Official Synopsis:

"Blades Of Glory is pure hilarity, a gold medal comedy winner" staring comic superstar Will Ferrell (Talladega Nights) and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite). Bitter figure skating rivals Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Heder) brawl after tying for the gold medal at the world championships. Banned for life from men’s competition, these archrivals beat the system thanks to a loophole that allows them skate again - in pairs competition! Co-starring Crag T. Nelson, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler and Jenna Fischer.

Our Take:

I'll admit, I had my reservations about Blades of Glory. As much as a male-pairs figure skating comedy starring Will Ferrell and Napoleon Dynamite sounds like comedy gold, I've learned to be wary of Ferrell vehicles. It seems like for every genuinely hilarious movie he makes (Elf, Old School), he makes one that's equally as awful (Anchorman, Kicking and Screaming). After the mediocre Talladega Nights, I wasn't sure what to expect here.

Blades of Glory is, luckily, one for the win column. In fact, this is one of Ferrell's funniest movies in a while. Oh, it's stupid, don't get me wrong; but it acknowledges its stupidity and at no point takes itself seriously. Because of that, along with a terrific supporting cast and some truly side-splittingly funny moments, Blades of Glory is a ridiculous amount of fun. Ferrell adapts his usual man-child persona into Chazz Michael Michaels, who's still a buffoon but is also "sex on ice." Meanwhile, Heder does some great character work as the naive, asexual Jimmy MacElroy. With Will Arnett and Amy Poehler (real-life husband and wife) playing an evil brother-and-sister team and The Office's Jenna Fischer as Jimmy's love interest, the top-notch cast is clearly having a good time here.

The film looks pretty stellar on Blu-ray, although it’s not one of the strongest visual presentations I’ve seen. I blame the film itself for that, though; aside from the skating numbers, it doesn’t really provide much in the way of interesting things to look at. Picture clarity is solid, though, and colors in the skating numbers (especially with all the costumes) really pop. The film sounds terrific, too, with a surround soundtrack that is far better than most comedies.

The Blades of Glory Blu-ray offers up the same bonus materials as the standard DVD, including a particularly hysterical duet between Ferrell and Heder in the deleted scenes. There are no Blu-ray exclusive features, but all of the extras (except the MTV interstitials) are presented in High def, which is a nice bonus.

* Return To Glory (15 minutes) - A making-of featurette.

* Celebrities on Thin Ice (6 minutes) - A look at Ferrell and Heder's training.

* Cooler Than Ice: The Super Sexy Costumes of Skating (5 minutes) - a look at the costumes from the film.

* Arnett & Poehler: A Family Affair (6 minutes) - Real-life husband and wife Will Arnett and Amy Poehler are interviewed.

* 20 Questions With Scott Hamilton (5 minutes) - Just what it sounds like.

* Hector: Portrait of a Psychofan (3 minutes) - An in-character profile.

* Deleted Scenes (9 minutes) - Four deleted scenes.

* Music Video - "Blades of Glory" by Bo Bice.

* Gag Reel (2 minutes) - A lot of falling clips and other bloopers.

* Alternate Takes (9 minutes).

* MovieFone Unscripted (10 minutes) - An interview with Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, and Will Arnett.

* MTV Interstitials (2 minutes) - Short but funny fake commercials.

* Photo Galleries.

Blades of Glory manages to capture some of the great tropes of classic sports films (the in-film network’s "skater profiles" are fantastic) yet still be a completely silly, over-the-top comedy. It's a terrific combination that adds up to 90 minutes of pure laughs.

RECOMMENDED!

Overall Picture:

Movie: A-

Video: B+

Audio: A
Extras: A-

- Mike Spring

Editor