8 - Tuesday, April 3, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Where there 's
a Will...
FERRELL TREATS FIGURE SKATING
TO A LONG-OVERDUE SEND-UP
By KRISTIN MAcDONALD
AssociateArts Editor
You'd think Jon Heder would
be well prepared to face the dregs
of any wardrobe department after
the high-water
jeans and way-
too-tucked-in AAA
T-shirt of"Napo-
leon Dynamite." Blades of
But his fitting
for "Blades of Glory
Glory" still must At Showcase
have given him a and Quality 16
fright. Not only paramount
is Heder tasked
with pirouetting
straight-faced
around an ice-skating rink, he's got
to do it stuffed in a bodysuit of elec-
tric blue, layered with sparkles and
capped at either wrist by a plastic
plume of peacock feathers.
The spandexed world of figure:
skating can be summed up in a
single word: pizzaz. All the ath-
leticism required to vault oneself
spinningseveral feetin the air ulti-
mately means little if not coupled
with big-smiled showmanship.
That unavoidable combination
undercuts the sport's integrity just
as much as it guarantees its TV rat-
ings. It's the Vegas revue of Olym-
pic sports, and therefore pretty
much perfect for reinvention as
another Will Ferrell absurdist fan-
tasyland.
Like mockumentary direc-
tor Christopher Guest, Ferrell
("Anchorman") has developed a
special affinity for poking the soft
spot of vulnerable subcultures. But
while Guest's large casts attempt
to encompass the humanity of his
targeted communities (dog shows,
folk,heavy metal), Ferrell's comedy
relies substantially on his one-man
show. And in "Blades of Glory," he
looks like he's having a ball.
Not that he's veering far from
his established comedy course.
Bad-boy pro-figure skater Chazz
Michael Michaels is Ricky Bobby
without the southern drawl and
Ron Burgundy without the tre-
mendous stache. In other words,
he's the same old Ferrell in a slight-
ly new package. Self-described as
"sex on ice," Chazz exuberantly
trash talks his competition and
sends the ladies swooning with
every split leap of his shredded
leather pants.
Jimmy MacElroy's (Jon Heder)
courtesy of Paramount
How much money would itStake to squeeze you into something like that?
appeal is more of the boy-wonder
type. A skating dynamo since he
could walk, Jimmy quickly devel-
ops into a national sensation, and
his feathered blonde locks even
spark a national rage. The Jimmy
Curl. Raised with a one-track skat-
ing mind, sweet-natured Jimmy is
naive to the point of exaggerated
effeminancy, so when necessity
forces him to combine with Chazz
to form skating's first all-male
pairs team, petty bickering inevi-
tably ensues.
Can Jimmy and Chazz over-
come their differences to defeat
their devious and vaguely German
skating rivals, Stranz and Fairchild
Van Waldenberg ("Arrested Devel-
opment's" Will Arnett and "SNL"
alumAmyPoehler)? Of course they
can. But first they have to slip into
some sequins, glide in beautiful
unison to the soulful strains of "I
Don't Want to Miss a Thing" and
stir up a mix of sexual stereotypes
that would whip any self-respect-
ing gender studies major into a
serious lather.
Clocking in at a merciful 90 min-
utes, the patent silliness of "Blades
of Glory" only slightly overstays its
welcome. Like other recent Fer-
rell comedies, the film lags in any
scene with actual dramatic intent,
but it perks up for its competition
routines with a giddy delight in
skating's signature kitsch (the Van
Waldenbergs's themed tribute to
"street culture" features Louis
Vuitton denim and special Timber-
land skates).
The real-life skating commu-
nity, however, is very much in
on the joke. Sasha Cohen shrieks
when she catches Chazz's gal-
lantly flung jockstrap, and Chazz
himself sports a variety of tat-
toos in remembrance"of past loves
Michelle Kwan and Oksana Baiul.
In its own self-mockery, the sport
actually shows some class.
mystique
know, someone will see that, plus
I want to develop some of my own
projects and do that. "
Not that it would be such a bag
thing: "Even if I was stuck, it's not
a bad place to be," Heder said.
Will this funny man one day
show his dramatic side? "I defi-
nitely am interested in doing.
some more dramatic roles,
he said. "It'd be a lot of fun to
really tap into more - I guess you
could say "serious" (stuff). But you
know, without having to play too
goofy."
Napoleon Dynamite going seri-
ous? Crazier things have hap-
pened.
ARTS IN BRIEF
FILM
Keep a'Lookout'
for this bit of
neo-noir
***i
"The Lookout"
Miramax
At Quality 16 and Showcase
Film noir is not dead.
It's been a long time since the
genre's golden age, and its signa-
ture mix of grit and class has all
but disappeared. But noir is still
alive, and it's looking for a place
in this world. It's been the soul of
several recent movies, and now
its shady ladies, crooked cats and
vague memories of crime stylishly
come wrapped in a tight package
with the excellent new thriller
"The Lookout." It's a significant
step in the right direction for the"
revival of the genre.
