Blades of Glory
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: March 30, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
22
Mixed:
12
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Washington PostStephen Hunter
To see seemingly reg'lar guys utterly stripped of dignity and defense is cruel enough, but crueler still is the laughter that you cannot seem to stop from rupturing your lungs and aorta. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Blissfully silly, triumphantly tasteless and improbably hilarious.
80
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
The blissfully silly Blades of Glory is one of those rare comedies that puts a goofy smile on your face with the premise alone -- and keeps it planted there right until its wacky finale. Read full review
80
VarietyJohn Anderson
This Will Speck-Josh Gordon-directed farce is the triple axel of comedy. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
I'm looking forward to buying Blades of Glory on DVD so I can get my head around the phenomenal skating routines. Obviously, there were wires and lifts and computer-generated effects, but for my money it looked like the lumbering Ferrell and nerdy Heder were Olympic-worthy stylists. Read full review
75
PremiereGlenn Kenny
It is trim, fast-moving and often quite funny, particularly in the exchanges between Ferrell and Heder -- the former's trademark clueless oafishness meshes nicely with the latter's alternating current of petulance and sweetness. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Fundamentally Blades of Glory works; it's full of laughs both subtle and ridiculous. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
The timing is slack and the jokes repetitive. But, like most Will Ferrell movies, it has enough riotous moments to carry you through the dull stretches. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Some of the jokes are about skating, others are about whatever random thing happened to pop into Ferrell's head with the cameras rolling, and just about all of it is funny. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Call it "Talladega Ice," and you can be nearly certain whether or not you want to see it. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The film is quick, painless, and more than a little brave: not since John Travolta, Jamie Lee Curtis, and the aerobicizers in "Perfect" has so much Lycra been so abused for our pleasure. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
The casting of Ferrell and Heder turns out to be inspired. The direction, by a pair of NYU grads who've only made TV commercials and two short films, is pitch-perfect. And - miraculously - the skating sequences are passably realistic. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
Also fun: tiny characters such as Jimmy's surprisingly helpful stalker (Nick Swardson); the film's final moments, which owe more than a little to "Grease"; and the skating costumes, which take their influence from such cultural touchstones as "Tron." Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
You're under the thrall of a new peculiar couple. Both actors appear to be having fun outmaneuvering each other on the ice and onscreen. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Fast, light, frequently funny comedy. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
The movie is at its funniest and most original when zinging the sometimes pretentious milieu of competitive figure skating. Whatever combination of choreography, camera trickery and special effects were required to render the over-the-top, hyper-real skate numbers, they're executed with wit and ingenuity. Read full review
70
TimeRichard Corliss
It has the slapdash air of a movie that was a little more fun to shoot than to watch. To say that Blades is a little sharper than "Kicking and Screaming," but not nearly so smart as the best parts of "Talladega," is like taste-testing a Big Mac against a Whopper and a Wendy's Classic Double. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Blades of Glory has funny moves even when its characters can barely move, but the film seldom gets past its one basic laugh: that a real man figure-skating is a contradiction in terms. Read full review
67
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
This is Ferrell's movie, and one's tolerance for it will most likely be in direct proportion to one's tolerance for its star's vanity-free fearlessness. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
While funny enough, it's essentially a one-joke movie. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Part of the problem lies in the casting imbalance: Ferrell is so much more adept at this comedy style than Heder. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Dumb with a capital D, Blades of Glory takes its (almost) fleshed-out sketch-comedy idea as far as an ice-skating buddy movie with we're-not-gay jokes and a psycho stalker can go. Read full review
60
SlateDana Stevens
No project involving Ferrell is going to be entirely unfunny, and Blades of Glory does have its moments of loopy ingenuity, even if none of them goes quite far enough. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Ben Stiller produced, and the movie is so reminiscent of "Zoolander" that I wish he had rounded up Owen Wilson and starred in it himself. Farrell and Heder are pretty funny, but they're consistently upstaged by supporting players William Fichtner, Will Arnett, and Amy Poehler. Read full review
60
EmpireNick de Semlyen
Formula rules, as Ferrell applies his schtick to another sport. But there's enough silly spectacle and eye-popping costumes to compensate. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Fans of figuring skating will enjoy much of the silliness, however, because its better moments have fun lampooning all the hoopla that surrounds the sport and there are cameos from the likes of Dorothy Hamill, Nancy Kerrigan, Brian Boitano, Peggy Fleming and Sasha Cohen. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyJulia Wallace
Blades does capture the obvious eccentricities of the skating world, and is funny up to a point, but by now Ferrell & Co. have the formula for a mild comedy down pat. What they need is a little soul. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
The villains, an incestuous brother and sister played by real-life marrieds Amy Poehler and Will Arnett are a hoot. And "Office" honey Jenna Fischer is welcome as Jimmy’s love. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
It's Amy Poehler and Will Arnett, as a rival brother-sister skating team who are a little too intimate for comfort, who seem to be giving it their all. If only the movie had been about them. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The movie's central flaw: it's not funny enough to be worth the price of admission. Read full review
50
SalonStephanie Zacharek
While I don't think Blades of Glory is exactly homophobic -- it's not mean-spirited enough for that -- there's something a little too cheap and easy about the way it plays up to the ultra-straight guys in its target demographic. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
The movie does offer one historical first: Ferrell, who previously appeared with comedian Sacha Baron Cohen ( Borat) in "Talladega Nights," now appears with skater Sasha Cohen (one point). Read full review
50
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
It's funnier than "Wild Hogs," which is about as ringing an endorsement as I'm capable of these days. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Blades of Glory, although mildly amusing, has the dank odor of having gone to the well once too often: Ooh, let's dress up Ferrell like an elf – or an anchorman or a NASCAR driver – and see what happens. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
You know those one-joke "Saturday Night Live" sketches that start to age after six minutes? Blades of Glory is one joke that lasts 93 minutes, costs $11 and could involve sitting next to a guy who retells the movie into his cellphone. Read full review
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