Retro Film Review: Blades of Glory (2007)

After parodying dodgeball in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and NASCAR racing in Talladega Nights, Hollywood found the opportunity to give the same treatment to the visually interesting yet largely ignored sport of figure skating. That opportunity was taken in Blades of Glory, a 2007 film directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon.

The protagonists of this film are two top-tier but quite different figure skaters - the humble, quiet, and effeminate Jimmy McElroy (played by Heder) and the brash macho Chazz Michael Michaels (played by Will Ferrell). They differ in many ways, but not in the amount of ego or their inability to handle defeat in a sporting manner; the latter becomes apparent when they have to share a gold medal at a World Sports Games. The result is a brawl that leads to a lifetime ban from competitive skating. Years later, Jimmy's former coach (played by Craig T. Nelson) comes up with a brilliant idea to bring them both back on the ice. They are to compete as a pair by exploiting loopholes in the skating federation's rules, using physical strength to perform skating routines that male-female pairs cannot.

Blades of Glory doesn’t deviate much from the formula of American sports films, resulting in a fundamentally shallow movie, though it is made more watchable by a few interesting details and a top-notch team of comedians. Alongside the dependably good Will Ferrell is Jon Heder, who has made a considerable effort to move his career beyond his breakthrough performance in Napoleon Dynamite, and who forms a rather impressive comedic duo with Ferrell. This duo is, however, overshadowed by real-life spouses Will Arnett and Amy Poehler, who play Van Vandelberg, siblings who are rivals to the main characters.

Viewers who follow events in the world of figure skating will find Blades of Glory entertaining due to a series of references to some spicy incidents related to the sport, primarily the scandal stemming from the rivalry between Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, the latter appearing in the film in a small role.

However, the most attention and controversy around the film arose from misunderstandings and stereotypes related to the sexual orientation of the main characters, leading some "politically correct" critics to label it homophobic. On the other hand, when the obligatory romantic subplot involving Jimmy's new girlfriend Katie (played by Jenna Fischer) is introduced, Blades of Glory becomes predictably conventional, although the finale contains a few bright moments.

Fortunately, Blades of Glory is short enough for its flaws — including the underutilisation of the comedic talent of William Fichtner — not to overly irritate viewers. Hence, this routine comedy might have been on thin ice, but ultimately did not sink.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

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