Directed by: Josh Gordon, Will Speck
Written by:Jeff Cox, Craig Cox, John Altschuler, Dave Krinsky
Starring: Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Jenna Fischer, Craig T. Nelson
Released: June 21, 2007
Grade: A-

Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Heder) are two of the world’s best male figure skaters.  They’ve each taken their share of gold medals and they both have a strong fan base.  That’s about where the similarities end.

Michaels is a man’s man.  When off the ice, all he wants to do is drink alcohol and sleep with women.  His popularity and success has seen both these needs fulfilled.  MacElroy on the other hand, is a pretty boy who has never had a girlfriend.  He prides himself on his appearance and skates with elegance.

After tying for first at a major event, Michaels and MacElroy become involved in a scuffle on the winner’s podium.  It is all seen by the stunned crowd and the large audience watching on television.  For bringing their sport into such disrepute, the skating commission bans them from their division for life.

We then pan a few years into the future.  Both are struggling to make a living and you’ll chuckle when you see where they have ended up.  Michaels and MacElroy discover a loophole which will allow for their return to the sport.  Whilst they were banned from individual skating, they can still compete in pairs skating.  Reluctantly, the two agree to team up and become the first male-male pair in figure skating history.

Their partnership does not go down well with the current pairs champions – Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (Arnett and Poehler).  They have no intention of being beaten “by a couple of freaks” and plan on sabotaging the Michaels and MacElroy comeback to ensure their own successful reign continues.

Will Ferrell and Jon Heder are two actors who I find are very “hit and miss”.  They’ve made some hilarious films but they’ve also made some stinkers.  I hated their last efforts – Ferrell in Taladega Nights and Heder in The Benchwarmers.  This is the first time they’ve come together as a team and the result is a fantastic.

Ferrell gets the most laughs with his crude, politically incorrect comments.  I don’t know how he kept a straight face when first delivering the dialogue.  It’s also a good role for Heder who is trying to break away from his Napoleon Dynamite stereotype.

Credit must go to the four writers of the film who have created an insanely silly storyline and a crazy group of characters.  I had my doubts going in but they were dispelled by the funny opening which profiles both Chazz Michael Michaels and Jimmy MacElroy.  It put me in just the right mood to enjoy the hour and half worth of entertainment which followed.

This is one comedy that I think you need to see.