Your Highness (2011)

Your Highness (2011)

What a refreshing film. No seriously. That isn't some subtle attempt at pot humour. Though this film was advertised as stoner comedy meets Camelot, this film has a lot going for it. Yes there is T&A, yes there is stoner humour, and yes there is crude humour. But for all that, it actually is a pretty fun film. 

The film stars Danny McBride (Eastbound and Down, The Foot Fist Way, countless other movies), James Franco (who I really don't like despite liking a lot of his films), Zooey Deschanel (the latest "it" girl despite the fact she is rarely ever funny, and her quirkiness is more irritating than not) and Natalie Portman (interesting choice for a followup to Black Swan). 

Franco is the heir to the throne in this magical kingdom, and McBride in turn is the second son who just can't hold up against how fantastic his brother is. McBride's turn as the brother, is a slacker stoner type, who can't be bothered to make an effort in life, and is essentially shunned by the world over and is really quite hapless. Meanwhile, his elder brother and heir-to-the-throne is rescuing maidens, vanquishing monsters and completing quests. Not that it is terribly spoilerish, but Franco's rescued maiden (Deschanel) gets kidnapped by an evil wizard on their wedding day, and long story short, Franco and McBride hit the road to rescue her, meeting other characters along the way. 

Sounds familiar right? No real new ground broken. That is probably what works so well for the story to be honest. It is familiar territory. We know the conventions, we know how the world is supposed to work, and despite the "modern" humour the reality offered is accepted right away and we don't have to establish superfluous exposition. And further to that, the reality shown on screen is actually quite beautiful. This could have been a quite visually entertaining movie played serious and not suffered at all. The makers wanted to clearly show their love of fantasy and despite low-brow humour, still take us, the audience, on a wild adventure. 

You know the story, you know how it is going to end, but if you watch this film, just rememberit is meant to be fun. The stoner humour is thankfully kept mostly to a minimum, and while there are crude moments, there will definitely be times you find yourself laughing inspite of yourself. 

The good: McBride is great as non-conventional everyman. He is probably more indicative of most geeks in the world than the archetype of some acne covered basement dweller. He's boastful, self-involved, a little overweight, and at the core a dreamer but just can't escape his slacker nature. Franco is sufficient, and if anything a little sympathetic as the naive innocent older brother, who despite being the worldly adventurer, doesn't quite see the world for what it is. Again, the real standout moments are the world itself. The snake creature is genius, the minotaur hilarious (ashamed to admit that), and at the end of the flick you'd be hardpressed not to find yourself rooting for the heroes.

The bad: Zooey Deschanel. I just don't understand her appeal and her stupid bangs. Her only remotely good turn was in Elf. In a weird way she and Natalie Portman are "eye-candy" in this film, which is odd unto itself. 

Final Thoughts: There is no denying that for as dumb as this movie was it was fun. A shame it didn't reahc a broader audience but I blame the marketing. It was too stoner-centric. You should definitely give it a gander if you are sure you have a sense of humour that doesn't take itself too seriously. The makers of the film clearly had fun, enjoy the ride. 

Add to the vault? You know what, I have felt like I have been a bit of a negative nancy lately. If I were to be gifted this film in hard copy, I would be honoured to add it to my collection. There is repeat value for sure.