Why It Ranks
Blades of Glory takes an absurd premise and executes it with total commitment. Ferrell's Chazz Michael Michaels is an all-time comedy character. The film grossed $145M and proved figure skating comedy had mass appeal.
The Film
Blades of Glory is a gleefully absurd comedy about two rival male figure skaters banned from singles competition who discover a loophole: there is no rule against a male-male pairs team. Will Ferrell and Jon Heder commit fully to the insanity, and the figure skating sequences are both ridiculous and weirdly impressive. The Iron Lotus finale is comedy gold.
Fun Facts
Real figure skaters performed as doubles for some of the more complex skating sequences.
The Iron Lotus move is based on a real (illegal) pair skating throw.
Will Ferrell and Jon Heder both learned basic skating for the role.
The film was partially inspired by the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan rivalry.
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