YOUR HIGHNESS

US, 2011, 102 minutes. Colour.
Danny Mc Bride, James Franco, Natalie Portman, Rasmus Hardiker, Toby Jones, Justin Theroux, Zooey Deschanel, Charles Dance, Damian Lewis, Angela Pleasence.
Directed by David Gordon Green.


You have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy Your Highness. If it is pointed out that the screenplay is about half Princess Bride and half Pineapple Express, sprinkled with some Monty Python Jabberwocky medievalry, the mood thing becomes a bit clearer. Those who would like the Princess Bride spoofery may baulk at the stoner Pineapple Express language, bodily function humour and sexual innuendo and a lot that is not so innuendo. That is probably a useful bit of consumer advice.

David Gordon Green used to make rather serious minded films like George Washington and Undertow. Then he surprised his serious fan base by the mad hijinks of Pineapple Express. Now he joins with comedian Danny Mc Bride, who is credited with co-writing the script, though the director says a lot of the dialogue was improvised (and it shows both for better and for worse). Mc Bride sees himself and his character, Prince Theodorous, as a Middle Ages slacker who has ambitions but no drive, overshadowed by his text-book knight brother, Prince Fabious (James Franco enjoying himself), wanting to be kind without any effort. He is accompanied by a squire who is a mixture of misery and devotion.

The story is one of those courtly love epics. A demonic magician (Justin Theroux) has imprisoned a princess (Zoey Deschanel) and kept her under a spell. Rescued by Fabious, and acclaimed by the king (Charles Dance), she is about to become queen when she is re-captured. Fabious goes off to rescue her again and Theodorous is forced to go as well.

Because Mc Bride is the writer and the star, he gets to show cowardice and then to be transformed into a chivalrous hero (but setting the bar rather low).

Into the quest comes a warrior vowing vengeance on the wizard who has killed her parents. While Franco plays the prince as all earnestness and smiling goodness, the warrior is played by Natalie Portman as a well-educated and spoken amazon. Which means that the performances are a conglomeration which work on the whole but there is a lot of unpredictability. Toby Jones and Damian Lewis are also in the mix for unworthy motives.

Which means then that the humour moves from daffy to raucous, to entertaining parody to a great deal of ambiguous (and unambiguous) and ambivalent sexual jokes. Old style fairy tale it isn't.

1. Enjoyment of spoof? 21st century style? The Slacker style?

2. The contribution of Danny Mc Bride, star, writer, character?

3. The tradition of The Princess Bride, fairytale epics, kingdoms and knights, quests, princesses in distress, warriors, strange creatures, villains, wizards and spells, chivalry?

4. The spoof, tongue-in-cheek, affection for the Princess Bride kind of film? The light humour? Especially for Fabious being so perfect? For Isabel being the feisty warrior?

5. The spoof of the coward, his life in a mess, envious of his older brother, disapproved of by his father, his squire, at court, his excuses, his reluctance to go on quests, his accompanying his brother, the ups and downs, the lack of heroism, the change, heroics, love for Isabel? How convincing?

6. The Slacker tone, 21st century jargon, quips, sex jokes, bodily function jokes, innuendo, explicit and coarse jokes, the tone?

7. Taboo items, the wise creature and molestation, the gay jokes, how did this affect the spoof?

8. Thadeous and his squire? About to be executed, the dwarfs, the spoof of dwarfs? The escape, getting back to the court, his father disapproving of him, his shame? Jealousy of Fabious? His relationship with Courtney, his squire? The carry-on about his brother? Fabious asking him to be best man at the wedding? His overhearing the comments, his getting the sulks, not going? His father’s disapproval? Sending him on the quest? Courtney going with him? The reluctant accompaniment? His behaviour, comments, the enemy and his cowardice? The wizard and his interventions? The confrontations?

9. Fabious as the hero, the perfectly gallant knight, Belladonna and her rescue? His love for her – and the spoof of the damsel in distress, long years in captivity, her bad manners at the banquet? The dancing by herself? The wizard, his attack, capturing Belladonna? A new mission for Fabious? Taking Thadeous and his affection for him?

10. The range of enemies, Julie and his place at court, short, insulted, sex jibes, his betrayal? Subservience to the wizard?

11. Boremont, his being the best friend of Prince Fabious, rejected as best man, his jealousy, pouting, the decision to betray his master? The other knights, Manious the Bold, Thundarian? Their loyalty, their changing sides? The fights, the wizard? The end, the battle of Boremont with the prince? His explanation of his motivations?

12. The wizard, his power, his mother’s, his exercising his power, his beliefs, spells, the heavens and the moon? Capturing Belladonna? His plan, insemination, the dragons and the moon?

13. Isabel, tough, her background, her diction and seriousness, suspicious of the group, tough and fights, the compass and her stealing it, Thadeous getting it back? Her relationship with Thadeous?

14. Her decision to join in the fight, Thadeous in love with her?

15. The confrontation with the wizard, the special effects, the mechanical bird? Putting it together again? The confrontation with Julie and the knights? With the wizard? His destruction? His mother’s?

16. The king, his character, happy with Fabious, welcoming Thadeous back, the wedding? Thadeous and his going off by himself?

17. Isabel, her return, credible that she should be in love with Thadeous?

18. The various target audiences? And the varied responses?