This is neo-noir. Chris Pratt
(Joseph Gordon Levitt, "Brick")
is a man without a present. A for-
mer gifted high school athlete and
loved member of a wealthy family,
Chris is now a loner with debilitat-
ing mental difficulties, the victim
of a car crash that was his own
fault. He can't complete thoughts,
remember where items are or even
hold things with his hands. And as
FILM
Philly Pride'
goes few Iaps
"Pride"
Lionsgate
At Quality 16 and Showcase
Bikers have "Breaking Away."
Basketball players can always
watch "Hoosiers." Baseball play-
ers have unlimited options. But
what do swimmers have? Being a
former competitive distance swim-
mer, I've always secretly dreamt
of a kick-ass movie about the pool
for us to embrace. When a sport's
biggest cinematic claim to fame
is "Swimfan," it really has next to
nothing. "Pride" adds verylittle to
this nothing.
To its credit; "Pride" does carry
a powerful real-life foundation. A
former swimmer and product of
the civil rights era, real-life swim
coach pioneer Jim Ellis (portrayed
by the always-bright Terrence
Howard, "Hustle and Flow") starts
a result of his cognitive handicap,
the only 'ork he can get is as a
night janiter at a bank.E
Levitt is a revelation of reinven-
tion,havinggracefullybridgedthat
harrowing gap that separates a
child star (he grew up on TV's "3rd
Rock fromthe Sun") from an adult
performer. He's still young, but
he's completely in tune, and Levitt
embodies the lost golden-boy cop-
ing with difficulties in life. Every-
one hates the jock in high school,
but what happens when something
truly awfulhappens to him?
Coping with the incident and
struggling to feel "normal," Chris
arbitrarily works at a bank, sees
few other people and lives with
close friend Lewis (Jeff Daniels,
"The Squid and the Whale"), a
blind phone operator. Pretty soon,
a mysterious old "friend" (Mat-
thew Gocde ("Match Point"),
makes a deliberate reappearance,
and a sultry temptation (Isla Fish-
er, "Weddisg Crashers") naturally
enters the equation as well.
Gifted scribe Scott Frank ("Out
ofSight,""Minority Report") offers
a directorial debut of stylish cool,
giving cleatnods to a mastered and
almost forgitten era, while retain-
ing its con:emporary flair. Much
happens in only 99 minutes and
the gripping film knows just how
to keep yoa wondering up until
the very end. In many ways, "The
Lookout" nay be this year's nicest
surprise.
BLAKE GOBLE
out workin for the Philadelphia
Departmen of Recreation in the
1970s, and he finds his stride in
refurbishing the center's old pool.
With it cones the attention of sev-
eral Philly ghetto-bred youths who
Ellis antagenizes enough to per-
suade them to a him. Eventually,
he gets then to compete on a more
organized level.
From tlere, the sport doesn't
matter, because everyone knows
the rest of the story. Racial epi-
thets are svapped. Tensions rise.
Montages chronicle progress in
the swimmers' capabilities. And
of course, there's the Big Deal final
competition.
"Pride" hs an interesting story
of racial poltics during the 1970s
andanother boutlearningtoswim
competitively but they never quite
mesh. Not enen the gifted talents
of Howard aid co-star Bernie Mac
("Ocean's Eleen") can elevate the
material. At least the soundtrack
boasts some sellar'70s soul. While
the soundtrak may not be reflec-
tive of 1970s Philly, it's awesome
that characters swim to the Isley
Brothers andThe O'Jays anyway.
BLAKE GOBLE
The man behind the Napoleon
By SHERI JANKELOVITZ Ferrell. "Sometimes you don't actorsworryabouttypecasting,the
Daily Arts Writer know what to expect, but all the fear of being pigeonholed by this
guy cares about is making people character hasn't hindered Heder
Students across the nation rec-
ognize Jon Heder as socially awk-
ward dancing machine Napoleon
Dynamite,butdon'tcall him Napo-
leon. Gosh. His streak of playing
goofy-yet-loveable losers contin-
ues as Heder stars as a disgraced
ice skater looking for one last shot
at gold in "Blades of Glory."
Heder's newest role pits him
alongside icon Will Ferrell, who
he said was less a threat than a fun
co-star.
"Obviously he's an extremely
successful comedian," he said of
laugh and entertaining people."
While Heder has long been
inspired by comedic greats like
Jim Carrey, Chris Farley and,
yes, Ferrell, he's more interested
in leaving his own legacy: "I was
always inspired, but I'm trying to
find my own style and really kind
of capture that and give that out in
my performances," Heder said.
Heder was first propelled to
fame in the title role of "Napoleon
Dynamite," the low-budget 2004
comedy that went on to become
a huge sleeper hit. While other
Jon Heder and the
virtues of being
typecast.
in terms of his future career.
"I'm not too worried," he said.
"If I just keep doing my best with
each new project, hopefully, you
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