Your Highness: 5.6/10
In a year that's features more than it's fair share of disappointing comedies, not even Danny McBride and James Franco as medieval heroes can ride in and save the day. Though the first act features almost constant laughs, the transitional period for McBride's Thaddius from zero to hero is sloppy, completely underdeveloped and strips the film of most of its humor.
Let's be honest for a second: Danny McBride is the real deal. For years he's played second fiddle to other comedians, usually playing his prototypical "red neck" character. However, with Your Highness (and his work on Eastbound & Down), McBride has shown that what he may lack for in depth he makes up for in vulgarity, noise and pomposity. When Your Highness eventually departs from its ludicrous material and attempts to become a more natural story of redemption and chivalry, McBride's swagger doesn't disappear, but is toned down to make way for the expected, though somewhat altered heroic image.
Aside from McBride, the film doesn't get much help from its cast. Though it is the story of two brothers, McBride truly stands alone in the foreground while James Franco remains largely in the shadows. Franco is never as appreciated or utilized as he should and his character not only becomes a shell, but has no personality other than the noble brother and instead of humor being created from him, it's bounced off him and falls flat.
Natalie Portman is also misused. Actually, she shouldn't be there at all, really. It is a wonder how she accepted the role as her character is simply there as a ridiculous love interest and as eye candy for the audience. Portman's Isabella is driven and dedicated to her quest, but her morals are lost when she is easily sidetracked and drawn in by Thaddius' charm, though he lacks any at all. As the rare image of a powerful woman in such a genre, Isabella is obviously dangerous and gifted his her choice of weaponry. Yet, her action sequences are limited and, aside from her introduction, almost always from the standpoint of a role player rather than the leader that she's more than capable of being.
As a satire, Your Highness mixes modern day crudeness with the insanity of chivalry quite well and the first third of the film feature such things as a gross, squid-like pedophile and a robotic bird, all of which are played off of nicely by McBride and produce the laughs necessary for the film's obvious flaws to be overlooked. In the end, as Your Highness takes the road most often traveled, the ridiculousness and humor are sacrificed and Your Highness not only fails its quest of being a standout comedy of the year, but fails to remove itself from otherwise comedy flops of 2011.
