Review: Blades of Glory

If you're looking for 90 minutes or so of pure silliness and fun, then head to the multiplex for Will Ferrell's new movie, "Blades of Glory." Much as he did in his last sports film, "Talladega Nights," Ferrell becomes Joe Ordinary in the guise of a professional figure skater. The basic story: Ferrell - Chazz Michael Michaels - is banned for life from men's figure skating after engaging in a brawl with his rival, Jimmy MacElroy (played by Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder). The two decide to partner up, and become the first male-male pairs in skating history.

I kept thinking of "The Cutting Edge" - the 1992 cult classic with DB Sweeney and Moira Kelly as a skating pairs in a love-hate relationship - the relationship between the guys in this one is just like it!Credit to the writer and director for not exploiting the male-male aspect - the gay jokes are kept to a real minimum. Real-life husband and wife Amy Poehler and Will Arnett are hysterical as the rival team, a twisted brother-sister act. Tons of wonderful cameos by real-life skating icons, like Nancy Kerrigan, Dorothy Hamill, Brian Boitano, and Sasha Cohen. Jim Lampley and Scott Hamilton are perfect caricatures of themselves - my favorite Lampley line was that the team "puts the bone in Zamboni."

And Ferrell is simply twisted, funny, outrageous - himself. He is becoming an expert at the ordinary-guy-in-not-so-ordinary circumstances. You watch him, and it's like he's winking at the camera the whole time - like he's telling us he knows this is all silly, but just sit back and enjoy the ride. And I did.

Simple mindless fun!