Brothers Jeff and Craig Cox are the screenwriters for the upcoming Will Ferrell/Jon Heder skating comedy, Blades of Glory. The plot is simple: two straight, male figure skaters are stripped of their gold medals and banned from the mens' competition after they get into a fight at a medal ceremony. They both love skating and through a loophole in the rules, decide to compete together in the pairs' competition. Both skaters are narcissists and their outfits are wildly flamboyant. The Cox brothers
discuss
with the L.A. Times their secret for writing the two characters' interactions: sibling rivalry.
"Blades of Glory" largely works by lampooning the whole manly/nonmanly thing as utterly irrelevant. Brothers Jeff and Craig Cox, who were the screenwriters along with John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, came up with the story four years ago after watching a figure skating routine on TV. They said they rooted the comedy in the characters and deliberately avoided making either one gay. In fact, they modeled the dynamic between Michaels and MacElroy on their own childhood sibling rivalry.
"Jimmy is like the younger brother to Chazz just like I am to Jeff," said Craig Cox, 27. Jeff is 30. "Their arguments are very immature ... like a 12-year-old and a 9-year-old would have."
As The L.A. Times is wont to do, it then spins off into a lengthy discussion of the psychological underpinnings of the film and gay male/straight male stereotypes, which seems a bit overwrought for a Will Ferrell comedy. Still, the serious analysis of Ferrell's characters -- from Ron Burgundy to Ricky Bobby -- is interesting. In any event, the stills from the film are hilarious. You can see the trailer for the film here.
Brothers Jeff and Craig Cox are the screenwriters for the upcoming Will Ferrell/Jon Heder skating comedy, 