Blades of Glory (ruined by sticking to structure?)

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  • #1

    Blades of Glory (ruined by sticking to structure?)

    Anyone else seen Blades of Glory? I skipped it on release and only just saw it on UK TV.

    The first half is anarchic and hilarious. There are some classic scenes and lines in there if you don't mind that Ferrel style of comedy (see this imdb thread for an idea http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0445934/.../102599676?p=1 )

    But midway through you start to see the standard structure emerging, everything suddenly gets steered towards the 'All is lost' moment and the life drains from the movie like air from a balloon. From 'all is lost' onwards, the film literally collapses and you're back into run-of-the-mill Hollywood stroytelling and it's such a disappointment. How I wish they'd stuck to the free-flowing, anarchic spirit of the set-up and either ignored the structural rules or at least attacked them a bit more radically.

    Just my 2 pence
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  • #2
    Re: Blades of Glory (ruined by sticking to structure?)

    I agree with you. I've only seen it once, because I can't bear to watch the second half again, even though the first half is hysterical. I don't know if I'd call it anarchic, though. I think it was pretty basic storytelling, just well done.

    I have nothing against the standard 90-minute Hollywood comedy structure. And it was a really funny idea. But eventually you have to make a movie from that idea with a beginning, middle, and end. It struggled getting from the middle to the end. If you don't have enough story to hang on those beats after what Blake Snyder called "Fun & Games," the second half of the movie's going to lose the audience.

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    • #3
      Re: Blades of Glory (ruined by sticking to structure?)

      It cracked me up throughout. I had no problem with the structure. Both male leads, the love interest, and her villainous siblings kept me laughing and invested in the outcome throughout. Even in a ridiculous comedy, that standard structure, which I can spot as clearly as you can, nonetheless keeps me sucked in, half taking the threat seriously and worrying for the protagonists while I'm laughing.

      I just saw the animated feature The Illusionist. It's artistic, it's creative, it's beautifully drawn and it's somewhat poignant, but the story is aimless, and it just gets boring. American structure is there for a reason.

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      • #4
        Re: Blades of Glory (ruined by sticking to structure?)

        I justed happened to watch this last week.

        I grabbed it for free from my local library.

        I thought it was really funny and definitely worth a watch.

        If you like to laugh... it'll make you laugh.

        Jeff Shurtleff
        "Some men see things the way they are and say why? I see things that never were and say, why not?"

        http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...4669871&v=info

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        • #5
          Re: Blades of Glory (ruined by sticking to structure?)

          Nobody watches BLADES for lessons on advanced screenwriting techniques and structure. You watch BLADES because you like lowbrow crude humor. Most mainstream comedies stick pretty close to that structure..of course there are exceptions.
          MT
          If Lindsey Lohan has a child, and that child will lead...I will follow.

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          • #6
            Re: Blades of Glory (ruined by sticking to structure?)

            As a sub-genre, sports comedies usually have a very specific structure to go along with the ragtag/haunted players and battered skipper archetypes.

            Blades of glory was no different and actually followed this structure very closely.
            "Take the thing you love, and make it your life"--Californication. [email protected]

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            • #7
              Re: Blades of Glory (ruined by sticking to structure?)

              That was part of what made it funny for me -- the ludicrous versions of all the usual sports movie plot elements in all the right places.

              Originally posted by ylekot43 View Post
              As a sub-genre, sports comedies usually have a very specific structure to go along with the ragtag/haunted players and battered skipper archetypes.

              Blades of glory was no different and actually followed this structure very closely.

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              • #8
                Re: Blades of Glory (ruined by sticking to structure?)

                For me the first half was full of the unexpected. I found myself wondering 'What next?' but once the structure became very obvious it just got less funny.

                The jokes seemed to be filling in the time between plot points. E.g. The 'romantic misunderstanding' is too obviously there to instigate the 'all is lost moment'. The 'phone call' scene and 'chase' are too obviously there to create a 'struggle' and so on. Instead of 'What next?' it was more 'Oh, Okay.'

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                • #9
                  Re: Blades of Glory (ruined by sticking to structure?)

                  I felt like the whole thing was by the books, and the jokes weren't anything AMAZING...

                  But, I still enjoyed it. Laughed plenty, watched it multiple times even. It knew how to fly by and didn't get lost in endless scenes of meaningless improv that almost all do nowadays. The characters were genuine, the motivation and stakes were always there, plenty of conflict... it made it fun. Thumbs up for me, but not anything I'd look to for inspiration.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Blades of Glory (ruined by sticking to structure?)

                    So, you're saying you don't like BLADES OF GLORY because it has a begging, middle, and end.

                    Interesting.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Blades of Glory (ruined by sticking to structure?)

                      LOL Prescribe. OP is exactly why Craig Mazin tells people not to give feedback as their opinion is often way off. (No offence to the OP).

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