Die Eisprinzen

I first saw this movie on a plane flight. Oh dear ! My hysterical laughter didn't go down too well with some fellow passengers. I had an interest in the movie from the start having been an ice skater some years ago. What a great mix of pure comedy and outrageous farce this movie is. Two guys who hate each other forced to make a skating-pair. Ferrell is full on, Heder is petulant. It's clash of two diverse personalities forced to perform as a pair on ice. It is so very funny and ranks as my 2nd favourite comedy movie of all time after "Airplane" (1980)

I saw the press screening of Blades of Glory last night, and I have to say...I haven't laughed so much at a movie for quite some time. Jon Heder shines in his role and portrays a character that seems carefully written to avoid any similarities with Napoleon Dynamite; I was actually surprised that there weren't any references to ND (that I noticed), since there were a few Ferrell lines that reminded me of Anchorman (which was just fine!). Ferrell and Heder work wonderfully together; the ice skating scenes are pulled off very well; and, of course, there are tons of quotable lines. Overall, a funny, satisfying movie (especially if you're into ice skating or Anchorman/Talledega Nights-type humor).

In the world of male solo figure skating, two US giants are ahead of the pack. Jimmy MacElroy was raised from a boy with the single goal of being a champion, with the millions of champion-maker Darren MacElroy behind him. Chazz Michael Michaels is the opposite of MacElroy's perfect presentation – a rough and ready man with a sex addiction but yet undeniable talent. The two have battled for years but things come to a head when they share gold medal position. On the podium a fight breaks out between them and the pair are banned for life from the sport. Years later they are both doing nothing but getting by until MacElroy's stalker approaches them with a loophole in the sport rules – they are only banned from single events, not pairs.

Undeniably silly this thing but yet quite pleasing at the same time. We have seen this sort of sports spoof several times over the last few years and the quality has ranged with some highs in Dodgeball but others not totally working as well such as Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Blades of Glory falls more in the latter camp as it is not brilliant but still has fun if you are in the mood. Considering the idea behind it I was rather surprised that it was not constantly off-the-wall material but mostly it had me amused throughout. The plot is straightforward but serviceable. The skating is outrageously silly (although some of the effects do push it) and overblown in a carefree way. The script does have some really good lines but too often I found myself looking for more than the dialogue was giving me.

Ferrell is good in the main role and he works the fact that, ignoring everything else, he is still a very unlikely figure skater. Heder is very much secondary to him because of the differences in the characters but he is good value for what he gets to do. Arnett and Poehler do tend to steal any scene that they are in, while Fischer is an enjoyable addition. Fichtner, Nelson and others fill out the cast well. As with Dodgeball, I enjoyed the commentators and the script does make good sport of them, but I would have liked them to have been more a part of the film than they were.

Overall though, despite it not being the most hilarious or clever thing you'll ever see, it does have plenty of laughs and did consistently amuse me even it did lack that many really good moments.

When I first saw the trailer for this film I didn't think much of it. It looked as if it were just trying to cash in on the popularity of Will Ferrel after the success of Talladega Nights. Well, I was wrong, big time wrong. First off, almost every scene in this film is hilarious and the trailer does it no justice. Don't get me wrong, I love Will Ferrel films for the most part but this one looked like it would be an exception. Instead this film fits perfectly with my taste in comedies like Talladega Nights, Zoolander, Anchorman, Water Boy, Old School and Billy Madison. If you like these kinds of films you will love this film.

From the very first second I laid eyes on the absolutely hilarious poster for this film, in my neighborhood multiplex a few months ago, I knew with extreme certainty that I'd be seeing it the very first week it opened. Caught it on Wednesday and I'm here to say the movie most definitely delivers on the promise of the poster, big time.

Jon Heder finally gets a role he can have some fun with for a change (which hasn't really happened since Napoleon Dynamite), and he's superbly cast as the sheltered and phobic Jimmy MacElroy, the perfect foil for Ferrell's sex machine on skates, Chazz Michael Michaels. Ferrell is fast becoming more and more adept at portraying genuine characters in his movies, not merely hollow caricatures, and he is clearly in his element here.

The beginning of the movie, the set-up, is wonderfully written, and the over-the-top tone that's established in these opening scenes is successfully carried throughout. The energy level stays high, the plot never gets tedious or bogged down, and, best of all, the routines that the two of them perform together as partners are truly hilarious and original. I was left wanting more, and that speaks volumes.