Blades of Glory
starring Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler and Jenna Fishcer
screenplay by Jeff Cox, Craig Cox, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky
directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck
I saw this movie on the plane returning to Japanin August 2007 and it was so stupidly funny I laughed out loud in the close airplane cabin - and so did the other passengers. So I was happy to watch it again on DVD. It was still really funny, too.
Two singles male figure skaters are banned for life from the sport after a brawl on the ice. But a loophole in Figure Skating Association rules allows them to return as a male-male pair. Of course, there are no male-male pairs in figure skating, so the premise is stupid and funny at the same time. I like almost everything I have seen Will Ferrell in. Watch it and let yourself laugh.
I was interested in cameo appearances by famous figure skaters that I recognized: Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano, Sasha Cohen, Nancy Kerrigan, Dorothy Hamill and Peggy Flemming. Will Arnett and Amy Poehler, too. They are married in real life but play a brother-sister skating pair in the film. There may have been other cameos from performers or retired performers that I did not recognize. See for yourself. Why am I able to recognize so many (former) professional figure skaters by name and/or by face? Well …
Jon Heder speaks one or two lines of Japanese when his character answers a question from a Japanese reporter. Jon Heder actually does speak Japanese, a product of his time in Japan as a Mormon missionary. I could understand what he said, but his accent was horrible.
If your taste in comedy runs to the ridiculous with a streak of silliness that strains the bounds of silly, then watch this one. It’s worth it.