"Blades of Glory"  Skating in the Laughs

Rating: 7/10 (29 April 2007)

I finally got to see "Blades of Glory" three weeks after its initial release and I had only heard positive things about it. Someone even told me that it was a laugh-a-minute thrill ride and came out much funnier than "Talladega Nights", which I happened to enjoy. However after getting to watch for myself I have to disagree. While "Blades of Glory" was funny, it was achieved in a cutesy kind of way. But the real Grade-A laughs were few and far between. Instead I was placed under a barrage of smirk-inducing gags that made me smile, but came short of laughing-out-loud.
The plot was fairly unique and simple enough for everyone to understand rather quickly. Also the short running time made sure that the story didn't start to sag. The two leads were perfectly cast as Will Ferrell and Jon Heder put in excellent turns as the bad boy and effeminate heterosexual, respectively. It was also great to see Craig T. Nelson back on the screen as he always does an excellent job. The notable appearances from Nick Swardson and Andy Richter were appreciated as well. Actually all the ensemble cast was up to speed except Amy Poehler in my opinion. She just does not seem to be up to par as an actress and I don't think she's funny.
This was a decent film that even breathed out moments of inspiration and had it not been built up so much beforehand I'm sure I'd rank it as excellent. In the end I can't help but feel somewhat letdown by it to a point as far as the humor was concerned, but at least the story was there. It appears that it was meant for a younger audience then Ferrell's latest installments. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone but especially teenagers since this offers more appeal to their age bracket. I'm looking forward to seeing both Ferrell's and Heder's next films still, hopefully they'll both be much cooler...without the ice.