ACTION SEQUINS Ferrell and Heder strut their stuff.

Figure skating isn’t far from parody to begin with, and Blades of Glory takes full advantage of the comic potential inherent in two rivals chasing each other up escalators…on skates. Banned from singles competition because of a public brawl, disgraced gold medalists Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Heder) team up to “put the bone in Zamboni”—per one announcer—and perform the Iron Lotus, a pairs’ skating move so dangerous its first attempt made heads roll. (Spoiler: It’s really only one head.)

Raised by a breeder of champion horses, Jimmy values precision and grace. Ladies’ man Chazz, meanwhile, was weaned on Detroit’s sewer skating scene and enjoyed a side career in porn. (Signature film: The Iceman Cometh.) Channeling Rip Torn, coach Nelson is charged with getting these two to see eye to eye—and head to crotch—before the first qualifying round.

While not a patch on any of the Wilson-Stiller comedies (which will one day be accorded the reverence given to Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein), Blades of Glory nearly does for skating what Dodgeball did for dodgeball. An underdog fantasy par excellence—Chazz and Jimmy are antagonized by the reigning champs, the ambiguously incestuous Stranz and Fairchild (Arnett and Poehler, respectively)—it benefits tremendously from Ferrell, who could probably make curling even funnier than it is. (In theaters now; click here for showtimes)—Ben Kenigsberg