Ice skating, the funny way
Jimmy MacElroy is a championship figure skater and he lives a very simple, innocent life. Chazz Michael Michaels is a renegade figure skater, who is the very opposite of MacElroy, and rivals. When MacElroy and Michaels tie and win gold medals, the podium is too small to hold such large egos. Both get in a fight and both are banned permanently after setting the skating mascot on fire. The consequence of getting banned leaves MacElroy without an adopted father and Michaels drunk in a kids ice show. When it seems bleak, an obsessed fan named Hector points out to MacElroy that he could still compete in pairs rather than single. With almost no hope of finding a pairs partner in time, he somehow ends up with Michaels and they become the first male/male pair skating team. As good as they are, they become a threat to the pair champions, Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg, who will do anything to stop MacElroy and Michaels future success. Will they stop them? Will they take away any chance to the male/male team to win? You must watch to find out…
The movie is simple, predictable and funny. I know somewhere along the way I have despised this film. After viewing it a second time, these two actors really work well together. Ferrell, hate him or love him, creates comedy on the fly and, more importantly, really enjoys it. He has no shame in this film, none at all. As for Jon Heder, he plays the perfect pretty boy. When he swoons over the whale bone brush that Ferrell has, you can just see Heder living the character perfectly. The story itself is something you would see from an 80’s film, like a Better Off Dead type of film. You have a storyline that is simple, two skaters get banned, find a solution and then have competition. It’s an average formula, but what makes the difference are the actors. Ferrell and Heder bring the comedy and they deliver it well. Hell, even Arnett (Stranz) and Poehler (Fairchild) bring the evil in the funniest. It’s a great balance between the actors and their characters and they make the movie better. The movie, from a distance without these personalities, is not particularly good.
Overall, a funny movie, but it certainly won’t win any Academy Awards anytime soon. Thank God for that, then it might stink.
As cool as ice, HD
The new Blu-ray format, especially for recent films, makes this look nice. For the majority of this film, it’s bright colors, flashy stuff, plenty of snow and it all looks gorgeous in HD. Films like this really shine on this format. Not to mention that they sound great as well. The skating sounds coming through all speakers, even though this is a comedy and it isn’t meant to be taken seriously, sounds unbelievable. Visually, audibly, it’s all good on Paramount’s newly adopted format.
As for the special features, you get a ton! Here’s what you’re looking at:
-Return to Glory: The making of Blades of Glory
-Celebrities on Thin Ice
-Cooler than Ice: The Super Sexy Costumes of Skating
-Arnett and Poehler — A Family Affair
-20 Questions with Scott Hamilton
-Hector: Portrait of Psychofan
-Moviephone Unscripted with Will Ferrell, Jon Heder and Will Arnett
-Deleted Scenes
-Alternate Takes
-Gage Reel
-Photo Gallery
-Music Video “Blades of Glory” by Bo Bice
-MTV Interstitial
For a movie that isn’t the greatest in the world, definitely not the worst and is a pure comedy, there are a lot of entertaining features here. I’ve seen less features on Award winning films. There is some entertainment in all of these features, with really excellent entertainment coming through the Making of, the Hector documentary and the 20 Questions with Scott Hamilton (who was probably really great about this type of humor about a sport he really loves).
Everything else is entertaining nonetheless.
No shame in bronze
Again, the movie only works because of the characters. The story was built for the actors and actresses and it plays out brilliantly because of them. It doesn’t work without them, which bad, but good. As for the Blu-ray version of the film, it is nice to see it in HD. Great visuals, good audio, excellent features. If you’re a fan of Will Ferrell or Jon Heder, then you’ll want this Blu-ray on your shelf. Otherwise, it may be a very good rental for a Saturday evening.