''Blades of Glory'' is a 2007 American
sports comedy
A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme (arts), theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport ...
film directed by
Will Speck and Josh Gordon
Will Speck (born December 31, 1969) and Josh Gordon are an American filmmaker duo who generally work in the comedy genre. They have directed six feature films together. Their accolades include an Academy Award nomination.
Speck and Gordon me ...
, written by Jeff Cox, Craig Cox,
John Altschuler
John Altschuler (born 1963) is an American television and film writer and producer known for his collaborative projects with Mike Judge and Dave Krinsky.
Early life
Altschuler grew up in a Jewish family in Carbondale, Illinois. His mother was ...
and
Dave Krinsky
David Krinsky (born February 27, 1963) is an American television and film writer and producer.
Early life
Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He then moved with his family to Fort Lauderdale, Florida as a teen, later attended the Univer ...
, and starring
Will Ferrell
John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 200 ...
and
Jon Heder
Jonathan Joseph Heder (; born October 26, 1977) is an American actor, best known for his role as the title character of the 2004 comedy film ''Napoleon Dynamite''. He has also appeared in the films '' Just Like Heaven'', ''The Benchwarmers'', ''S ...
with
Will Arnett
William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular char ...
,
Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler (; born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy tro ...
,
William Fichtner
William Edward Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on ''Invasion'', Alexander Mahone on ''Prison Break'', Carl Hickman on '' Crossing Lines'', and Adam Janikowski o ...
,
Jenna Fischer
Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...
and
Craig T. Nelson
Craig Theodore Nelson (born April 4, 1944) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Hayden Fox in the sitcom ''Coach'' (for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series), Deputy Ward Wilson in the 19 ...
in supporting roles. It tells the story of a mismatched pair of banned
figure skaters
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
who become teammates upon discovering a loophole that will allow them to compete in the sport again. The film's story was conceived by
Busy Philipps
Elizabeth Jean "Busy" Philipps (born June 25, 1979) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the television series '' Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000), ''Dawson's Creek'' (2001–2003), ''Love, Inc.'' (2005–2006) and '' ER' ...
, who "fleshed out the screenplay".
However, co-writers Jeff and Craig Cox dropped her name from the script. The film was produced by
DreamWorks Pictures
DreamWorks Pictures (also known as DreamWorks SKG and formerly DreamWorks Studios, commonly referred to as DreamWorks) is an American film company and distribution label of Amblin Partners. It was originally founded on October 12, 1994 as a li ...
,
MTV Films
MTV Entertainment Studios is the film and television production arm of MTV Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Founded in 1991 as MTV Productions, it is a consolidation of the former MTV ...
,
Red Hour Films
Red Hour Productions or Red Hour Films is an American film production company operated by actor Ben Stiller and formerly with producer Stuart Cornfeld. In the past, Red Hour has had first-look deals with New Line Cinema, and currently has an exc ...
and Smart Entertainment and released on March 30, 2007, by
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. The film was met with positive reviews.
Plot
Chazz Michael Michaels is a skillful
single skater
Single skating is a discipline of figure skating in which male and female skaters compete individually. Men's singles and women's singles are governed by the International Skating Union (ISU). Figure skating is the oldest winter sport contested ...
but raunchy
sex addict
According to proponents of the concept, sexual addiction, also known as sex addiction, is a state characterized by compulsive participation or engagement in sexual activity, particularly sexual intercourse, despite negative consequences. The c ...
. Jimmy MacElroy is an equally talented and
effeminate
Effeminacy is the embodiment of traits and/or expressions in those who are not of the female sex (e.g. boys and men) that are often associated with what is generally perceived to be feminine behaviours, mannerisms, styles, or gender roles, rath ...
but sheltered skater. From the start, the two rival skaters are clear polar opposites with different backgrounds. Chazz grew up on the streets and is a self-taught skater, while Jimmy was adopted by Darren MacElroy, a wealthy man who adopts children showing exceptional athletic ability.
