Blades of Glory
Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language, a comic violent image, and some drug references.
reviewed by Christopher Lyon
In his most recent film, Will Ferrell again ice dances all over the thin line between funny and just plain gross. In my experience, the world can be divided into three categories: People who just can’t get enough Will Ferrell. People who like the idea of Will Ferrell movies, but don’t enjoy the actual experience. And people who can’t stand the fella. I guess there are also a lot of folks around the world who don’t know Will Farrell, but they probably don’t come to the site.
Story
Jimmy MacElroy (“Napoleon Dynamite’s” Jon Heder) and Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) sit atop the world of competitive men’s figure skating. But when forced to share gold at a major competition, their bitter rivalry leads to an ugly incident on the podium. Booted from the sport and stripped of their medals, both men founder for years until MacElory’s former coach (Craig T. Nelson of TV’s “Coach”) lands on a crazy idea: they could work a loophole in their lifetime ban and skate together in the pairs category.
MacElroy, a straight-laced, technically precise skater with a tendency to flourish, and Michaels, a hotheaded improviser and self-proclaimed sex addict, both resist the idea at first. Of course they agree to it, or there would be no film. The skating world is appalled, especially brother-and-sister pairs duo Stranz (Will Arnett) and Fairchild (Amy Peohler) Van Waldenberg. They resent MacElroy and Michaels stealing their spotlight, though their younger sister Katie (“The Office’s” Jenna Fischer) has a little crush on Jimmy MacElroy.
Since they’re so new to pairs skating -- and they’re “a couple of dudes” -- Coach decides their only hope of bring home the gold is to perform the world’s most dangerous skating stunt. Cue the training montages, awkward love triangle, murderous competitors, and about a million crude jokes. Roll credits. Feel disappointed by lack of outtakes.
Verdict
Unlike Ferrell’s last outing -- the quiet, metaphysical comedy “Stranger Than Fiction” -- “Blades” falls into the pattern of more traditional Ferrell films like “Talledega Nights,” “Anchorman,” “Old School,” etc. I liked “Stranger Than Fiction” a lot more than those movies and a lot more than this one. I fall in that camp of people who like the idea of Ferrell’s parodies (and laughing at friends who quote them) way more than the actual experience of sitting through them.
Like many of this brand of PG-13 comedy, “Blades” seems like it must have been fun for the people making the movie. On my side of the screen, however, it all felt especially lightweight – and not just because it’s about figure skating. Heder hasn’t really been funny in anything I’ve seen since “Dynamite,” and he continues that streak here, fitting a little too convincingly into his foofy spandex. It took me the whole movie to realize Katie was played by Jenna Fischer from “The Office,” and she’s reliably sweet. Will Arnett manages both funny and creepy. Also of (minor) note are cameo appearances by lots of people from the world of figure skating.
No question: The film offers a few laughs. More for those who can’t stop giggling every time Ferrell does that patented guy-who-thinks-he’s-macho-but-is-obviously-wounded-inside thing he does so well. For me, the joy of Will is always tainted, in part, by the parade of ever-more-tired and crude sex jokes he leans on.
“Blades of Glory” earns its PG-13 rating with all that crude humor, including numerous references to homosexuality, incest, sex addiction, and various bits of human anatomy. Ferrell appears, of course, in his underwear, and he grabs Jenna Fischer’s chest for an extended scene. There’s also lots of harsh language and some comedic violence.
Worldview
Um. Try your hardest? Learn to trust each other? Overcome your fear of male intimacy so you feel comfortable in your glittery spandex embracing another man while gliding across the ice to a tender love ballad? Cash the check on this one and think of another minor sport to parody by next summer?
I give up. What do you think?
Questions:
• Ferrell: Love him? Can’t stand him? Want to laugh more than you actually do?
• Favorite Ferrell film? Least fave?
• In the last year, he’s done NASCAR and figure skating. What “sport” should Team Ferrell tackle next? Pro bowling? Chess? Maybe he could be a jockey in a horse racing film.
• What do you think? Should all the crude and sexual humor in movies like “Blades of Glory” necessarily make them less fun for Christian? Why or why not? Should we skip them? Only laugh at the “clean” jokes? Or laugh heartily at everything and feel fine about it? If you’re part of a youth group, why not ask your youth leader to bring it up and help you figure out a good approach?