Dear Lord...it was actually good!!

Rating: 8/10 (6 May 2007)

Will Ferrell and I have had a tumultuous relationship. Ever since leaving live skit comedy Ferrell has tried far too hard and always makes the films he's in feel like it should be a 3 minute skit and not a 2 hour movie. There are a few exception but I found his creation of the "Will Ferrell Comedy Troupe" (Wilson, Stiller, Carell, Rudd) as I call them...more annoying than anything. Anchorman...horrendous....BeWitched...disastrous...Talladega Nights...I could go on. And then every once in awhile he stumbles upon a script that actually suits him and I think it's more complete accident than anything else. Blades of Glory has everything you could want from a slapstick, spoof-like film and it actually all works pretty well together. The idea of it being centered around figure skating immediately makes the premise humorous because if two guys looked less like Figure Skating champions it would be Ferrell and Heder. Add in some great cameos and supporting roles and you've got a brainless and yet laugh out loud good time.
One of the surprising aspects of Blades of Glory is that the two stars share equal time and equal roles despite Ferrell being the bigger of the two stars. Will Ferrell plays overly confident, sexaholic skating star Chazz Michael Michaels. As usual with Ferrell his performance is overblown and as much a farce character as you can get and yet for some reason this time it works. As dumb and idiotic as his character is you actually enjoy him and he has some genuinely funny moments...one of my favorites is his performance on the treadmill as he sings "My Humps" and has bread rolls thrown at him by Heder. I can honestly say this is one performance of Ferrell's that I had no problem watching. Part of that I attribute to his co-star Jon Heder who has done a great job pulling himself away from the stereotype of Napoleon Dynamite that made him a star. Granted his performances aren't a far stretch from Napoleon but even still he's lovable and watchable and always manages to be the guy you root for. Heder and Ferrell have great chemistry together and Heder doesn't let Ferrell overshadow him which makes for a great picture. Will Arnett and Amy Poehler play their skating adversaries, the devious and disgusting siblings the Van Waldenbergs. They are used sparingly making their performance funny without being overdone. Everyone is used in light moderation and that's the beauty of this comedy is that it's not TOO MUCH but just enough to make it hilarious. Jenna Fischer is very good as Heder's love interest, and Craig T. Nelson is terrific as the straight man to Heder and Ferrell and they all mesh very well together.
The co-directing team of Will Speck and Josh Gordon seem to really nail how the film needs to fit together. It's not one of the funniest films I've ever seen but it's definitely worth seeing and you can't help but get a few good howls out of it. This entire review is coming from someone who hates spoof movies and overall has never liked Will Ferrell but after seeing this I might be more likely to give him a bigger chance next time around. I think the key to surviving a Ferrell movie is the right director and script and being able to control his off the wall, over exaggerated humor and it just so happens that Blades of Glory does exactly that. 8/10