Blades of Glory

Review by Mark Bennett

The three-star movie is a harmless (if rather dismal) symptom of the filmmaking business, and Blades of Glory is a perfect example of one. 

Will Ferrell and Jon Heder play Chazz Michael Michaels and Jimmy MacElroy, rival American figure skaters and very different personalities. Chazz is a womanising lothario and given to wild improvisation on the ice. MacElroy is an effeminate precision skater who is coddled by his adoptive father (William Fitchner) and coach (Craig T Nelson). When the two competitors take equal first place at the winter games, they are forced to share the dais and end up in a scuffle that sees them banned from their sport.

Three and a half years later, Chazz is performing in kiddie ice shows and Jimmy is working in a shoe store. Then one of Jimmy’s obsessed fans tells him he has found a loophole that can get him skating again: he and Chazz are only banned from singles competition. 

Jimmy begins searching for a partner but finds there are no girls available. When he and Chazz cross paths and get into another fight, they wind up in jail. But Jimmy’s coach, initially reluctant, proposes the two try and recapture past glories. That is if they can get in shape and not kill each other in the process. Also standing in their way are the current doubles champions, Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (Will Arnett and Amy Poehler), who will try any underhanded tactics necessary to retain their crown.

Everything about Blades of Glory says three-star cookie cutter – the odd couple who must work together to succeed, the bitchy brother and sister team (with the obligatory nice sibling in Jenna Fischer), the training sessions, the final showdown. Will Ferrell is also back to his usual Frank The Tank schtick, after proving he had another string to his acting bow in Stranger than Fiction’. Plus – and yes, I know this is a comedy – but Ferrell is completely unbelievable as an elite athlete and the constant cuts from him to his stunt double are distracting.

Its jokes are good but not great, the performances are adequate (with Fitchner the standout exception) and the storyline does what it needs to do to fill 90 minutes. Blades of Glory is that necessary but dull commodity that keeps film studios afloat – passable entertainment.

3 out of 5

Blades of Glory
Australian release: 21st June, 2007
Cast: Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Jenna Fischer
Director: Will Speck, Josh Gordon
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