At the 2002 World Winter Sport Games, Chazz and Jimmy tie for gold as Darren fires Jimmy's coach Darren Goddard over this. While standing on the awards podium after both skaters tie for gold, the two have an argument that escalates into a fight and ends with the World Games mascot being accidentally set on fire. As a result, Commissioner Ebbers of the National Figure Skating Association, despite their best defenses (Jimmy profusely and genuinely apologizing for his role, Chazz merely defending himself by picking up a sports magazine that declared, as did he, that "Chazz Michael Michaels ''IS'' ice skating"), strips both men of their medals and bans them from competitive skating for life. Darren immediately "
unadopts" Jimmy.
Three and a half years later, both men have grudgingly taken on alternative occupations. Jimmy is working at a sporting goods store while Chazz performs on a children's
ice show
An ice show is an entertainment production which is primarily performed by ice skaters. Such shows may primarily be skating exhibitions, or may be musical and/or dramatic in nature, using skating as a medium in order to accompany a musical work ...
until he is fired for being drunk on the job and forcing a performance to be scrapped midway through when he puked first in his costume, then on the ice itself. Jimmy's obsessive stalker Hector tells him of a loophole in the ban which only bans him from men's single skating, allowing him to compete in
pair skating
Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...
. In hopes of entering the upcoming World Winter Sport Games, Jimmy contacts Coach Goddard. Jimmy's search for a last-minute partner leads him to Chazz, but the two men start a fight at the ice show which gets them both arrested. Coach Goddard visits them in jail in order to convince them to skate as the first-ever male-male pairs team.
Coach Goddard informs them that to win, they will need to learn to get along and pull off a move that has never been performed successfully: the "Iron Lotus", an extremely complicated and dangerous maneuver that he had developed years ago. The only attempt of the maneuver was in
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
, and resulted in the man
decapitating
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...
the woman with his skate blade. Nonetheless, they practice the maneuver as Coach Goddard is convinced that two males would be better suited to successfully perform the move. Over time, Chazz and Jimmy become friends.
Meanwhile, brother and sister competitors Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg, who are worried that their spot as the top team is threatened when Jimmy and Chazz perform well at the Winter Sports Games qualifiers, command their younger sister Katie Van Waldenberg to disrupt the duo by going out with Jimmy and then having sex with Chazz. When Katie falls in love with Jimmy after going on a date with him, her elder siblings threaten to harm him if she does not comply. Katie gets Chazz's attention after attending a sex addicts' meeting as the newest member, then invites Chazz to her room and tries to seduce him. Chazz refuses out of respect for Jimmy, delighting Katie, but cannot resist grabbing her breasts. Jimmy witnesses this and is outraged at their betrayals. Chazz attempts numerous times to apologize to Jimmy by voicemail.
In an attempt to sabotage the performance the following day, Stranz and Fairchild kidnap both Chazz and Jimmy, but both are able to escape. As Fairchild kidnapped Jimmy, she revealed to him that she and her brother commanded Katie to have sex with Chazz to make him jealous, and that he did not go through with it out of respect for him. Chazz and Jimmy arrive at the ice rink just in time to compete, where they reconcile quickly and begin their routine. Fairchild, seeing the two doing well, breaks her pearl necklace and throws a pearl onto the ice; Chazz skates over it and breaks his ankle, rendering him unable to perform his role in the Iron Lotus. Jimmy then offers to switch places with him. Although they have never practiced the other's roles, they perform it perfectly, and win the competition.
Jimmy reconciles with Katie, and the two pursue a relationship. Stranz and Fairchild are arrested for the foul play and desecrating a Canadian mascot. They begin arguing, then kissing each other
incest
Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...
uously before being handcuffed by the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
. Jimmy and Chazz receive the gold medal and fly off into the sky via rockets on their skates.
Cast
Production
The film was based on Busy Philipps' idea and she worked on the screenplay. However, in an oral history about the movie for
Nerdist
Nerdist Industries, LLC is part of the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. Nerdist Industries was founded as a sole podcast (The Nerdist Podcast) created by Chris Hardwick but later spread to include a network of podcasts, a premium conte ...
, Craig Cox fully attributed the idea of ''Blades of Glory'' to his brother, Jeff Cox. The oral history has since been updated with information about Philipps' contributions.
Phillips discussed the incident in her memoir, ''This Will Only Hurt A Little'', stating that she should be credited as a co-writer in the credits and that she had registered the idea with the
Writers Guild of America West
The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild. It has around 20,000 m ...
at its inception, having come up with the concepteven suggesting Ferrell as one of the two co-leads (alongside
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known ...
