In 2008, Pineapple Express became an instant stoner classic. Starring Seth Rogan, James Franco and Danny McBride, the movie was about ordinary stoners getting caught up in a huge drug war and literally having to fight their way out. The concept was basically Cheech and Chong in an action flick, and it worked quite well.
Your Highness is a very different movie, however, despite starring McBride and Franco as well as being directed by the same man, David Green. For starters, this is NOT a stoner comedy. (this might be a little more surprising to some than others) There are one or two scenes where marijuana is referenced but never by name and that's about it. This is quite a contrast from Pineapple Express since that movie's humor was entirely based on smoking, selling, distributing, growing and fighting over pot. Your Highness has a much more traditional fantasy plot.
The heir to the kingdoms thrown, Fabious, (Franco) is a brave warrior whose fallen in love with a beautiful virgin maiden, Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel). His brother, Thadeous. (McBride) is a slacker who spends his days smoking, drinking, and other mischievous activities. When an evil Wizard shows up an kidnaps the maiden, the two brothers are sent on a quest to rescue her.
That may not sound like a very original plot but truth be told, this movie never really tries to be original. In fact, this movie is more of an homage to all things in the fantasy genre than anything else. There are references such as cyclops, nymphos, minotaurs, dwarves, wizards, dragons, witches, etc. It's clear the writers (McBride being one of them) and producers love fantasy stories and they did a pretty good job showing it in the film.
Natalie Portman's character, Isabella, actually doesn't appear in the film until close to the midway point, a bit of a surprise as her character is on every poster and featured in every trailer of the film.
Isabella and Thadeous do develop a love story throughout the film but to put it simply, it doesn't really make any sense. The two actors have zero chemistry, and why would they? Ones an oscar award winning actress, the others Danny McBride. Outside of that, Isabella's character is a strong, smart, and independent warrior and Thadeous is a slacker whose facing conflict for the first time in his entire life. It just doesn't work on any level, but it doesn't really hurt the film.
Zooey Deschanel unfortunately plays the role of the damsel in distress and because of this she's really only seen in the opening of the film and the end of the film. She has only a few lines and makes zero impact on the movie.
Your Highness is not nearly as funny as Pineapple Express for many reasons, most of which probably have to do with Seth Rogan and Judd Apatow's involvement in Express. Most of the humor of Highness comes from the vulgarity of the actors language and actions in an otherwise fantasy epic. You don't expect princes and knights to drop f-bombs or to see the wise old wizard ask for a handjob. For the most part, the humor is pretty low brow, but again, this movie never said it was going to be an intellectual feast.
Outside of the vulgarity, however, is a pretty good fantasy film. The fight scenes are surprisingly well done, and even pretty intense at times. The collage of fantasy cliche's are woven together nicely and the pace of the film is very good. If you've ever been a fan of anything fantasy, this movie is worth seeing, but if you're looking for Pineapple Express 2.0, you'll be disappointed.
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