Entertainment

Blades of Glory: Comedy with a Message

Blades of Glory

It can be said that the movie Blades of Glory is considered a piece of classic American cinema. The witty comedy lasts a little over an hour and a half and the main two actors that brought the movie into life are Will Ferrell and Jon Heder.

Will Ferrell’s character name is Chazz Michael Michaels and Jon Heder’s character name is Jimmy MacElroy.

The reviews of this film are very divided, with two totally different opinions of the audience. Either you will love it or hate it. Someone will really enjoy the comedy bits while others will find it unfunny and corny. 

This film delicately balances its tone and brings attention to three things that are very relevant in the real world:

  1. Friendship
  2. Stigma
  3. Competitiveness

Although this movie was released over a decade ago, a lot of people are watching the movie until this day, especially now when it became available on Netflix.

The main reason for that is because the problems which occur in the film are relevant in today’s age. It plays the hyper-competitive world of sports for laughs but also places a lot of questions into context, including how the fans act for their idols.

We can see such behavior now with online casinos with live dealers as well as sports betting, where the fire in the eyes of the people cheering is often even bigger than that of the athletes playing. In our eyes, they are greater than just people.

In a nutshell, this film showed, through various different comedy bits, the meaning of a brotherly kind of friendship, some stigmas in society that need to be broken, and the consequences of toxic competitiveness. 

Movie Summary 

This movie is about two professional ice skaters who are very competitive with each other. They get physical in the middle of the competition and because of that they are kicked out of the competition and banned from men figures skating for life. 

After three and a half years, Jimmy’s obsessed fan finds a loophole in the law which states that he is not banned from doubles competition. Jimmy and Chazz teamed up and that’s how it was made the first-ever double men’s team.

They went through many obstacles together and they had to learn to put aside their differences in order to win the gold medal. Spoiler alert, they succeeded. If you look deeper into this film, you’ll be able to see a lot of valuable lessons hidden behind humor. 

This movie is recommended for people of all ages and interests. Hardcore fans of figure skating will definitely enjoy watching some silly movies. 

But, overall, people will be surprised and impressed with some other moves and tricks that these guys have in store. While there are others like Mario Lemieux who have been said to have skated on the blades of glory, it wasn’t as funny as this movie.

At last, if you keep your mind open, you’ll enjoy this movie without a doubt. If anything, at least you will sincerely laugh a couple of times.

Difference between Reality and Fiction of the “Iron Lotus” Move

What stands out about this movie and its premise is the many dazzling and dangerous maneuvers that Jimmy and Chazz put in their competition. A move that keeps each and every person on the edge of their seat is “Iron Lotus”, both in the fictional universe and us knowing it is fiction.

Many people were wondering if the infamous move is possible to do in real life. The answer is an absolute no.

The “Iron Lotus” is a very risky and fictional move which if done properly will ensure the gold medal to Jimmy and Chazz. But, although the move itself is fictional, it contains out a few legitimate skating moves. 

The move where the “woman’s” feet are around the man’s body is a legitimate move, called a “headbanger”. 

On the other hand, the part where the man grips the woman by her both feet and swings her is not allowed in Olympic competition due to the potential risk of hitting the head on the ice.

Finally, there’s the famous flying kick move, where the woman spins in the air. This move is legitimate and it’s called “butterfly”.

However, in the movie Jimmy and Chazz are jumping towards each other, where one partner’s blade is a millimeter away from the other’s face. 

That move is completely fictional and accomplished with a lot of CGI and wire works. So don’t you ever try to do that in real life.

Aversion to Homosexuality 

It is very noticeable in the movie that heterosexuality is dramatically enforced, while homosexuality is viewed as insanity. This is a play on expectations where male figure skaters, quite unreasonably, are often seen as feminized and plausibly gay.

It is true that skating is a very inclusive sport and that it was accepting of all sexualities quite early compared to some other sports. The film plays more on the misconceptions of the public for comedy than it does with sexuality itself.

There is a misconception that games like hockey are masculine and skating is feminine. Rather, both are very athletic and need dedication much more than anything else.

A perfect example of that is the homosexual character of Hector. He’s portrayed like a creepy stalker throughout the whole movie. The two main characters are both portrayed as heterosexual. 

Chazz’s character is a sex addict and hyper-sexualized, while Jimmy’s character is feminized but still staunchly heterosexual. 

Throughout the movie, the main characters go above and beyond to show off their masculinity by displaying their most attractive features to one another. 

The main characters, on the ice, as part of the competition and rehearsal, are constantly groping, holding hands, and holding each other’s genitals, therefore implying that they have homosexual feelings for one another.

Such twist of narratives and portrayal of both sexuality and ‘’bromance’’ is used to portray the fact that there isn’t any link between sexuality and actual behavior. These stereotypes are not only damaging in real life but are portrayed as absurd in the movie.

The Film Becomes a Reality 

While there’s a handful of movies that are based on something that happened beforehand. This movie actually became a reality a couple of years after the release.

In 2016, two skaters, Dean Copely and Time McKernan performed their act “Fire and Ice” based on the movie “Blades of Glory”. 

They replicated costumes from the movie and they skated along with the song “I don’t want to miss a thing” in the background.

Of course, they didn’t do the most life-dangerous moves like “Iron Lotus” but they did perform some impressive jumps and spins. Needless to say, the crowd went wild. 

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