Perfect Pair

Rating: 9/10 (1 April 2007)

In "Blades of Glory" Will Ferrell and Jon Heder boldly go where no men have gone before: the world of competitive pairs figure skating. Directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck's "Blades of Glory" on the surface does not appear to be a big budget movie, but it delivers the big laughs in a stupid funny movie that is just plain funny. "Blades of Glory" is hysterical. No one does straight brazenly stupid like Will Ferrell. As figure skater Chazz Michael Michaels, whose tag is "Sex on Ice", Ferrell takes no prisoners. Jon Heder as rival figure skater Jimmy MacElroy, is the perfect straight-man. Amazingly, Ferrell and Heder are true comedic partners. "Blades of Glory" works, because Ferrell and Heder play it straight up. One does not try to out funny the other. Instead they play their roles in earnest, and let the screenplay by Jeff Cox and Craig Cox generate the laughs. This figure skating parody may lack some of the bite of the "Talladega Nights" take on NASCAR. However, "Blades of Glory" provides a breeze of authenticity with appearances by Scott Hamilton, Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, and Brian Boitano. Confessed sex addict Chazz (Ferrell) even makes an outrageous pass at Nancy Kerrigan.
Ferrell and Heder play arch rival figure skaters Chazz Michael Michaels and Jimmy MacElroy. Chazz is the skating outlaw and sex symbol on ice. Jimmy is the distinctively sensitive orphan child prodigy. Following a ridiculous awards brawl after tying for Olympic Gold, Chazz and Jimmy are banned from Men's Singles competition for life. Three and a half years later, Jimmy's Coach (Craig T. Nelson) discovers a loop hole in the ban. The lifetime ban does not apply to pairs figure skating competition. Therefore, Chazz and Jimmy make history and the tabloids as the first ever male-male pairs team. Coach inspires his men that as a male-male pairs team they can risk moves that other mixed pairs can'tincluding his "Iron Lotus" death spiral. Chazz and Jimmy challenge the reign of pairs champions Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (Will Arnett and Amy Poehler), an eerie brother and sister duo. Innocent Jimmy is smitten by the Van Waldenberg's younger sister Katie (Jenna Fischer). Thus, the stage is set. Can Chazz and Jimmy overcome their egos and determine who the dude of the pair is? Can Coach inspire his men to reclaim their past greatness? And is there no limit to the ruthlessness of the Van Waldenbergs? Well, "Blades of Glory" is predictable to its soul. However, it is also refreshingly funny. There are groin jokes, and there are more groin jokes.
Most of the humor comes from perfect casting of the characters. Will Ferrell's Chazz is so shamelessly stupid and arrogant; one need only applaud and admire. Ferrell's gift is that he stays in character throughout, oblivious to how funny he is. He and Heder have great chemistry. They have a hilarious scene where Chazz describes the origin of his tattoos. Jon Heder is a surprise. He actually fleshes out the sensitive Jimmy as a charming innocent. His relationship with Katie (Jenna Fischer) is humorously sweet and awkward. Fischer is also great as Katie, an unwilling pawn of the Van Waldenbergs. Craig T. Nelson is awesome. He provides a surreal and ridiculous authority. The only weakness may be Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (Will Arnett and Amy Poehler). Though likely more an artifact of the story, Stranz and Fairchild are inept and evil without posing any real comedic threat. Arnett and Poehler are funny, but in a one note fashion.
As ridiculous as the skating scenes are, they land with artistry and style. Gordon and Speck orchestrate the ice with skill. The sliding "scissors" move by Chazz and Jimmy had me laughing so hard I couldn't breath. The training scenes with Chazz and Jimmy are hysterical. "Blades of Glory" gets high marks for degrees of over the top, and certainly for delivering the big laughs.