Michaels and MacElroy are polar opposites, both on and off the ice. Michaels is a hot-headed ladies man who doesn't care about routine and improvs on the ice, while MacElroy has been trained from a young age to be the most perfect, in form and function, ice skater. During the World Games, the two competitors, both skating for America, tie for the gold medal, but because of their aggression towards each other, not only do they get the medals revoked, but they are also banned from any Men's Singles competition.
After three years of being down on their luck, Jimmy is reminded that he can still compete, just not in any Singles competition, so he re-hires his old coach (played by none other than Craig T. Nelson) to help him find a partner. When a confrontation between MacElroy and Michaels leads to flying fists, Coach realizes that they compliment each other perfectly and can be the first male-male paired ice-skating team to go to the World Games. Of course, the two have a few differences to work out first.
Meanwhile, the top-ranked American pair of Stanz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (Will Arnett from Arrested Development and Amy Poehler from Saturday Night Live) get wind of this new team and have their younger sister, Katie (Jenna Fischer of The Office), spy on the duo. But they didn't count on Katie and Jimmy falling for each other.
Blades of Glory also comes packed with quite a number of featurettes. There is a making-of piece, as well as one that shows the stars learning how to ice skate, and a sit-down interview with former Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton. One of my favorite interviews is with Will Arnett and Amy Poehler as they talk about working together as a married couple. Another interesting clip is the Moviephone Unscripted interview with Arnett, Ferrell and Heder. The three of them answer various questions submitted over the internet as well as questions they come up with on their own. It's obvious from this feature that the three actors became good friends during the making of Blades of Glory.
This movie is a roller-coaster involving a pair of skaters who start off hating each other and eventually become friends. The ice-skating itself is pretty neat, but there are an awful lot of wires involved in many of the sequences, especially during the fabled Iron Lotus move. While not the funniest movie I've seen, there are quite a few moments, and I love the way Ferrell, Heder and Arnett play off of each other. If you are looking for a generally fun ride, then give Blades of Glory a chance, but I don't think it's necessarily worth a purchase.
