Your Highness (2011)

 

From some of the team responsible for Pineapple Express comes this ribald, over-the-top, medieval fantasy/comedy about a wayward prince (Danny McBride), his slightly less wayward brother (James Franco) and a warrior princess (Natalie Portman) out to save them from themselves. The blue-blooded slackers embark on a quest to save their father's kingdom from doom, encountering sorcerers, dragons and Zooey Deschanel along the way.

Your Highness will be a critically bashed by majority of its watchers aged over 21. It might be one of the most immature comedies I have seen. It is crude in every way possible and every joke practically revolves around that of a man’s penis or the loud shouts of profanity. All that in mind, the inner 19 year old in me could not stop laughing at it. What can I say? Penis jokes are all but guaranteed to have me laughing up a storm.

Here the strangest mash up of fantasy and comedy wouldn’t normally gel, but it only seems to add the absolute silliness of universe. These characters could be placed in a modern setting and you would not have to change a single thing about them. They do not belong in this time period, and that is sort of the appeal in all of this. I haven’t been so entertained by such historical inaccuracy since A Knights Tale.  

A lot of chatter erupted when people found out James Franco and Natalie Portman chose this project after their two Oscar performances, but quite honestly they did not really bring a whole lot to the table. James Franco as the beloved Prince Fabious creates a likeable character, but he never really brings any laughs to the table. He does seem to help provide some hilarious scenarios for his brother though. Concerning Portman, she barely gets any chance to do anything despite the trailers making it appear like she played a large role in the film. It practically showcased her entire performance in those tiny two minute trailers. So disappointing from these two because despite extraordinary talent, both come off far too forgettable. Just about all of the laughs come from Danny McBride and his foul mouthed dick jokes. He continues to be a one dimensional comedian but boy do I find his humor to be my humor. The scene stealing villain, Leezar, is great in the limited screen time he is given.

If you walk into Your Highness with high expectations prepare to be disappointed. It is funny, but not the type of humor most enjoy. I found myself comparing it to MacGruber. I fucking loved that movie but everyone else seemed to have the opposite opinion of it. That seems likely to happen with this film as I find the comedy to be of similar taste between the two, but maybe the presence of the cast will sway you more into this direction since everyone is so likeable. It is all boils down to one thing, do you or do you not enjoy penis jokes? See the movie if your answer is yes, pass if it is no.

Overall Score: 7/10

 Blue Score Adds 2 points to the overall score for being better than it should have been.