COLLEEN CONWAY
Staff Writer
“Blades of Glory” is a hilarious comedy with the predictable humor and silliness of Will Ferrell’s past creations such as “Kicking and Screaming” or “Anchorman,” but it fails to reach the epic glory of these predecessors.
The movie attempts to be serious with creative writing by Jeff and Craig Cox, picking up on certain humorous parallels that exist in skating such as brother-sister pair skating, a Tanya Harding plot and the androgynous dress of male skaters. The movie does have a decent and entertaining plot, except for a too-typical romantic conflict between Jon Heder’s character, Jimmy MacElroy, and Katie, played by Jenna Fischer.
But the combination of comedic greats Ferrell and “Napoleon Dynamite” star Heder does not necessarily equal a comedic success for the film. Perhaps if directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck had chosen one true comedian combined with a normal actor, the ridiculous situations posed in the movie, such as male lifts by the crotch, would have been unexpected and even more hilarious.
When Chazz Michael Michaels, played by Ferrell, and Jimmy MacElroy find themselves banned from national figure skating, they fall far from the bright lights of fame on ice.
Michaels becomes a drunken sex addict, fired from a children’s skating show, while MacElroy is disowned by his father and kicked to the road, literally.
When a frustrated MacElroy and Michaels meet again, it becomes apparent in the very throes of their fighting that they would make a great partnership in pair skating — a segment of Olympic skating from which they technically had not been banned.
The cast also features real-life husband and wife comedians, Will Arnett and Amy Poehler playing the evil Van Waldenberg siblings, as well as skating coach Craig T. Nelson, Olympian Nancy Kerrigan, and William Fichtner of “Prison Break” playing MacElroy’s father.
Heder does a good job in his first major role since “Napoleon Dynamite,” playing an effeminate skater. Jimmy is often seen holding stuffed dolls or wearing furry baby blue outfits and takes shots from Ferrell as “the woman” or “the bird.” This role as Jimmy is distinct from Heder’s previously nerdy role, but his Napoleon character still shines through, especially when he runs out of a hotel room from Chazz and Katie, who he thinks are having an affair.
One humorous side plot character is Hector, Jimmy’s creepy obsessive fan played by Nick Swardson. Hector helps push along the plot, even giving Jimmy the idea to find a skating partner in the first place.
Still, Ferrell is the standout comedian of the movie. As Chazz Michael Michaels, the overmasculanized, classic rock skater, covered in Chrome Hearts leather, he constantly asserts his manhood with sexual references about his addiction to women.
One memorable scene is when Michaels explains his tattoos to Jimmy. There are odd, small tattoos spread about his flabby body, which he says tell stories of his life, apparently symbols of his machismo. This points fun at the idea that a tattoo would make someone look more manly, whereas in Michaels’ case, the wings of an eagle slice into the flabby rolls of his back.
Another hilarious scene is the incident that leads to Michaels being fired from the kiddy skating show. With an insider’s view of the skater in his evil witch costume mask, Michaels swigs back Jack Daniels and gets sick several times. While his character is rather disgusting, he gains likeability and displays positive attributes as he teams up with Jimmy to revive their Olympic careers.
The Olympic village, skating rink and live staged audience in the movie allow for the feel of a real televised Olympics, especially with the use of rankings and a snowman mascot Snowflake.
As far as movie rankings go, “Blades of Glory” earns a B. Audiences will laugh, but not hard. And it might be best to wait for it to come out on video. As for most Will Ferrell movies, it is difficult not to appreciate his silliness, but his movies seem to get better and better with time as you watch them again and again. Like “Kicking and Screaming,” “Anchorman,” or even Heder’s “Napoleon Dynamite,” it seems “Blades of Glory” cannot be fully appreciated until one has been seen it a few times. And memorized a few lines.
04-05-2007
