Danny McBride made a name for himself in brash comedies Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder, but new release Your Highness is his ultimate offering to the cp,edu canon. As star, writer and executive producer, this is very much his film and teams him up once more with Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green.
McBride plays Thadeous, the lazy and useless brother of handsome Prince Fabious, who sets off on a quest with his brother to rescue Fabious’ bride-to-be, Belladonna. On the way they encounter Isabel, a beautiful warrior played by Natalie Portman, and together they confront the evil wizard Leezar.
Speaking to STV’s Grant Lauchlan, McBride said: “It’s an homage to all those fantasy films of the 80s and late 70s. It’s one of those movies with tons of swear words and lots of bloodshed.”
Despite the swearing and violence, the film is lent some credibility by the recent successes of McBride’s co-stars. James Franco just narrowly missed an Oscar for his starring role in 127 Hours, while Portman won Best Actress for her performance in Black Swan. Reflecting on securing the two stars, McBride is under no illusions about the feat he achieved.
“We got these guys right before they went off and did their Academy Award-winning movies, so I think it would have been a little bit more of a difficult conversation today.
“Oddly enough Franco was easy. We worked with him on Pineapple Express, we got along with him great, he’s a really, really nice dude and really funny, so he was signed up from the beginning. We wrote the role for him actually.
“Natalie oddly enough came to us. She was interested in doing a comedy. I think she liked David’s work in Pineapple Express and liked his other dramatic work, so I think he was an interesting director to work with. We’re not going to tell Natalie Portman ‘No!’. If she wants to be in your movie, you agree to it.”
Reviewing the film itself, Grant Lauchlan said: “I’m not entirely sure what you’ll make of Your Highness. The medieval comedy is pitched as the best quest ever but it’s definitely the rudest and crudest film you’re likely to see this year. It will appeal strictly to fans of crass, gross out humour.”
