In the 80s, everyone and their brother was producing a Dungeons & Dragons-style fantasy epic. Nowadays, we're lucky to get a LOTR knock-off or a misguided children's book adaptation. How are kids supposed to get their fill of Vermithrax Pejorative!?
Danny McBride, James Franco and David Gordon Green look to fill this void with their new fantasy/comedy Your Highness. We were at the New York Comic-Con panel to catch the first glimpse of footage:
The trailer kicked sets up the plot: two princes, James Franco, the young dashing brother (think Tristan + Isolde) and Danny McBride, the idiot brother who's busier making faces with the court jester than going on quests. When an evil, Saruman-esque wizard (Justin Theroux) kidnaps Franco's princess girlfriend (Zooey Deschanel), the two set out on an over-the-top, fantastical adventure.
The footage jumps from scene-to-scene, conveying a tone that perfectly balances the serious fantasy with comedy gags, everything from Danny McBride falling down in armor to a conversation insinuating that the wizard might butt f*ck Zooey Deschanel. Modern language in medieval times equals funny!
Eventually the duo hooks up with Natalie Portman, a rough, tough warrior chick who fights Minotaurs (men in costumes!) with swords, set to the rockin' tunes of The White Stripes. For Portman fans, prepare to get excited: the trailer features a scene in which Franco and McBride spy on her while she strips down for a swim. Am I allowed to ogle a potential Oscar-winner?
Another hilarious scene features Theroux contemplates sex with Deschenal in the top of his dark tower. She's worried about it working out, but Theroux ensures her, "if your vagina is anything like my hand, it shouldn't be a problem."
One more scene shows Franco and McBride debating who should suck the venom our of Franco's leg, with McBride eventually forcing Franco to suck it himself. The setting is ye old times, but the tone is familiar and modern.
The rest of the footage is a quickly cut montage of one-liners, battle axe fighting and monsters, monsters, monsters. The creatures range from giant, multi-headed serpent to a Labyrinth-style puppet who smokes with the two princes. Hell, it looks like they actually go through the Labyrinth! Weird doesn't begin to describe it.
Your Highness looks killer - weird, but killer. Whether it will find an audience or not, fans of the fantasy genre will definitely want to check this one out.
