Reviews

Review: Blades of Glory

There's nothing wrong with a Will Ferrell sports comedy. The genre has served the man well ("Talladega Nights"). However, put Ferrell in a comedy without the benefit of top-tier supporting talent and the milk tends to curdle quickly.

As figure skating rivals at the top of their league, boorish Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) and blonde cream puff Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) are both tossed out of the sport when they brawl at a championship ceremony. Years later, an ambitious coach (Craig T. Nelson) decides to try the impossible: make the two men skating partners to challenge the current reigning champs of the sport, the Van Waldenberg siblings (Amy Poehler and Will Arnett). At first resentful and angry, Chazz and Jimmy soon learn the beauty of teamwork, and combine their talents to race for the gold.

"Blades of Glory" (IMDb listing) is such a pushover comedy vehicle for Ferrell, I'm surprised he could even stay awake while filming it. The script requires nothing more than his potent brand of oblong machismo and Ferrell is more than ready to dish it out for the film any way he can. It serves "Blades" well, since lackadaisical Ferrell is better than no Ferrell at all. As porn star/athlete Chazz Michael Michaels, Ferrell gets to lumber through the film dishing out lurid come-ons to women and homophobic winces to his skating partner. Ferrell is funny, but he's a scattergun in the film, tossing out his jokes without much care or patience. When faced with Will Arnett and Jon Heder, you can sense Ferrell is overcompensating on purpose.

While I wait patiently for Jon Heder's 15 minutes of fame to wrap up, I'm still at a complete loss on what makes him so irresistible to casting directors. The man can barely spit out his dialog, and standing next to a panther like Ferrell, Heder's comic timing is toothy and hopeless. The awkward actor fits the feminine skating outfits just fine, but he's uneven when it comes time for him to trade laughs with Ferrell. Heavens, a sly actor -- such as Paul Rudd -- could've done great things with this richly vulnerable character. It hurts to consider the possibilities.

Will Arnett is thankfully only issued a small supporting part here, but he's another actor with a compulsion to overplay his hand for effect. As if the audience didn't know this was a comedy from the wild feathered hair, bedazzled outfits, and use of Queen's "Flash Gordon" theme for the grand finale, Arnett elects to arch his eyebrow with every punchline, adding the right amount of comedic indication to completely annihilate the laugh. Arnett also manages to smother co-star Amy Poehler with his poison, taking away the one golden opportunity "Blades" had to match Ferrell's lunacy.

Co-directed by ad men Josh Gordon and Will Speck, "Blades" nails some generous skating goofiness that's hard to resist. The film reminds me of Ferrell's 2005 misfire "Kicking & Screaming" as an idea with ripe comic potential, but some screwy wiring in the execution. Gordon and Speck have the right scheme to let Ferrell lead the way, but after a good 45 minutes of free-form skate slapstick, the attempt to nurture some type of plot involving double-crosses and sexual miscommunication falls pretty flat, and lets the air out of the whole thing. While the film never gets deeply dramatic, it does start to hesitate at all the wrong moments.

A more seasoned director could have made "Blades of Glory" tighter, faster, and more inventive than this end result. It's a great premise, but just not confident enough to realize its full triple axel potential.

Filmfodder Grade: C+



I don't think the reviewer of this film gets it. People who made this film #1 this weekend love for Will Ferrell to be the egotistical, clueless, non-athletic bumbler he always is. We love it and expect it, just as we love to see his pudgy, pasty body, preferably in his jockey shorts. The same with John Heder. Sadly, we have stereotyped him into Napoleon Dynamite and don't expect much more from him. In fact, we keep wanting more Napoleon. We (Will Ferrell/Jon/Napoleon fans) will go to see Blades of Glory and laugh until tears stream down our faces.

-- Posted by: Greta at April 2, 2007 12:48 PM

blades of glory was incredible... the whole point is that its such a crappy plot and the actors are all exagerated. Its not like ther trying to say thyat these are normal people. They are trying to make it funny. I grade this movie as one of ferrels best. Everything he does is golden, and this is another hillarious comedy to add to the list. The reason its funny is because its stupid and gay.... and thats funny

-- Posted by: kyle at April 6, 2007 10:31 AM