Don't you just hate it when films don't measure up to their brilliant trailers? There's not too much of that around and when it does, it tend to befall comedies as they have a tendency to put the best gags in the promos. Maybe that's why I don't go and see too many comedies in the cinema, preferring to wait until they're released on DVD to see it they're worth it. But, once every few months or so along will come a comedy trailer that's so funny, that fits my comedy sensibilities so much, that it's impossible to ignore. This year, that film is Your Highness from the team that brought us the excellent Pineapple Express. And it turns out it's average.
The appeal of Your Highness was that it mixed a good old fashioned fantasy quest adventure with a raucous, crude contemporary comedy filled with profanity, violence and nudity. And while the adventure aspect works pretty successfully, the comedy feels a bit strained, mis-timed, and lacking in energy. It's like all the cogs and pistons are in place but the comedy engine is mis-firing. I think it's mostly down to the editing, the pace at which the gags are delivered and, most importantly, the energy with which the jokes are delivered. Director David Gordon Green has chosen a pretty realistic, poker faced style for the most part when a broader, more blatantly outrageous, heightened tone would have made for a funnier film.
Danny McBride is great, Natalie Portman sadly plays the straight man (although she does have a couple of laugh out loud moments) and James Franco remains a mystery. I'm no longer sure that he's great actor Pineapple Express and 127 Hours would have us believe and the negative vibe I got from the Spider-Man films and his Oscar hosting performances are actually the 'real' James Franco. Either way, he's not that funny in Your Highness.
Not bad then, but no where as hilarious as I'd have hoped. Maybe this will improve with age? Stranger things have happened.
1 comment:
I love the Your Highness redband trailer. It's one of the funniest things for ages. Sadly the film it is selling isn't.
And as for Franco. Just what the hell is it with that guy? I can't decide if he's a great actor who sometimes pretends to be crap or a crap actor who has just gotten very lucky a couple of times. I'm leaning more towards the latter.
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