After the success of Pineapple Express, director David Gordon Green and actors Danny McBride and James Franco decided to take a risk - let's make a rated-R fantasy comedy, something that is just as down and dirty as their first film together, but this time with dragons. The result was almost a complete box office flop. Maybe Green and McBride misjudged their audience; Your Highness was catering to the same crowd that enjoyed Pineapple Express and that's not necessarily the audience that cares much for swords and sorcery, even when there is weed involved...
Thadeous (McBride) and Fabious (Franco) are princes of the realm, but they couldn't be more different. Fabious is brave and charismatic, beloved by the entire kingdom. Thadeous, on the other hand, is a complete loser who is committed to a life of leisure, recreational drugs, and torturing his manservant, Courtney (Rasmus Hardiker). When Fabious' fiance, Belladonna (New Girl's Zooey Deschanel) is kidnapped by an evil wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux, American Psycho), the two brothers must team up on the ultimate quest to rescue the girl, defeat the wizard, and save the kingdom. Along the way, they of course run into a whole slew of characters, including a badass warrior, Isabel (Natalie Portman) who is on a quest of her own.
Overall, the movie is a bit of a mixed bag. It is nowhere near as bad as its thrashing at the box office would suggest. For one thing, the cast is great and throw themselves into the insanity with relish. I expected fine comedy from the leads, but I was surprised to also see more serious actors such as Toby Jones (Captain America), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) and Damien Lewis (Band of Brothers) making fine contributions to the craziness. Everyone looks like they are having a great time, which of course makes the movie more enjoyable.
I suppose that maybe the cast and crew were having so much fun that they didn't think through the movie enough. The storyline is amusing and the number of possibilities is endless, but Your Highness is really just a series of naughty jokes, one after another after another. Some of them I have to admit are hilarious (especially a handful of really raunchy jokes related to a minotaur they battle in a labyrinth), but way too many of them are misfires. It is a bit of a surprise, actually, considering that much of the primaries were brought over from Pineapple Express, which deftly mixed the raunch with some genuine wit and cleverness. I just feel that there are so many missed opportunities to poke fun at the genre here. Perhaps David Gordon Green should have let Justin Theroux have a hand in the script. In addition to being a fine comedian (and he does make a very funny villain here), Theroux is a very witty writer, having worked on Iron Man 2 and Tropic Thunder. Maybe giving Theroux a whack at the script would have helped.
So there you go. Your Highness is not awful, but it is also nowhere near as good as it could have been. Overall, it's just okay. At some point, it will be making the rounds on FX. I think that would be a good time to check it out.
BEST LINE:
Leezar to Belladonna: "I'm just not attracted to you right now!!!"
MVP:
With great comedians like McBride, Franco, and Deschanel running around, I was surprised that they were all outgunned by Rasmus Hardiker as Courtney, Thadeous' hapless manservant. I have never heard of this dude before, but he is terrific, bringing the right amount of absurd pathetic loyalty to the role. This is a hard role to play. Hapless manservants are often the comic relief in other films, and I have always found them to be annoying. I am also generally bothered by their unending loyalty, despite how mean or selfish the master is. I just never really buy it. But I never once doubted Courtney's unconditional love for his master. And he just nails it. He's terrific. Plus, he can make Triangle Face, which I think is hilarious, even if Thadeous is terrified of it!
TRIVIA:
This movie came out of a little game Danny McBride and director David Gordon Green would play. Someone would name a random title and the other would come up with a story to match it. Someone suggested "Your Highness" and the storyline suggested was about "a prince who gets stoned and fights dragons."
Now, most importantly, not meaning to make a shameless plug, but I think it relates to what we are talking about, and especially about what does not work about Your Highness. My brother wrote a book! He has been working on it for the better part of a decade and it attempts the same type of parody as Your Highness, only with a real sense of wit and cleverness. While Your Highness tends to fall back on raunch, this book genuinely tackles the cliches of the fantasy genre and twists their funny bone. The book is called The Armpit of Evil and it is super inexpensive on Amazon (only $2.99!!), so I think you should all check it out!!! I am also including the link to Your Highness, but I highly recommend you gravitate towards Armpit instead. Here is the link:
Valid review, James, and one that most of my friends who saw "Your Highness" will agree with. I am in the minority; I thought it was hilarious and wonderful and something I could watch repeatedly and not get tired of. (Similarly, I seem to be the only one of my friends who was not impressed with "Tropic Thunder," which I thought had great potential but was just meh.)
ReplyDeleteMy only criticism of the movie was the casting of Zooey Deschanel because the role was rather minor and had few lines and many overly low-cut dresses. I was surprised a rather well-known actress was cast when so many lovely struggling actresses could have been cast for much cheaper, but perhaps the producers wanted the big name to help draw audiences. Or it could be my prejudice since I think Zooey is overrated. ;)
Hey Katie, I like Deschanel, but agree that she was mostly wasted here. I think she's a great comedian, but they didn't take advantage of her. The exception is the climactic battle, when the witches put that spell on her. That was some WEIRD acting and made for one of the funniest scenes in the movie (and my Best Line). Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteI forgot you weren't a Tropic Thunder fan! I loved that movie...