Blades of Glory (2007)

Directors:

Josh Gordon
Will Speck

Writers (WGA):

Jeff Cox (screenplay) &
Craig Cox (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 March 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

Kick Some Ice

Plot:

In 2002, two rival Olympic ice skaters were stripped of their gold medals and permanently banned from men's single competition. Presently, however, they've found a loophole that will allow them to qualify as a pairs team.

Plot Keywords:

Competition | Ice | Fight | Figure Skating | Rivalry

Awards:

3 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Will Ferrell	...	Chazz Michael Michaels
Jon Heder	...	Jimmy MacElroy
Will Arnett	...	Stranz Van Waldenberg
Amy Poehler	...	Fairchild Van Waldenberg
Jenna Fischer	...	Katie Van Waldenberg
William Fichtner	...	Darren MacElroy
Craig T. Nelson	...	Coach
Romany Malco	...	Jesse
Nick Swardson	...	Hector
Scott Hamilton	...	Sports Anchor
Andy Richter	...	Mountie
Greg Lindsay	...	Mountie
Rob Corddry	...	Bryce
Nick Jameson	...	PA Announcer
Tom Virtue	...	Floor Manager

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language, a comic violent image and some drug references.

Runtime:

USA:93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Ireland:15A | UK:12A | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Germany:6 | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43376) | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Finland:K-11 | Malaysia:U | Sweden:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Brazil:14 | South Korea:15 | France:Unrated | Australia:M | Canada:14+ (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Habitat 67, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Chazz Michael Michaels' skating style was inspired by the skating style of Elvis Stojko.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Stranz and Fairchild watch a video of Chazz and Jimmy skating, several seconds of footage is shown, but the on-screen timer never advances.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Darren MacElroy: [watching a young Jimmy skate at an orphanage] I'll take him.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 2007 MTV Movie Awards (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Good Vibrations

Classic Farrell and Heder - which actually works out really well!

What can I say? The whole theater laughed during this whole movie. There were a few cheap laughs and some very obvious jokes thrown in, but the delivery was par for the course as far as Farrell is concerned. In other words, if Farrell is your kind of comedic character, you'll love this movie. If, say, Hugh Grant is your idea of a comic character, you'll probably hate this movie. Will Farrell's character was essentially Ron Burgundy on ice skates, which is a great idea. Ron Burgundy was, of course, the embodiment of the so-called "alpha-masculine" persona of the '70s and '80s. - unabashedly proud, sexist, and narcissistic. Put him into a sport that in many peoples' eyes in inherently effeminate and you've got a sure-fire crowd pleaser.

Jon Heder was a little less Napolean Dynamite-ish in this movie. He is still the same innocent, ignorant, nerdy, awkward person as in his debut character. That said, he is a little more image-aware in this character, and as the movie progressed I saw less Napolean Dynamite (a major problem in his career until now, IMO), and I saw more of this "other" character. Heder's character is hard to describe other than to say it is Napolean Dynamite combined with Derek Zoolander - a lovable ignorant narcissist. Put that on ice skates opposite Ron Burgundy the figure skater and you have 93 minutes of great fun.

What really makes this film work is Farrell's willingness to do anything in a movie and Heder's reluctance to do such things. They are polar opposites as far as comedic actors and their comedic emphasis are concerned. But those two personalities really work well to complement each other on screen in this film. 8/10