A Reel Review: YOUR HIGHNESS

YOUR HIGHNESS is a film that tries to pick up where Mel Brooks once left off; a comedy rooted in spoofing on genres and specific films. Where Brooks went for intelligence and wit by way of sharp writing and well-timed gags, HIGHNESS goes for shock value by way of vulgarity, nudity, and plenty of “omg, did he just say that” moments.

Set in a medieval fantasy world, two brothers couldn’t be more different. Fabious (James Franco) is a handsome and heroic prince, and Thadeous (Danny McBride) is a cowardly slob. On his wedding day, Fabious sees his bride-to-be Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel) stolen by the evil warlock wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux), who plans on impregnating her to fulfill a prophecy. Fabious sets out on a quest to save her, dragging along his younger brother who would rather smoke up with his man-servant Courtney (Rasmus Hardiker). They encounter Isabel (Natalie Portman), a warrior who is on a revenge-quest against Leezar, and they embark on a series of adventures as Thadeous tries to find his courage.

Simple enough story here. Younger brother trying to find his way in the world while in the shadow of his overachieving older brother. Nothing new on the storyline front, but here it works as the world is fantasy enough to awaken the audience. It’s a live-action Disney film; not meant to be taken seriously.

Where things struggle is whenever Danny McBride is on the screen. The film has plenty of really good spoof moments, and just when things look promising, McBride shows up and ruins it. Probably the best example of the problem comes in the early going: Franco and Zooey burst into a Disney-like love song during their wedding (which is hilarious), and just when the laughs are coming plenty, the film cuts to McBride chasing sheep. It’s an off-balance film; it has the makings of a Brooks-style ride offset with poor imitations of Kevin Smith-esque toilet/sex/homophobic jokes.

While director David Gordon Green makes the mistake of letting McBride run amuck, he does well for himself by creating a lush and sweeping fantasy world that is fun and eye-popping. It is a world full of wizards, minotaurs fairies, and he treats it all with respect. Great effort seems to have been sunk into the fine details of the surroundings, and it pays off.

Green also does well in pulling some appropriate over-the-top performances out of his actors. The actors are spoofing on a genre, and they know it. However, all is not perfect. McBride is woefully miscast as the lead. Not only does he lack the chops to carry things, but all he does is act like an ass (or maybe himself) for 90% of the run. It’s hard to connect with a main character who is a douchbag. Franco mugs for the camera and perfectly reminds one of a prince from a Disney cartoon. The biggest sin is how Zooey is treated; the lovely and often talented actress is reduced to switching from ogling over Franco to a helpless damsel in distress. She is painfully underutilized. Portman manages to become the most interesting character in the entire movie; she is neat to look at and listen too, gets cool things to do, and has an interesting backstory. Her Isabel nearly deserves a spinoff.

And the thong was clearly invented just for Portman's ass.

Checking your brain at the door is a requirement for watching this; it’s lack of intelligence or heart demands it. HIGHNESS brings about laughs only if you think saying “fuck” every 5 minutes is funny. HIGHNESS has a lot of great ideas with a solid cast (except for one) in an engaging world. It’s too bad they went the juvenile route for the laughs.

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it.