Ferrell Makes Love to the Crowd

BLADES OF GLORY (2007)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I don't think I'll ever grow tired of Will Ferrell. Even in junk like "Old School" and "A Night at the Roxbury," Ferrell was not boring or unwatchable. Fortunately, he graduated to riotous fare with "Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights," and fueled his dramatic abilities

in "Stranger than Fiction" and "Melinda and Melinda." Add "Blades of Glory" to his riotous, wickedly funny palette.

Will Ferrell is Chazz Michael Michaels, the sex god of the figure skaters who can lure women with his prowess and presence on the

skating rink ("He wants to make love to the crowd," as one of the

announcers states). He has no coach yet his moves are legendary. His

competition is Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder), a disciplined skater who

lacks the presence of Chazz. They both tie for the gold medal, and

then practically beat each other to a pulp resulting in getting

knocked off the podium (and setting a poor mascot on fire). Both

figure skaters are banned for line. That is until Jimmy's former coach

(Craig T. Nelson) is convinced by Jimmy (and a delirious superfan)

that he and Chazz can skate due to a loophole in the rules: they will

skate as partners! Since males have never skated as partners before,

this is seen as historic in the annals of figure skating.

A sibling figure skating pair, Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg

(the hilarious Will Arnett and Amy Poehler), see Jimmy and Chazz as a

threat so they get little sister, Katie (Jenna Fischer, the secretary

from TV's "The Office) to woo Jimmy and Chazz! Naturally, Katie

develops feelings for Jimmy. You need not know anything about the

Olympics or figure skating to see where this is going.

"Blades of Glory" has many funny pratfalls and sexual innuendoes, and

clearly there are a few digs at the Olympic figure skating world (not

to mention a joke on the Tonya Harding scandal). Every actor basically

overacts except for Will Ferrell, who plays it so straight that he is

practically believable, and Jenna Fischer who exudes as much sweetness

and sympathy as she does on "The Office." Will Arnett occasionally

dials it down yet his demented smile is awakened every time he shares

a scene with Amy Poehler. And Jon Heder will still seem unrecognizable

to those who loved his geeky, iconic Napoleon Dynamite - he is so

placid, even when he shouts, yet he holds his own with Ferrell. And if

you have to give high marks for an inspired moment where Jimmy speaks

Japanese to a Japanese journalist perfectly (Jon Heder really knows

how to speak it, too).

I must add how impressed I am by Will Ferrell. He is loose, engaging,

energetic and has priceless reaction shots. I don't care how many

variations on sports comedies he makes - as long as he is allowed to

be so loose and not overplay his part, I will be there watching.

"Blades of Glory" is a cartoon of wild comic implausibilities and, if

admired on that scale, it works. The ending is slightly longer than it

needs to be, but there are so many choice moments that deliver belly

laughs (including a truly original chase scene involving skates) and

so many insane song choices (such as Queen's "Flash Theme") and so

much tomfoolery that I was left smiling and in high spirits. For truly

wacky, wild, boisterous humor, you can't go wrong with "Blades of

Glory." And if any of you out ever want to be figure skaters, watch

out for the Iron Lotus routine!