| Film Review | A.C. Hall |
Blades
of Glory
Blades of Glory is a comedy movie and is rated PG-13 for
crude and sexual humor, language, a comic violent image and
some drug references. It stars Will Ferrell (Anchorman,
Talladega Nights) and John Heder (Napoleon Dynamite).
Blades of Glory is all about two world class figure skating
champions. Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) and Jimmy
McElroy (Heder). The two of them are the top men’s single
division figure skaters in the world, but they couldn’t be
more different. McElroy was an orphan who was adopted at a
young age by a billionaire who specialized in breeding
champion athletes. His routines are technically flawless and
pay tribute to all that is great about figure skating. Chazz
Michael Micheals, on the other hand, takes a different
approach to skating. He’s a rock star on the ice and his
risqué routines have made him a hit with fans around the
world. Chazz’s disrespectful attitude and overall ridiculous
approach to skating infuriates McElroy and the two of them
are bitter rivals. When the two of them tie for a gold
medal, they get into a brawl on live TV during the medal
ceremony. This brawl ends in a mascot getting lit on fire
and severely injured. Michaels and McElroy are both kicked
out of men’s singles figure skating for life. Both of their
lives fall apart and three years later we find them holding
down dead end jobs and fading into obscurity. However, an
obsessive fan tells McElroy about a loop hole in skating
rules that would allow him to skate again, only this time in
the pairs division. McElroy scrambles to find a partner in
time for the World Games, but the only other available
skater is his longtime nemesis, Chazz Michael Michaels.
Under the guidance of their coach (Craig T. Nelson) the two
form an unlikely duo and try to win a gold medal as the
first ever male/male pair in figure skating history.
One thing that absolutely must be pointed out first is that
this movie is beyond stupid. If you’re not a fan of really
absurd and ridiculous comedy, don’t even waste your time
finishing reading the review because this movie is certainly
not for you. If you are someone who likes the movies that
Will Ferrell usually makes, then chances are you’ll like
this one as well.
The movie plays on the obvious uncomfortable situation as
two men have to pull off skating moves that are designed to
feature a man and a woman. This leads to some funny physical
scenes that have you laughing and groaning. However, the
real bright spot of this movie is the dialogue. In this
ninety minute film you hear some of the most absurd, bizarre
and hilarious lines and jokes. Most of the stuff that is
uttered in this film would be hilarious no matter where you
heard it and the audience was cracking up on a regular basis
as Ferrell and Heder delivered hilarious line after
hilarious line.
Both Ferrell and Heder do a great job playing their
characters. Ferrell’s over the top sex addicted, alcoholic
rock star skater and Heder’s sheltered, awkward and quirky
skater make a great comedic pair. Their characters are polar
opposites and their exchanges throughout the movie are truly
hilarious.
This one is pretty easy to boil down. If you’ve seen other
absurd comedies such as Talladega Nights, Napoleon Dynamite
and Anchorman and enjoyed them then chances are you’ll enjoy
this movie as well. It’s just as well done and absurdly
written and acted as those other films I’ve mentioned.
However, if you tend to not enjoy your comedy when it’s this
completely stupid then you’ll absolutely hate this movie.
It’s as simple as that.
All in all Blades of Glory isn’t a great movie, but it does
have some great lines and has some good laughs, just as long
as you’re okay with the low brow, ridiculously dumb humor.
I give Blades of Glory 3 out of 5 stars.
