Blades of Glory

Okay, let’s get this out of the way. Blades of Glory is funny, without a doubt. The chemistry between the film’s two stars, Jon Heder and Will Ferrell is amusing and enchanting in a strange sort of way. The supporting characters are also funny, with most of them portrayed by recognizable faces of various TV comedies, including Will Arnett (Arrested Development), his wife Amy Poehler (Saturday Night Live), Jenna Fischer (The Office), and Craig T. Nelson (Coach). The plot is pretty basic, yet ridiculously funny in its execution, and most of the set-ups are seen from a mile away.

Happily, that’s not why films exist. The joy of movie-watching is not to figure out the story, to see the shocks or jokes coming, or to decipher whether or not a film is “realistic.” The joy of movie-watching is in the details of the film, in the journey to get the finish, and in the escapism that allows reality to drift away and be replaced by a charming palette of imagination. No no, I’m being serious. With that in mind, Blades of Glory becomes ideal escapist fun. With steady laughs and top-notch comic performances, this harmless little film is the perfect comic touch for an afternoon viewing or a party with friends. Ferrell doesn’t disappoint and, in fact, may be at his best with this one. His fans will love it.

Ferrell plays Chazz Michael Michaels, a hilariously over-the-top figure skating superstar with a sex addiction. He is referred to as “sex on ice” and “makes love to the crowd” through his figure skating routine, which is choreographed with impeccable humour. Heder plays Jimmy MacElroy, the darling of the figure skating world and boy genius. He was born to skate, literally, and is the pretty boy of the show. Complete with stalkers and requisite gay jokes, Heder’s MacElroy is funny too. At a skating event, MacElroy and Michaels tie in the scores and end up having to share the gold medal podium. They squabble and get into a full-blown fighting, leading to their lifetime banning from singles skating. A stalker finds a loophole in the rules, however, that allows MacElroy and Michaels to compete in pairs skating and a team is begrudgingly born. That’s about it.

Blades of Glory works because of its one-liners and because of the comedic performance of Ferrell. The genius of Ferrell, yes I said “genius,” is that he’ll do anything for a laugh and essentially has no shame. Ferrell is the true embodiment of, as Richard Roeper puts it, “the modern clown.” He’s not offensive or tepid, rather he’s always on and relatively lovable in his roles. Ferrell is no different here, despite playing a reprehensible character. Ferrell takes Chazz Michael Michaels and works the living daylights out of the role, never cracking a smile and never letting the audience know that he’s supposed to be funny. He plays the role straight-ahead and that is why it works so well. Ferrell is the funniest man working in Hollywood today because he knows how to be funny without acting funny.

Comedy in Hollywood is hard to make, especially if the intention is to please the critics. Blades of Glory, which ranked an impressive 70% over at Rotten Tomatoes, works because it’s not attempting to please the critics. Some comedies attempt to be smart, others attempt to be vile and offensive, while others – like Blades of Glory and The Simpsons Movie, to name a few recent ones – play to the fans of the material. Blades of Glory works because people will get what they paid for and their expectations will be met. It is funny, often very funny, and it is light-hearted enough to send audiences home with a smile and a chuckle. In a day and age of filmmaking that often is over-serious and indulgent, it’s nice to have a performer like Will Ferrell that can still be counted on to make films that are funny.

Most of the “knock” on the film is that it is “one joke” spread out for 90 minutes. The unfortunate thing about this critique is that it knocks down all comedy in a way. How many brilliant Abbott and Costello routines were based around one central comic premise? Or the Three Stooges? Laurel and Hardy? The idea behind Blades of Glory is not to be innovative and blaze bold new trails. The idea here is to create laughter and a comic release for a target audience of folks that don’t take themselves too seriously. It’s a simple movie, without question, and applying too much banal criticism to it is simply a waste of time.

With solid comic performances, well-choreographed figure skating routines that create big laughs, and a gentle spirit, Blades of Glory is a fun film that makes for perfect matinée viewing.

Trailer: