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Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this Will Ferrell comedy has lots of verbal and sight jokes about sex, homosexuality, drinking, and drugs. There are goofy-but-sometimes-violent physical gags (like a decapitation that features obvious use of a mannequin and fake blood) and ads for sponsored products. Characters fight, get cut by skate blades, shoot harpoons (one hits a mascot in the head and scares screaming children), and do some painful-looking stunts on the ice (splits, falls, ice burns). Figure skating's foppish reputation is skewered repeatedly, with over-the-top spandex costumes, poofy hair, make-up, and histrionic ice dancing. It's especially evident when the two main characters team up to form a spandex-clad male-male pair who hold hands, perform lifts, and accidentally grab and kick each other's crotches. Language includes repeated uses of "sucks," "damn," "s--t," and "ass."
Families can discuss Will Ferrell's appeal. What makes something a "Will Ferrell comedy"? What do many of Ferrell's characters have in common? How are they different? What other kinds of characters has he played? Which do you like best? What age group do you think movies like this one are aimed at?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Cynthia Fuchs
As pleased with itself as any other Will Ferrell comedy, BLADES OF GLORY targets buddy and sports movie conventions, and -- oh yes -- ponders the implied "gayness" of figure skating.
As ice-skating superstar Chazz Michael Michaels (aka the "Tsunami of Swagger"), Ferrell is loudly ridiculous and oversized, both figuratively and literally -- he gained weight for the part, with his eyes receding into his fleshy face and his belly stretching his spandex costumes. It's all meant to illustrate Chazz's prodigious ego and appetites: A clinically diagnosed sex addict and no-holds-barred competitor, Chazz is Ricky Bobby times 10. In other words, he loves himself just a little too much.
And so, per formula, he'll have to learn to love someone else. Namely, Jimmy (Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder) another acclaimed men's singles champion. An orphan adopted by self-aggrandizing billionaire Darren MacElroy (William Fichtner), Jimmy has been trained to win, with his pretty blond coif, affection for glitter makeup, and lithe form making him the exact opposite of Chazz.
When Chazz and Jimmy's fierce rivalry leads to a brawl during an awards ceremony, egos are bruised, noses are bloodied, and both men are banned from future competition. That is, until Jimmy's most dedicated stalker-fan (Nick Swardson) comes up with the bright idea that they re-enter the circuit as a pair. The idea is so preposterous and yet so obvious -- after all, figure skating has such a "gay" reputation -- that it makes everyone nervous, including fellow skaters who worry about their own hetero-masculine reps. And yet, the guys' coach (Craig T. Nelson) soon has them doing lifts and leaps that no mixed-sex pair can manage (including goofily immature homophobic/homoerotic gags like repeated crotch grabs and a doubled faces-in-crotches pose).
Chazz and Jimmy's success ignites the ire of siblings/reigning champs Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (real-life spouses Will Arnett and Amy Poehler). Desperate to prevail at all costs, the Van Waldenbergs scheme to ruin their rivals -- first trying to break up the team, then imprisoning them during the World Championships.
More a series of gags than a properly plotted story, Blades of Glory does offer a couple of very funny bits, including one in which a speedy chase on skates down a frozen river leads Chazz and Stranz to the shore. Their rage and fierceness are suddenly stymied, as they must walk -- legs bending and figures contorting as they wobble on their blades -- across a street, across a linoleum floor, and up an escalator.
But as clever as such physical business can be, the film's overwhelming focus is the sexuality anxiety signified by figure skating. While the movie does give Jimmy the requisite heterosexualizing girlfriend (The Office's Jenna Fischer), all that really matters is the pair. Will they make it? You get one guess.
Fans may also enjoy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Anchorman, and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. More straightforward skating movies include 1941's Sun Valley Serenade (starring three-time Olympic champion Sonia Henie) and The Cutting Edge.
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Sexual ContentChazz's early "sex on ice" performances include choreographed crotch grabs and pelvic thrusts; he also licks a fan's face and intimidates Jimmy with sexual bravado (mouthing "I want you," etc.); references to "classic Euro-porn" and Chazz's Adult Film award; a woman wears a sexy corset to seduce a man; lots of crotch grabs and reaction shots to indicate discomfort or arousal; discussion of lyrics in the song "My Humps; Jimmy's stalker fan makes repeated bizarre sexual/romantic comments; discussion of Chazz's conquests includes him saying that he "tapped" Michelle Kwan. |
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ViolenceAwards ceremony fight leaves faces bloodied; another comic fight involves punching, kicking, and body-tossing; Jimmy's slide across the ice on his chest produces a visible burn; Jimmy is handcuffed to a toilet; a rival shoots at Chazz with a harppon, accidentally hitting the mascot in the head and frightening children. |
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LanguageRepeated uses of "damn," "ass," "s--t," "bitch," and "hell" (Chazz says their new routine will go "straight up the ass" of figure skating), as well as other language ("turd," "balls," "wiener") and name-calling. |
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Social BehaviorSex jokes are homoerotic and homophobic; skaters are fierce, devious, and violent rivals ... then Chazz and Jimmy learn to be nice. |
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CommercialismProducts listed on the sides of the rink and otherwise visible include Verizon, 7/11, X-Box, Nationwide Insurance, Cup O' Noodles, Mane 'n' Tail shampoo, Foot Locker, Subway, and Fruit Loops. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoChazz is drunk during his performance in an ice show for kids (drinking, vomiting, slurring his words); mention of Quaaludes. |
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