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MOVIE REVIEW . Blades of Glory

Blades of Glory is unabashedly funny stuff. Just imagining Will Farrell and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) carving and twirling in ridiculously revealing costumes is giggle worthy, but there were a lot of truly hilarious scenes.

Jon Heder plays beyond innocent if not metrosexual Jimmy MacElroy, adopted by the always uncomfortably comical William Fichtner from a young age and groomed to be the best, no exceptions. Will Farrell is Chazz Michael Michaels, MacElroy’s rival and opposite in every way; his ice routine consists mostly of leather swathed pelvic thrusts and licking his fans. When the two receive tie gold medal scores at a world competition and publicly fight over the tiny winner’s platform (inadvertently setting the mascot on fire), they are banned for life from Men’s Singles competition. Immediately disowned and settling into a depressing job far beyond the limelight he was used to, Jimmy is eventually approached by his unrelenting stalker who discovers an important loophole in the rulebook. Jimmy will be able to compete in Doubles. Oh joy! When he is out and about scouting for a partner, he runs into Chazz and a brawl soon breaks out on live television. Jimmy’s old coach catches the broadcast and while watching slo-mo replays of the two “gracefully” flinging each other, realizes that the two men were meant to be ice dance partners. They agree to train together, even learning a special secret move that no pair has ever completed and survived. Hilarity ensues.

Just when you think Blades of Glory is just about two comedians in lycra for laughs, they introduce evil foes (a brother and sister with a questionable relationship) and a love interest for Jimmy. Of course you know that everything will be resolved sweetly, even after the psuedo suspenseful moments when Chazz is pursued in the oddest and slowest chase scene ever filmed and when Jimmy has to retrieve the key to his handcuffs on a filthy bathroom floor.

Besides the spot on casting for the two leads, what worked for Blades of Glory was the fast-paced editing that didn’t linger on the otherwise objectionable humor. Crazy CG effects produced perfect pirouettes which added to the surrealism. Highlights include cameos by figure skating greats Scott Hamilton, Nancy Kerrigan, Peggy Flemming, Dorothy Hamill, etc. Just kidding. Overall, Blades of Glory is a string of rapid-fire jokes that are actually funny.

Trivia Time: The storyline was created by Busy Philipps, who played pothead Kim Kelly on TV’s Freaks and Geeks. The wacky stacky buildings towards the end were the Habitat 67 residences in Montreal Quebec Canada. No confirmation if Farrell’s character is the same Chazz he played in Wedding Crashers, but it’s pretty darn close.

About the Author

Kris Kobayashi-Nelson says these directors/screenwriters rarely disappoint: Peter Greenaway, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Gus van Sant. Gregg Araki. Kris claims that Jake Gyllenhaal, Cillian Murphy, Desmond Harrington and Casey Affleck are much more than pretty faces.