Blades of Glory (2007)

In which we find out what a Will Ferrell comedy would look like if it was made with minimal effort. Ferrell, predictably, is hilarious -- few comedians have explored the many facets of clueless narcissicm as effectively as he has, and the film's at its funniest when it allows him to spout non sequitors. (The scene where he leaves message after message on Jon Heder's answering machine is a highlight.) The rest of the film, though, is lazy and predictable. Will Arnett and Amy Poehler try, by sheer force of will, to turn their one-note villainous constructs into something worth laughing at and succeed a couple times, Nick Swardson gets some creepily funny dialogue, and the first demonstration of the "Iron Rose" is nothing short of gutbusting. But I can't shake the feeling that nobody was really trying to make anything other than a passable entertainment. At least Heder shows that he can do something that's not just Napoleon Dynamite under a different name.

Grade: C+