Reviewed by Lamar Kukuk
5/13/07
You can't say enough about
the influence that Saturday Night Live has had on the shape of movie
comedy over the last 30 years. First, by starting the careers of
dozens of stars, from Chevy Chase and John Belushi to Adam Sandler and
Will Ferrell. Then, with the 1992 hit Wayne's World, by introducing
a new kind of film that's basically a 90-minute SNL sketch:
the broadest possible characters living in a world only suggested by our
own, jam-packed with referential humor and celebrity cameos. Even
when they're not directly inspired by SNL sketches, this sub-genre
usually stars vets of the series, and no one's had more success at it than
Ferrell, star of the new Blades of Glory. Because you're not
being asked to bond with realistic characters or follow a demanding (or
even lucid) story, the SNL-style comedy's quality is entirely tied
to the answers to two questions: how funny are the performances and
how good are the jokes? In the case of Blades of Glory, the
answer to both questions is “pretty”.
Chazz Michael Michaels (Will
Ferrell, playing skater as narcissistic rock star) and Jimmy MacElroy (Jon
Heder, straight-arrow innocence in a funny blond wig) were America's top
male singles ice skaters, but their furious feud led to a humiliating incident
at a medal ceremony that got them both banned for life. From there,
it's a one-way ticket to rock bottom, Jimmy working in a shoe store and
Chazz skating as an evil wizard in an awful children's production.
But one day, Jimmy's dedicated stalker Hector (Nick Swardson) shows up
with a plan: the lifetime ban only keeps him from skating “in his
division”, meaning he could return as part of a pairs skating team.
With
only days to qualify for the World Championships, his scramble to find
a partner produces only one possibility: Chazz. Jimmy's old
Coach (Craig T. Nelson) loves the idea, and he takes the pair on.
Their wild routines have soon won over the crowds, but the rival brother
and sister team of Stranz (Will Arnett) and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (Amy
Poehler) will stop at nothing to knock them out of the competition.
Will true love bloom between Jimmy and the Van Waldenberg's younger sister
Katie (Jenna Fischer)? And can Jimmy and Chazz pull of Coach's fabled
Iron Lotus maneuver without cutting off one of their heads?
Ahhh, the Iron Lotus, whose
previous failed attempt (before North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il) is likely
the funniest sight gag of the year. Blades of Glory's greatest
attribute is that when the jokes hit, they're not just cute, they're hilarious.
There's a really funny foot chase between two guys on skates and a great
sequence where Jimmy and Katie talk on the phone while Chazz and the Van
Waldenbergs give the romantic novices more and more perverse advice on
what to say. In general, the contrast between Chazz's status as a
“chic magnet” and “sex addict” and Ferrell's utterly ridiculous appearance
and manner works really well once the movie hooks him up with Heder's constant
disgusted glare. The two make a surprisingly winning comic team.
I've read that Ferrell improvised more than 80% of his dialog and it wouldn't
surprise me: a big part of Chazz's appeal is that it's impossible
to guess what strange, delusional thing he's about to say next (“They laughed
at Louis Armstrong when he said he was gonna go to the moon. Now
he's up there, laughing at them.”).
There's some game work in
the supporting cast as well. In the familiar role of Coach, Nelson
knows how to sell comic intensity, and Fischer's natural sweetness works
perfectly in her naïve role. William Fichtner is a hoot as the
billionaire who raised little orphan Jimmy, but his role is so prominent
in the opening scenes that it's just weird how he never returns after an
early exit. Arnett and Poehler are acceptably amusing villains, although
the movie would have benefited from stronger performances in those roles.
A variety of real-life skating icons make game cameos (I especially enjoyed
Nancy Kerrigan's reaction when Chazz hits on her).
Things get off to a slow
start: neither Chazz nor Jimmy is all that funny alone (you'll probably
enjoy the opening third more if you think Chazz Michael Michaels is actually
a funny name). But by the end, when it all comes down to that one
chance to nail the Iron Lotus for the gold, I was surprised to find myself
really rooting for these goofballs. I don't follow the sport, but
I can pretty much guarantee that the movie's outrageous maneuvers don't
much resemble real pairs figure skating (whose rules don't really allow
same-sex pairs). But when you can use your skates to swordfight to
the tune of Queen's “Flash's Song” (all together now: “Flash!
Ah-ah!”), who needs realism?
Co-directors Josh Gordon
and Will Speck created the Geico Cavemen ads, so they know how to make
stupid funny. It took a boatload of writers to wrestle the story
down, but they did succeed in creating a story engaging enough to get us
from one silly moment to the next. Blades of Glory won't change
your life, cure cancer, or win any Oscars. But it sure is a lot funnier
than any SNL episode I've seen lately. And any movie crazy
enough to attempt the Iron Lotus is OK by me. |
