Blades of Glory is an amusing, at best, comedy

Rating: 6/10 (31 March 2007)

My friend was very excited to see this movie and since I was a fan of SNL and certainly of former cast member Will Ferrell, I was willing to come along on Blades of Glory's second day of opening. Too silly in the beginning, it picked up after Ferrell and Jon Heder started teaming up with Craig T. Nelson coaching. A subplot involving a rival brother-and-sister team played by real-life married couple Will Arnett and Amy Poehler and little sis Kate played by "The Office" star Jenna Fischer contributes to the most hilarious scene in the movie: A call to Kate from Heder's character in which each is coached to say certain double entendre lines that don't match their personalities. Amusing cameos by various skaters Nancy Kerrigan, Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, and Sasha Cohen partly makes the movie a little more tolerable than it really is though the funniest scenes come from Ferrell even though he seems to be trying a little harder than usual. Scott Hamilton and Jim Lamply also do well with deadpan lines as the announcers and when I read the credits, two of the stunt performers were Canadian Silver/Gold skaters David Pelletier and Jamie Sale. There's also an amusing scene between Ferrell and Fischer that plays sweet and a little sexual that almost-but not quite-crosses the line. I think I've said enough so I'll just say if you're willing to go with all the silliness, go ahead and watch. Just don't expect Mel Brooks or Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker hilarity.