The sequinned, skin-tight Lycra-clad world of men's figure skating provides the unlikely backdrop to the latest raucous comedy from Will Ferrell (Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby).

Playing to type, Ferrell portrays another oafish, chauvinistic loner, described by one of the skating commentators as "an ice-devouring sex tornado".

His pelvis-thrusting theatrics become tiresome, but co-star Jon Heder is an excellent comic foil as the shy, sensitive type, who lets people skate all over him.

The screenwriters are on thin ice in the opening half hour, struggling to develop the characters away from the rink.

But once their unlikely double-act glides on to the ice, Blades Of Glory triple-flips to delirious comic heights, allowing the leads to perform death-defying moves with the help of computer jiggery-pokery.

At the conclusion of the world figure skating championships, rivals Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Heder) clash violently on the winner's podium.

The judgment of the National Skating Federation is swift: "You are to be stripped of your medals and banned from men's figure skating for the remainder of your lives."

Chazz descends into alcohol-fuelled oblivion in a second-rate children's skating show while Jimmy is forced to earn a meagre crust in a shoe shop.

During a surprise visit from deranged stalker Hector (Swardson), Jimmy learns of a loophole in the skating rulebook: while he is banned from the men's single competition, he can compete in the pairs event.

Aided by his coach (Nelson), Jimmy reluctantly agrees to work with Chazz to form the world's first same-sex skating partnership.

The media interest reaches fever pitch, taking the spotlight away from current champions, brother and sister team Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (Arnett, Poehler).

The dance sequences are the highlight of Blades Of Glory and Ferrell and Heder look like they are having fun throughout.

Arnett and Poehler's pantomime villains are, in contrast, starved of decent one-liners and the romantic subplot is pure slush.

Directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck ensure that as long as their cast are on the ice, the film doesn't put a foot wrong.