Blades of Glory is one of a recent flood of sports comedies (i.e. Talladega Nights, The Benchwarmers, Dodgeball, Kicking and Screaming, etc.) that marks yet another genre attempt that requires you to be either in the mood for a few chuckles or ready to declare the experience stupid.
Keeping this philosophy in mind, if you’re in the mental state for Will Ferrell’s usual antics, you’ll place the cheese and zingers in the forefront and leave pleased. Otherwise, you’ll be mildly thankful for the handful of one-liners and dissatisfied with the exaggerated wit.
Mirroring Talladega Nights and Dodgeball, Blade of Glory accomplishes much of the same. It palms the shortcomings of an off-kilter sport and squeezes — allowing the juices of hilarity to drip. While Blades of Glory has all the right moves to be a comedic glitz and glam ice show, it is, for the most part, amateur.
Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) is an underground skater and porn star. Known as an “ice-devouring sex tornado” who smells like “aftershave and taco meat,” Chazz’s personal philosophy is “clothing optional.” Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) is a spoon-fed orphan skater who was adopted by a star-raising millionaire, Darren MacElroy (William Fichtner). Jimmy is an effeminate, technical skater and Chazz’s arch-nemesis.
After both skaters are permanently removed from men’s singles figure skating for fighting, Chazz and Jimmy discover a loophole in the system, allowing them to get back into the game as a male/male pair. However, they must defeat the famous Van Waldenberg duo of Stranz (Will Arnett) and Fairchild (Amy Poehler). Additionally, they must overcome both Katie Van Waldenberg (Jenna Fischer) serving as a spy/spoiler and their sub-par practice facility: a storage shed that their coach (Craig T. Nelson) flooded with a garden hose.
Disappointingly, the majority of Blades’ side characters are distracting and unnecessary. For example, Hector the Stalker is absolutely pointless to the plot — reminding viewers of Nick Swardson’s former role as Howie in The Benchwarmers. Jenna Fischer is so sexy, but needless as Jimmy’s love interest. The very idea of throwing this relationship into the mix is gratuitous. The only core connection that matters is that of Chazz and Jimmy. After all, who wants to see Pam and Napoleon make out?
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