Some films come off like a group of talented guys playing a grand inside joke. The best and most recent example of that was Tropic Thunder. Ben Stiller‘s action-comedy played heavily in the realm of inside baseball, but everything was portrayed in such a broad manner and the humor worked. The same goes for David Gordon Green‘s comedic adventure film, Your Highness, to varying degrees.
Green’s effort isn’t as successful as Stiller’s, but it’s an enjoyable ride nonetheless. This is a film that will go beyond divisive. Most viewers will be filled with violent hatred for it, while those who are able to easily tune into Green and McBride’s intentions and sensibilities, will find a charming love letter to 80’s fantasy fluff.
There’s a genuine sense of nostalgia to Your Highness. For fans of Conan the Barbarian, Krull, and Excalibur – the latter of the three being the only genuinely good film -you’ll find that Green and McBride love those films as much as you do. The story and scope is easily interchangeable with the typical 80’s camp classics. The conventions, the hero’s journey aspect, and all that good cheesy stuff is here.
Most of the film is played with straight-faced performances. The one that finds the most enjoyable success is Danny McBride, who continues to be a master at finding sympathy and laughs for truly annoying, baboonish people. His character, Thadeous, is an unambitious, pot-loving prince. His brother, Fabious (James Franco), is the opposite. He’s the true hero, in the conventional sense of the word. The film is about their relationship, and Franco and McBride play off each other well, as one would expect them to. They’re not as uproariously funny as we know they’re capable of, but even hit-and-miss McBride and Franco is still more tolerable than most middle-of-the-road comedy efforts.
Your Highness never reaches the level of cleverness Pineapple Express did. There’s a few moments that show Green and McBride’s comedic smarts but most of the jokes feel like ones that a 13-year-old would come up with. This level of immaturity is appealing on some level, but that brand of humor is not nearly as satisfying as the wit and brains shown in Green and McBride’s previous efforts. The most suitable film to compare Your Highness to is 2009’s box-office dud, Land of the Lost. Both films didn’t reach their comedic potential, but still managed to provide a few well-earned chuckles every so often. The highlight of the film, a child molesting Wise Wizard — done in the vain of Yoda — is a genius idea. If the rest of the adventure matched that one uproarious moment, Green’s film would have been comedic gold. Instead, we’re taken on a half-baked journey.