The plot is largely inconsequential: two rival figure skating champs, Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder), lose their medals and are stripped of their license. Years later, a loophole

allows them both back in the game...in pairs skating. Hilarity ensues. That's the jumping off point for a lot of bizarre characters to traipse across the screen, such as Hector (Nick Swardson), a creepy stalker who is obsessed with Jimmy, as well as a perilously underused William Fichtner, who's awesome in anything (except Ultraviolet).

    Clearly, this movie would be nothing without Will Ferrell, who has thankfully been more hit and less miss in recent days. Chazz is the complete antithesis to what we picture figure-skaters to be: lithe, elegant and refined. He's a bit pudgy, a sex-addict and as boorish and alcoholic as they come. He brings the same slings and arrows he brought to 'Talladega Nights', but uses them with less consistency. It's clear Ferrell doesn't like the sport enough to really be able to dig into it with his usual ribaldry. Had this been rated 'R', Ferrell would have held nothing back. Sadly, he never goes deep enough and a lot of jokes are left hanging because they lack the appropriate bite like the film calls for. Jon Heder continues to try and capture that magic in Napoleon Dynamite by playing a slightly more naive ND, but his story is the needed "dramatic" arc, and whenever a scene is devoted to him, the film begins to lag.

    Thankfully, Ferrell is gifted enough to be able to support Heder, both literally (he has to toss him after all), and comedically.Together, they're yin and yang. Ferrell is boorish, manly to a fault, while Heder is the fragile, effeminate one. They have a standoffish relationship at first, which allows for a lot of posturing and spear throwing (sorry, still on a '300' rush). As a compliment to both actors, one can definitely feel the friendship that both men have by the end of the film.

    Comedy is a hard thing to review. I think I say that every time one comes around. A few jokes miss their mark entirely due to bad timing or just a terrible set-up. A lot of Craig T. Nelson's shtick, while chuckling, is by no means fantastic. You mainly laugh because 'Hey, it's Craig T. Nelson sporting long hair.' But when a joke hits, it really hits. I think I missed some because the entire theater was laughing too loudly.

    Skating enthusiasts will be disappointed in the technique in the film. Why they're watching skating technique in a film in which Will Ferrell can somehow shoot fireballs out of his hands is beyond me...but I digress. Moves are performed that clearly defy the laws of physics, which is precisely the point. The film-makers use their arsenal to poke fun of the often very serious sport of figure skating, purists be damned. Chazz and Jimmy's qualifying choreography set to 'I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing' by Aerosmith is testament enough that those expecting some actual skating in their comedy should look elsewhere.

    While the film is essentially the same movie as 'Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby', it's never as fun. The two foils, Stranz and Fairchild Waldenberg (Will Arnett and Amy Poehler) lack the charisma and zippy lines of Sasha Baron Cohen. Cohen played his archrival so completely over the top that it became funny simply in its ridiculousness. Arnett and Poehler, while having some great moments, are subdued. Which is a good description for the entire film: it didn't go far enough. While I don't doubt the performers had a good time on set, they must have all been up late the night before, probably watching skating.