book that indicates that he only can't re-enter the mens single competition. It says nothing about pairs. Unable to find a female partner, Jimmy's old coach hooks him up with the macho, drunken Chazz Michael Michaels, who was skating's bad boy.

This is a very funny film with good acting, good characterizations, amazing skating, and a lot of slapstick. Particularly if you're a figure skating fan and have followed it over the years, you will appreciate the enthusiasm and seriousness of the commentators, in particular, Scott Hamilton. I have no idea how he kept a straight face, but it made the film even funnier.

The routines, the costumes - the whole parody of the skating world is perfect. I especially liked the Van Waldenbergs' irreverent routine based on the JFK-Marilyn Monroe romance, which begins with Kennedy saying "Ich bin ein Berliner" and has Marilyn, in her famous white dress with the halter top, popping pills and posing as she did over the street grate in "The Seven Year Itch." HILARIOUS.

The references to skating stars like Michelle Kwan, who supposedly wanted to marry the Will Ferrell character, Oksana Baiul (who is colder than dry ice? OKSANA) and Kristy Yamaguchi was especially appreciated, as was seeing Brian Boitano, Dorothy Hamill, Peggy Fleming and Nancy Kerrigan in the film.

It was one laugh out loud moment after another. Even if this type of movie with its sporadic vulgarity and sex jokes isn't for you, if you've been a fan of figure skating in the past 10 years and remember the Nancy-Tanya debacle, you will enjoy "Blades of Glory."