At first glance, ""Blades of Glory"" looks like the film where Will Ferrell's shtick finally collapses under the weight of its own self-confident arrogance. Teaming the men who played Ricky Bobby and Napoleon Dynamite as a pair of male figure skaters, forcing them into leotards with enough rhinestones to rival the Cirque du Soleil—its mere concept seems doomed to degenerate into gay jokes and physical comedy too painful to watch.
Yet, once again, Ferrell and company have managed to pull off a film that, while not contributing anything new to the genre, fits comfortably into the ""Frat Pack"" film tradition of ""Zoolander,"" ""Anchorman,"" ""Dodgeball"" and ""Talledega Nights."" Like those films, it has moments where it goes too far, but on the whole it delivers what it promises—unpretentious, lively and occasionally lowbrow comedy.
Ferrell plays Chazz Michael Michaels, a renegade skater with a self-proclaimed sex addiction, while Jon Heder is the repressed yet precise Jimmy MacElroy. When a brawl between the two during an awards ceremony leads to a lifetime ban from singles skating, MacElroy's old coach (Craig T. Nelson) proposes the two can enter in the pairs division. To do so, they will have to not only overcome the vicious Van Waldenberg twins (Will Arnett and Amy Poehler), but also the fact that all their meetings end in insults and fistfights.
""Blades of Glory,"" unlike other comedies that exist solely as a series of quotes (""Anchorman"" is the top example), feels like a much more complete film. At just under an hour and a half the film doesn't exhaust the joke until the last few minutes of the film, and stereotypical jokes about skating are thankfully eschewed in favor of hilarious fake sports commentary and banter between Ferrell and Heder.
Farrell's machismo character may not appeal to everyone, but fans of his earlier efforts will cackle at seeing him vomiting in a wizard costume or reveling in his whalebone hairbrush. Heder is once again unable to escape Napoleon Dynamite—he sports the same petulant expression for most of the film, and even breaks into dance at one point—but that type of character is perfect for breaking against the wall of sweat and sexism Ferrell generates.
While not an ensemble comedy like ""Dodgeball,"" the film's supporting cast adds greatly to the film. Nelson playing a coach is great meta-humor, and his hilarious deadpan performance breaks the absurdity between Ferrell and Heder when clearly needed. Husband and wife team Arnett and Poehler, whose banter in ""Arrested Development"" was one of the show's high points, make the Van Waldenberg twins the most frightening siblings since the Osmonds.
The cast's interaction is supplemented by recent comedic formulas. There are insertions of real celebrities (skaters such as Nancy Kerrigan and Brian Boitano), unexpected cameos (Andy Richter as a Mountie) and pop culture references (Ferrell singing ""My Humps"" and praising it for being provocative despite the fact no one knows what they are). The use of these bits is fairly standard for Frat Pack films, and fortunately the writers are able to put new twists on them for each film.
""Blades of Glory"" won't shatter any boundaries or spawn a cult following, but it shows that the formula can still create an entertaining film. Additionally, with male figure skating covered, it raises the bar for Ferrell to mock the next absurd career—probably a tossup between water polo player and Egyptian pharaoh.
