One of its detriments is that “Your Highness” is missing Seth Rogen’s comedic influence. Rogen is not the most hilarious man in his own; however his ability to play off actors like Franco and McBride elicits some great laughs. The movie’s second major stumbling block is that it relies almost solely on raunchy comedy, merely for the sake of being crude, instead of using the jokes purposefully. The result is something akin to grade school humor gone wrong, which is just painful to watch.
McBride, and his cohort Ben Best from “Eastbound and Down,” pen the screenplay for this film, winking rather obviously at the fantasy genre. In their medieval world, a man’s worth is measured by the trophies he claims in battle and the number of quests he can rack up.
Prince Fabious (James Franco) is the pride of the kingdom, because he’s an accomplished warrior. His lazy brother, Prince Thaddeus (Danny McBride) however, brings shame to their family. Thaddeus spends his days in a haze of intoxication, causing mischief with his servant Courtney (Rasmus Hardiker) instead of engaging in his royal duties.
Fabious returns from his latest adventure with Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel), a fair damsel he has rescued from the clutches of evil. He plans to wed Belladonna, but on the big day, the dastardly wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux) swoops in and kidnaps her.
Determined to save his bride from Leezar, Fabious vows to survive all odds to reclaim his love. Thaddeus attempts to stay at home as usual, where it’s safe, but their father, the king, insists that he join his brother on this quest.
The pampered Thaddeus grudgingly agrees to tag along, with no clue what’s in store for him. Unfortunately, he discovers that quests involve work because villains, sorcerers, puzzles, and bizarre monsters require all of his attention to defeat. Luckily he bumps into Isabelle (Natalie Portman), a warrior who is as deadly as she is beautiful. Thaddeus becomes determined to sleep with her because as he says, she is not as easy to bed as the other maidens in his kingdom.
So in order to help save the day and get the girl, Thaddeus has to man up, and to prove he’s just as strong and courageous as his brother. His attempts to woo Isabelle by impressing with his kills, instead of getting to know her, come off as incredibly misogynistic and unfunny though.
In addition to the painful elementary school humor and the sexist jokes, one of the other frustrating parts of this comedy is its lack of energy. Everyone seems tired and unwilling to improvise, including Franco, who can’t manage to hold a decent British accent during the film. Even McBride himself recites his lines with little excitement, as if just doing the whole thing on autopilot. The only person who really seems to be having any fun is Rasmus Hardiker, the actor who plays Thaddeus’ servant Courtney. He’s probably the most amusing character, which is sad considering he’s not one of the main characters.
My Grade: D