Movie Review - 'Your Highness'

Your Highness Starring Danny McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman Directed by David Gordon Green Rated R

My biggest fear when going into a comedy—especially an R-rated one where we've seen not just one, but two red band trailers—is that the jokes have all been spoiled already. My second-biggest fear is that it'll be a one-note show; say, for instance, an anachronistic Medieval comedy where the main character talks (and swears) like Kenny Powers. I was pleasantly surprised to find that neither of these fears was warranted in the case of Your Highness.

Combining the worlds of Pineapple Express (director David Gordon Green) and Eastbound & Down (co-writers Ben Best and Danny McBride), Your Highness scratches the itch that Year One missed two years ago. It's the story of two prince brothers. The elder, Fabious (James Franco), is heir to the throne and hero to the kingdom. He regularly embarks on quests, returning with the heads of slain enemies and gaining the adoration of his subjects. The younger brother, Thadeous (McBride), is the black sheep of the family. He gets into trouble, smokes "mystical herbs," and generally embarrasses their father, the King (Charles Dance).

After returning from a quest involving an encounter with the evil wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux), Fabious announces that he's engaged to the maiden he rescued along the way, Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel). The wedding goes awry, Belladonna finds herself once again a prisoner of Leezar, and it's time for Fabious to embark on another quest to rescue her. This time, though, Thadeous and his servant Courtney (Rasmus Hardiker) accompany him. Early on, the gimmick of the movie is that everybody but Thadeous thinks they're in a serious Medieval adventure film, while he talks and behaves like... well, Kenny Powers. "His vulgarity masks his pain," one character remarks. As the film progresses, though, this distinction is relaxed and everybody else becomes just as vulgar. Presumably it's not out of pain, but it's a good source of laughs, and it's a well that gets thoroughly tapped.

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Rumor: Zooey Deschanel Joining Webb's 'Spider-Man'

In the recent wealth of casting news for Marc Webb's Spider-Man reboot, here's a little rumor for you.  Floating around the web today is a report that the director recently met with his (500) Days of Summer co-star Zooey Deschanel about joining his new film's cast.

Hit the jump to find out what role could reunite Summer and Webb.

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Portman, Franco, Zooey - New 'Your Highness' Pics

Oh, that's right: Your Highness. I forgot about this one. It's the medieval comedy starring James Franco and Danny McBride, which also happens to feature Natalie Portman and Zooey Deschanel. From Spain's Fotogramas magazine (via The Playlist), here's a shot of Nat:

More pictures and the full synopsis are below. The movie, directed by Pineapple Express' David Gordon Green, opens April 8th next year. It was originally scheduled for October of this year, but because it was part of a big release calendar overhaul for Universal, I don't think it says anything bad about this film.

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Zooey Deschanel Does 19th Century Algorithims

Zooey Deschanel has never really caught on with mainstream crowds. She has, of course, resisted comic book movies and stuff, but she's not totally unknown to John Q. Moviegoer. Almost a year after (500) Days of Summer, while Joseph Gordon-Levitt is finding more lucrative roles, Deschanel is still keeping her independent spirit, locking in a role as the world's first computer programmer.

Production Weekly Tweeted this week that Zooey will play Ada Lovelace in Bruce Beresford’s Enchantress of Numbers. Who is Ada Lovelace? Well, you've got to go back over 150 years. Yeah -- computers, before the civil war. Lovelace was the daughter of Lord Byron who, after marrying mathematician Charles Babbage, wrote notes on his analytical engine. Included in those notes, apparently, is the first algorithm meant to be processed by a machine.

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Beckinsale, Zooey in New Absolut Ads

Kate Beckinsale and Zooey Deschanel are featured in some new retro-inspired Absolut ads that sell the hell out of Kate Beckinsale, but not so much the vodka.

Kate has Everybody's Fine in theaters this weekend, and Zooey's (500) Days of Summer was just named the NBR list of the year's ten best films. It's also on DVD December 22nd, if you have stockings to stuff. The photos are the work of Ellen von Unwerth, who is better known for her black and white female erotica shots, but she's done gobs of ads before. I'm not a huge fan, so maybe she delves into the bright and colorful more often than I think, but it's not what I'd associate her with.

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