Will Ferrell has made a career out of playing arrogant nitwits who are knocked off their thrones and fight to reclaim them. In Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, he played the titular role, a self-centered, witless news reporter. In Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Ferrell once again played the title role, a moronic, egotistical race car driver. In his latest film Blades of Glory he plays a pompous, idiotic figure skater, but at least the movie isn't named after him this time. And unlike his previous two movies, in this one he shares the lead role with Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder.
Jimmy MacElroy (Heder) and Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) are the top two men's figure skaters in the world. As heated rivals, the two argue every chance they get, criticizing each other and their vastly different techniques. While effeminate Jimmy is praised for his flawless execution of complicated moves, bad-boy Chazz wows the judges with his ingenious improvisation on the ice. At a recent competition, Jimmy and Chazz duke it out during the awards ceremony, thus disgracing themselves and the sport. Both men are stripped of their medals and banned from figure skating for life.
Fast forward three and a half years later. Both men are in meaningless jobs and hating their lives, until they discover a loophole: although they're banned from men's singles, they can still enter pairs skating. Can Chazz and Jimmy put aside their mutual hatred for each other and reclaim their dignity and place at the top?
Therein lies one of the main sources of humor for Blades of Glory - two men participating in a division that's historically for a man and woman (in reality, this loophole in the regulations doesn't exist). Pairs figure skating is often considered romantic, sometimes even sensual. There are many jokes then that involve Chazz and Jimmy struggling to overcome not only their hatred for each other, but also their homophobia. For example, one scene features Chazz lifting Jimmy in the air, holding him by the crotch and looking rather uncomfortable. If you get offended by those kinds of jokes, then Blades of Glory is not for you. But I and most of the audience thought it was funny and laughed heartily during such scenes.
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