Two royal princes — slacker Thadeous (Danny McBride) and the noble Fabious (James Franco) — join with an elusive warrior (Natalie Portman) on a quest to free a princess from an evil wizard. Along the way, they’ll have to vanquish horrific creatures and traitorous knights in this raunchy trip.
“Your Highness” follows Danny McBride as Price Thaddeus, the second son of the king, who is often overshadowed by his big brother, Prince Fabious (James Franco). After Fabious’s wedding is hijacked by the wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux), Thaddeus tags along with his brother to get his bride (Zooey Deschanel) back and ends up meeting the mysterious and kickass Isabel (Natalie Portman) on their quest.
Fantasy movies are a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. I love the lore, creatures, and magic often incorporated in these types of films. I will say “Your Highness” fleshed out their medieval fantasy world pretty well and the costume and production design reflect that. The VFX were also well done and held up after I watched the film ten years later.
David Gordon Green directed this film, and he has a couple of good films under his belt, including the latest “Halloween.”. Green and McBride are known to be good friends and production partners, but their collaboration here feels lifeless and done for an easy paycheck.
Franco and McBride have starred in many movies together and they still retain that chemistry here, but their chemistry cannot save this painfully unfunny film. McBride spends a majority of the film complaining and cracking jokes that fall flat. He wants no part of the quest and wants to go back to his father’s castle, lazing around with no responsibilities.
Theroux as the evil wizard is extremely creepy and basically just plays a pervert and would-be rapist in the film. If he rapes Zooey Deschanel on a rare full moon, she will give birth to a dragon, and his powers will grow. Yes, you read that right and no it does not make any sense. Deschanel’s storyline really does not age well. She has been kidnapped by Theroux as a child and has no experience in the outside world, Franco comes to rescue her and she falls in love with him instantly, the only other man she ever knows. On their quest, Thaddeus questions Fabious on whether he would still marry his bride if they’re too late and Theroux manages to rape her since she’d be damaged goods. Virgins are a common part of magical rituals, but we really need to get rid of this trope.
Natalie Portman is the straight man out of the other characters, and she’s the most capable. McBride is instantly attracted to her, but it’s pretty obvious she doesn’t feel the same way about him. Their chemistry is lacking, and I wish Thaddeus was stuck pining for her instead of having Portman’s Isabel get together with him at the end of the film. Who in their right mind would be attracted to someone who wears a minotaur’s penis as a necklace for a whole third of the movie?
Overall, “Your Highness,” despite its talented cast, is simply unsavory and infantile. The attempted humor does not work. I wish this movie was forgettable, but it’s so bad that it’s seared into your brain. If you want to watch an actual funny movie that stars James Franco and Danny McBride, along with other big celebrities, go check out “This is the End.”
Available on Blu-ray January 19th from Mill Creek Entertainment
