Your Highness

I’m not too sure about Danny McBride. Still quite a way from the comedy gold A-list, certain sections of the media seem to think he is some sort of unrecognised comedy genius. After watching Your Highness, it’s unlikely any such recognition is going to be coming his way soon. This is a mess of a film, which is more like a connection of set pieces ill-fitted together with the hope that no-one will notice. A quick summation of the storyline is that, in the Middle Ages, when Prince Fabious’s (James Franco) bride is kidnapped, he goes off in hot pursuit of her, accompanied by his jealous and dim-witted brother Thadeous (McBride). Hilarity does not ensue. This has a high streak of vulgar humour, but it fails to have a sweet side to counter balance the filth. How respected actors such as Damian Lewis and Toby Jones ended up in this is a mystery and surely in years to come Natalie Portman will be claiming that it’s her alter ego from Black Swan in this as opposed to her. Director David Gordon Green and McBride go years back and it’s clear to tell that (much like Pineapple Express) this is just full of things that they find funny, missing the point that there’s a whole audience out there to be entertained. Inspired moments are few and far between (a plate full of Fish Fingers at a feast being one of the better gags) but McBride instead appears to try and get his laughs by just saying four letter words. Hardly, the stuff of genius that. Gordon Green has said that the whole film is heavily improvised and that there was never a script used on set. You don’t say, David.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

This’ll have some fans out there, but this rarely rises above the level of mediocrity. Rating: 4/10.