Film

Will Speck - Blades of Glory

Paul Cook 15/04/2007

Rating: 4/5

Only Will Ferrell could make a film based around men's figure skating work so well, delivering a rip-roaring, quick quipping sports-comedy. Punch-lines lead the processions and step aside at times for sensationally funny visual-jokes, the crotch-hold manoeuvre to name just one, Ferrell's face tells it all.

Surprisingly it's not only Ferrell who will have you in stitches throughout, the Dynamite-star Jon Heder as effeminate, world-champion skater Jimmy McElroy possesses a naivety and honesty that perfectly contrasts Ferrell's sex addicted, rock 'n' roll attitude. The results are hilarious.

Men's doubles figure skating throws up some painful and somewhat homo-erotic problems. A pattern is starting to emerge in Ferrell's films, the exploration of the heterosexual attitudes to homosexuality. Talladega Nights, Ferrell's last box-office smash hit comedy delved a little into this with hugely funny results and as with The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, so with Blades of Glory. Heder and Ferrell bounce ideas and quips off each other with ease and impact.

The supporting cast is also impressive, particularly the character of Hector, Jimmy's stalker played by Nick Swardson, whose weird yet strangely endearing homosexual nature equals much of the film's best moments. Lines like “I want to cut off your skin and wear it to my birthday party” are typical of the frat-pack, randomness of the script.

A firm new pillar placed in the legacy of the Frat-pack, Blades of Glory delivers an unquestionably sharp, on-the-nose script and near perfect performances from most of the cast, especially the powerhouse Heder-Ferrell combination. A must-see at the cinema this month and a must-own on DVD. As Chazz would say “Will Ferrell IS comedy!”