"Blades of Glory" is so funny that it needed two directors to complete, probably because one was cracking up so much that another director had to be called in. Josh Gordon and Will Speck direct probably the best spoof on ice-skating since 1978's "Ice Castles." Wait, that was a serious movie, wasn't it? Whatever; the fact that Robby Benson was in it made it (for me) a comedy.

Will Ferrell, we already know, will do most anything to get a laugh, to the point that we're already chuckling even before he utters a word. Male ice skaters are pretty muscular, even if their hair isn't, so having to witness Ferrell in spandex and obviously not working out for this role was a scary image that still is stuck in my mind.

Ferrell plays Chazz Michael Michaels, an over-the-top horny version of a John Travolta from "Saturday Night Fever" who plays it straight when it comes to his macho persona.

At the extreme opposite end is "Napoleon Dynamite's" Jon Heder. It's rather frightening at first glance that Jon is actually a guy sporting this classic, '70s hairdo that looks eerily like ice skating goddess Dorothy Hamill when she was competing in the Olympics. What's even scarier is that Heder is in spandex well; he actually looks more the part of an ice skater. Total gender-bender, and as Jimmy MacElroy is more the girly side compared to Ferrell's character. Yet another image burned into my mind is that of his very flamboyant (can you say "gay" anymore?) skating outfit sporting a skin-tight peacock-looking uniform, complete with giant sequins and a big, flaming tail. Emphasis on the "flaming," because, wow, both he and the wardrobe certainly are! Almost sailing through his routine, flapping his peacock wings, was enough to make me burst out laughing!

Both Jimmy and Chazz are fierce competitors on the ice, and there is no love lost between them. Things finally come to a boiling point when, during the World Wintersport Games, the two experience physically what we know they've been thinking, and duke it out big-time for the whole world to see, and because of their antics, are stripped of their gold medals and banned from the sport for life.

Fast-forward almost four years later, and both skaters have found a loophole that would allow them to compete again. The big hurdle, though, is that this means putting aside their differences and working together if they want to compete again on the ice. When I say "compete" this time, though, it isn't against one another but as a team! Would you believe in the classification under pairs skating? Yep, and since no one wants to partner up with either of them (being disgraced from the sport and all), the two decide to pair up as the first male-male figure-skating team in the history of ice skating. As naïve as this may sound, I just figured (no pun intended) that this was an OK thing to do anyway. I mean look at those guy couples in the luge event - they're practically a "couple" already, as riders lie on small sleds and hurtle down an icy track at speeds that can reach 80 mph. That's quite a commitment right there.

As one might expect, there are numerous jokes associated with ice skating, much like there are when men are ballet dancers, but somehow ice skating for guys seems a little easier here to poke fun at. Because of that, the movie tends to work better when the action is taking place in the arena than off. The story tends to cool when our athletes are off the ice.

I will say this, though: Having real-life ice skating champions in "Blades of Glory" not only adds to the credibility of the movie but, more importantly, shows to me that they have a sense of humor when it comes to their sport. There are some impressive names here as well from the world of ice skating, including Peggy Fleming, Brian Boitano, Nancy Kerrigan, Sasha Cohen and, yes, Dorothy Hamill, who I still think was the inspiration for Jon Heder's character. All involved looked as if they were genuinely having a good time.

As for our fictional skaters, both Heder and Ferrell actually did their own skating! OK, so there were stunt doubles digitally inserted for the fancy stuff, but they sure looked good and the finale will not disappoint. Still, I was wondering if I did, in fact, see Tonya Harding in the audience ... Hmmmmm.

- Howie Nave is host/manager of The Improv comedy club inside Harveys and reviews films for seven radio stations throughout northern California and Nevada, including the Sirius Radio Network every Sunday evening. He hosts "Howie's Morning Rush" on Tahoe's KRLT radio and you can see his film reviews every Friday morning on KOLO ABC TV Channel 8.



Keepin' it Reel

Now playing: "Blades of Glory"

Starring: Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Jenna Fischer, William Fichtner, Craig T. Nelson, Romany Malco, Nick Swardson, Scott Hamilton, Andy Richter, Greg Lindsay, Rob Corddry, Nick Jameson, Tom Virtue

Directed by: Josh Gordon and Will Speck

Rated: PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language, a comic violent image and some drug references

Length: 90 minutes

Howie gives it: 4 out of 5 bagels