Recently I was discussing the recent live action Thor movie with my friend D. who emphatically declared Natalie Portman to be "every geeks dream". Well geeks, Natalie Portman appears alongside Danny McBride and James Franco in Your Highness not only as the badassassin maiden Isabelle, but her ass appears thong-clad for about a minute too.
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Danny McBride, whom I have loved ever since Pineapple Express and maybe before co-wrote Your Highness and stars as Prince Thadeus, the lesser brother to Jame Franco's "Fabeus". McBride's had a few small roles in things, so I can't actually pin down the first moment I found him highlarious, but Pineapple Express and his TV show Eastbound & Down are good reference points. He doesn't disappoint here either. Even his unevent attempt at an English accent just makes his lines seem funnier.
The film is full of references. The first being The Princess Bride - at least it does to me, but then again I think the Princess Bride is a brilliant film and maybe I want to see them. Natalie Portman dresses up like Anne Boleyn for a second time. Thadeus is accompanied by his faithful mechanical bird Simon, who may be a clever reference to 1981's Clash of the Titans or a tribute to its star Harry Hamlin meaning Franco's Thadeus is meant to be Perseus - he is on a quest to save his maiden Belladonna afterall, played by a wide-eyed Zoey Deschanel.
You have to really pay attention to catch every humorous moment. For example if I had to go back to catch the line about the feelings burning in Natalie Portman's "beaver". It's typical McBride dialogue that makes this film funny and in the words of Kenny Powers it "delivers like a pizza guy".
It's longer than today's usual comedic fare with a running time of 1 hour, 42 minutes, but every minute has a laugh so the time flies by. If you're not a fan of low brow comedy maybe this isn't for you and I might be pushing it to suggest the film does possess a certain type of clever comedy - it does have moments where it nears genius.
Will they defeat Justin Theroux in one of his funniest roles ever and stop the "Fuckoning"? You'll have to watch Your Highness to find out.
IMDB Rating: 6.0 /10 (6,452 votes)
