Blades of Glory: Movie Review

Most people probably watched "Blades of Glory," out now on DVD, for Will Farrell and the humor, but as a figure skating fan, I was there for the figure skating. Most of the reviews I've read have focused on the humor and on the cast's performances. "Blades of Glory" is a typical Farrell film, full of crotch and gross-out humor. Of course, not that there's anything wrong with that, as they say. There's a place for that, and Farrell is always there for it. I have to admit, that's not my favorite kind of comedy, but I do laugh when I'm expecting it. So I laughed a lot at this movie.

Other reviews also have tended to compliment the rest of the cast, and I agree that they were exceptional. I have never seen "Napoleon Dynamite," so I was impressed by Jon Heder. Amy Poehler and Will Arnett as the brother and sister pairs team who become Farrell and Heder's nemesis are standouts. One of the funniest parts of the movie is a "chase scene" that starts with speed-skating on a frozen river to Farrell trying to escape Arnett through a lobby. Owen Gleiberman, a film critic for Entertainment Weekly, calls it a "riotously clunky chase," and it's an apt description.

Comedy wise, my other favorite scene was Will Farrell singing "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" into the phone while lying on the floor. There's one thing that must be said about Farrell, and that he knows how to do comedy.

There have been other reviews about the homoerotic nature of the movie and about figure skating itself. David Edelstein from New York Times Magazine insists that "Blades of Glory" is a typical Will Ferrell movie. In most of his films, Ferrell "lovingly ravages the American male psyche." His targets, mostly "TV blowhards and celebrity athletes," are easy and they're parodies, but his films effectively make the point that "real men are those who overcome their fear of looking like sissies." This is definitely not a "pro-gay," movie, but the movie makers don't care, so why should anyone else?