Paramount meets 20th Century Fox’s fire with ice. In Blades of Glory Will Ferrell reprises his Anchorman/ Ricky Bobby persona almost note for note, but this time he’s wearing Lycra. Ferrell plays Chazz Michael Michaels, the “ice-devouring sex tornado” of men’s figure skating.

His arch rival is Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder, his most satisfying performance since Napoleon Dynamite), the prissy and effete golden boy. The pair clash when asked to share the gold medal at a competition. Things get ugly, the competition mascot is inadvertently torched, and both men find themselves banned from competing for life. However, it seems that there’s a loophole. Chazz and Jimmy can skate again; they just have to do it together. Much comedy is wrung from two men in tights being forced into close proximity.

The writing is as slick as the ice rink they train on; it’s not always successful, but this is a script that puts an Olympic effort into making us laugh. What makes this film a genuinely unexpected delight are the sight gags and set pieces, which often involve cast members sustaining horrible ice-related injuries. I can’t remember a time when I have laughed so long and hard at a decapitation gag.

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