Escorregando para a Glória

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.

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.

I wasn't expecting much from this movie for two reasons: a) Heder hasn't done anything funny since Napoleon Dynamite and b) I thought Will Ferrel's shtick would start to run thin. Both actors played the type of character I expected from them. Heder gave something similar to the Napoleon Dynamite character and Will Ferrell was Will Ferrell. What I didn't expect was the humor. Ferrel carried the show and played the funniest character by far, but Heder didn't drag him down like I thought he would and the two worked well together. Heder was Jack Lemmon to Ferrell's Walter Matthau.

As far as the supporting cast, Poehler and Arnett were good as the Machiavellian doubles team that are the skating rivals to Ferrell and Heder's characters, but no one else really stood out. Jenna Fischer was lackluster as Heder's love interest and Craig T. Nelson did not make for a funny or interesting character either. Two people I thought would have been able to shine in larger roles were Andy Richter and Rob Corddry. Both are funny guys, much funnier than Nelson or Malco, and were underutilized in this film.

The humor was low brow to be sure, just like in every other project Ferrell does, but I happen to like that sort of humor, so I enjoyed it.

I saw the preview several days ago and figured it was just another case of, "put the funniest parts of the movie in the trailer to hook the public and then be disappointed later", but I was surprised and the comedic cohesion between John H. and Will F.. The dialouge was some of the funniest I've heard in awhile and the physical comedy was timed perfectly. This is not just another mediocre performance from Heder and Will that we have grown accustomed to. This movie really delivers and there were plenty of great cameos. Including Jenna Fisher from the office and even Nancy Carrigan. If you truly have an eye for good comedy, they you'll love this movie. I think it was the best comedy I have seen in awhile.

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).