Ferrell on form!

Rating: 7/10 (7 April 2007)

This is the story of two figure skaters - Jimmy McIllroy (Jon Heder) and Chazz Michael Michaels (the excellent Will Ferrell) - who, having been disqualified from singles competitions, form the first ever male duo partnership in order to attempt to win ice skating glory. The two leads are like chalk and cheese - Heder's character the clean living, butter wouldn't melt in his mouth type and Ferrell's self proclaimed 'sex addict'. The film itself has laugh out loud moments - mostly involving Ferrell - but, in the second half is also quite a charming film that sees you cheering McIllroy and Michaels along (although, obviously you know what's going to happen). The first 40 minutes of the film are admittedly quite slow as we get to meet the characters and learn a bit about their backgrounds. Yes, it's necessary but you can't help but feel there could have been a few more laughs along the way. Having said this though the second half more than makes up for it. The laughs come thick and fast, often with 'weiner' jokes, but it's the way you, or specifically Will Ferrell, that tells them! The dance and ice skating routines are well choreographed and offer laughs within themselves and there's an overall heart warming climax to the film that you can't help but enjoy. Be you a die hard Will Ferrell fan or not, go see this film for chuckles galore and a good night out!