When a much-publicized ice-skating scandal strips them of their gold medals, two world-class athletes skirt their way back onto the ice via a loophole that allows them to compete together as a pairs team.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.2/10
IMDb: 6.3/10
Letterboxd: 3.16/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 70%
Metacritic: 64
TMDB: 6.1/10
Director
Josh Gordon, Will Speck
Production
DreamWorks Pictures, MTV Films, Red Hour, Smart Entertainment
Cast
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, Ben Wilson, William Daniels, Zachary Ferren, Rémy Girard, Steven M. Gagnon
Where to watch
Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
Curator Review
Verdict
A broad, aggressively silly sports comedy that leans hard into absurdity, rivalry, and physical gags. It’s uneven and very dumb by design, but the chemistry between the leads and the commitment to the bit make it a worthwhile watch if you’re in the mood for raunchy, high-energy nonsense.
Best for
fans of broad studio comedies
viewers who like sports-movie parody
people who enjoy outrageous character comedy
audiences looking for early-2000s fratty humor with a queer-coded edge
Skip if
you dislike crude, juvenile jokes
you want a grounded or emotionally sincere sports story
homophobic or transgressive humor is a dealbreaker
you prefer subtle character comedy over loud slapstick
Overview
Blades of Glory is a joke-first comedy that treats competitive figure skating like a battlefield for ego, vanity, and spectacle. The premise is ridiculous, and the movie knows it, pushing every rivalry, costume, and routine as far as it can go for maximum absurdity.
Worth noting
What keeps it afloat is the cast’s total commitment. Will Ferrell and Jon Heder play the central odd-couple dynamic with enough sincerity to make the nonsense land, while the supporting turns keep the movie moving even when the jokes get repetitive. It’s the kind of film that lives or dies on whether you enjoy being bludgeoned by a single comic idea.
Bottom line
The humor is very of its era: crude, mean, and often weirdly flirtatious in a way that has aged unevenly. If you’re open to that specific early-2000s studio-comedy energy, it’s a fun, quotable watch with a surprisingly strong sense of momentum.
Top Letterboxd reviews
saffron (3.5★) · 3569 likes
while watching this, my friend asked me "how is this movie so gay and yet so homophobic?". I didn't have an answer for him
el :) 🪽 (3★) · 2244 likes
the b in lgbt stands for blades of glory
Jack (3★) · 1633 likes
I don’t even know what that means...
nobody knows what it means, but it’s PROVOCATIVE!
no it’s not-
It gets the people going!
molly (3★) · 1563 likes
owen wilson not being in this is the biggest mandela effect ever???
megan (3★) · 1401 likes
“I see you still look like a fifteen year old girl, but not hot.”