1805. Blades Of Glory (2007)

Starring: Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Jenna Fischer

Director: Josh Gordon, Will Speck

Running Time: 93 mins

Blades Of Glory is an American film about two former world-class figure skaters, once bitter rivals, who are forced to team up as the world’s first male-male duo to find a way back to the top.

At first glance, this film appears exactly like Adam Sandler levels of moronic. By the end, you realise that’s exactly what it is, but the big difference here is that it’s not a painfully unfunny watch. Despite two irritating central performances, the film does very well to make itself not only bearable, but pretty entertaining too.

The main reason for that is definitely down to the story. In general, the sports formula doesn’t make for absolute masterpieces, but it does at least make for a sleek and simple story that’s a good bit of fun as it unfolds.

For me, the best entertainment doesn’t come from the individual gags, but rather the comedy if the situation that these two former world-class figure skaters find themselves in, with Will Ferrell and Jon Heder, as annoying as they are, portraying the comically violent central rivalry pretty well.

And in the end, as predictable as it may be, the competition side of the story adds some good excitement in the final act, including a hilarious skating pursuit through the frozen rivers of Montreal, as well as an unfunny escape set in a toilet.

If there’s one thing I would really take issue with in this film, it would be the fact that the performances by Jon Heder and Will Ferrell in particular are just a little over the top. While they actually work well as a squabbling team together, they’re very annoying on their own, and make for leads that don’t really inspire all that much interest or entertainment throughout.

On the whole, however, Blades Of Glory isn’t all that bad. It’s undoubtedly dumb, and isn’t quite the laugh-a-minute comedy it thinks it is, but for a lighthearted sports movie, it’s engaging enough to make for an enjoyable watch, and that’s why I’m giving it a 7.3.