)while she and then-boyfriend Craig were watching television together when he visited her in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, during production of ''
White Chicks
''White Chicks'' is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans from a screenplay co-written by Wayans, Xavier Cook, Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden, with additional contributions by and starring Marlon Wayans and Shawn ...
''.
Seth Rogen
Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series ''Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part on ...
has also said that he and his writing partner
Evan Goldberg
Evan D. Goldberg (born September 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American filmmaker and comedian. He has collaborated with his childhood friend Seth Rogen on the films '' Superbad'', ''Pineapple Express'', ''This Is the End'', '' The Interview'', and '' ...
wrote a draft of the screenplay that included some of the "biggest jokes" featured in the finished movie, but they were ultimately fired and did not receive any credit.
All of the scenes at the National Figure Skating Championships and World Wintersport Games were shot at the
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was a multi-purpose arena at Exposition Park, in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was located next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and just south of the campus of the University of ...
. The stadium used for the outside shoots is the
Montreal Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium (french: Stade olympique) is a multi-purpose stadium in Montreal, Canada, located at Olympic Park in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of the city. Built in the mid-1970s as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics, it is ...
, built for the
1976 Olympics. The outdoor chase scenes were also shot on-location in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. The building used for athlete housing in Montreal was the unique
Habitat 67
HABITAT 67, or simply Habitat, is a housing complex at Cité du Havre, on the Saint Lawrence River, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, designed by Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie. It originated in his master's thesis at the School of Architect ...
, built for
Expo 67
The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...
. The film was delayed for a small undetermined period of time when Jon Heder broke his ankle while doing a skating program for the film.
Reception
Box office
''Blades of Glory'' grossed $118.2 million in the U.S. and Canada and $26.3 million in other territories, for a total of $145.7 million.
The film grossed $33 million on its opening weekend on March 30 – April 1, 2007, with 3,372 theaters, averaging $9,790 per screen, defeating
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's ''
Meet the Robinsons
''Meet the Robinsons'' is a 2007 American computer-animated science-fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The List of Walt Disney Animation Studios films, 47th animated film produc ...
'' to become the number 1 film. It made $22.5 million in its second weekend, losing only 32% of its audience and retaining the Number 1 spot.
Critical response
Review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gave the film an approval rating of 70% based on 188 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Thanks to the spirited performances of a talented cast – particularly Will Ferrell and Jon Heder as rivals-turned-teammates – ''Blades of Glory'' successfully spoofs inspirational sports dramas with inspired abandon." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.
''
The Monthly
''The Monthly'' is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer ...
'' critic
Luke Davies
Luke Davies (born 1962) is an Australian writer of poetry, novels and screenplays. His best known works are '' Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction'' (which was adapted for the screen in 2006) and the screenplay for the film '' Lion'', which e ...
accepted the film as a fun romp, comparing it to Will Ferrell's previous movies ''
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy'' and ''
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby'' and wrote positively of Ferrell's performance, describing that "there is a parodic exhilaration to everything Ferrell does; there's always the sense that any scene is precariously close to being a blooper reel." However, Davies conceded that, like the other two films, the plot was "formulaic ...
ith
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
an obviousness to the set-ups, a no-nonsense compression, a sometimes clunky transition from one sequence to the next" but that it was the film's ability to "venture to fantastically absurd places – to set aside the rapid and hokey forward movement – and there to idle in neutral, in zones of pure comic exploration" and offer "moments of expansive hilarity ... that made the films worthwhile."
Home media
The film was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
and
HD DVD
HD DVD (short for High Definition Digital Versatile Disc) is an obsolete high-density optical disc format for storing data and playback of high-definition video. Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to th ...
on August 7, 2007, and released on
Blu-ray Disc
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...
on May 20, 2008.
References
; Citations
; General references
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External links
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{{Will Speck and Josh Gordon
2007 films
2000s sports comedy films
2000s English-language films
Figure skating films
Films shot in Montreal
American buddy films
American sports comedy films
Incest in film
Films set in Colorado
DreamWorks Pictures films
MTV Films films
Paramount Pictures films
Films directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon
Films produced by Ben Stiller
Red Hour Productions films
Films scored by Theodore Shapiro
2007 directorial debut films
2007 comedy films
2000s American films