Film Review: Your Highness

When heroic Prince Fabious' (Franco) virgin bride-to-be, Belladonna (Deschanel), is kidnapped by the evil wizard Leezar (Theroux) in order for him to copulate with her and breed a dragon, Fabious and his peevish layabout brother, Prince Thadeous (McBride), must embark on a quest to retrieve her. Betrayal and perverted wizards abound, the two Princes team up with warrior babe Isabel (Portman) in an effort to stop Leezar.

The 'wit' in this film predominantly revolves around cocks and how strange it is to see English-accented medieval characters utter the words "fuck" and "motherfucker" every other sentence. They've even managed to invent their own word, "the fuckening" for good measure. Admittedly, if you allow your inner child to take over Your Highness can actually be quite funny, in the most immature way imaginable. Indeed, it's easy to see director David Gordon Green's finger prints all over this if you've ever watched the equally stupid Pineapple Express. The problem with Your Highness however is that the trailer made it look better than it actually is. It plods more than it should and it's not as thigh-slappingly funny as it makes itself out to be

Certainly the cast is pretty solid on paper which is perhaps why there was so much hype surrounding Your Highness. Danny McBride leads the way as the jealous and vulgar slob Prince Thadeous, obstinately fastidious and peevish. However, despite being the central comic figure of the film there is an unshakable aura of muted conveyance surrounding him. With comedy everything is in the delivery, but McBride only ever seems half-enthused, taking laughs away from otherwise reasonably amusing material. James Franco's effeminate Fabious is probably the best thing about the film, while Portman's infamous arse shot will keep attention away from her mere adequacy. Perhaps the most eyebrow raising inclusion however was Damian Lewis, playing the role of Fabious' best mate, Boremont. Oh how the mighty have fallen! Mostly confined to the realms of TV, it is somewhat bemusing to see the excellent Lewis, famed for his portrayal of Major Winters in Band of Brothers, take on such a role in this utterly ridiculous film. As much as he is a great actor, comedy certainly doesn't appear to be his forte.

If you can see it for the facetious farce which it is and you enjoy inane, moronic dick jokes this will be right up your ally. Depending on your mindset, Your Highness has the ability to provide cheerful, light entertainment for a couple of hours if you're open to it. However, it can also be an equally unpalatable, lewd, crude mess.