The Corner Penthouse

Mill Creek recently re-released Your Highness on Blu-ray. Both the Theatrical and Unrated cuts of the movie are on the disc (see differences here), though I only watched the Unrated cut. My review is based on that version of the movie, which still contains lots of R-rated language and some female nudity (not from Natalie Portman, who's uses a body double in the film). Read on to find out more...


Your Highness (2011) is the tale of two royal princes -- slacker Thadeous (Danny McBride) and the noble Fabious (James Franco) -- who join with elusive warrior Isabel (Natalie Portman) on a quest to free princess Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel) from evil wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux). Along the way, they'll have to vanquish horrific creatures and traitorous knights in this raunchy trip.


It's a send-up of 1980s fantasy films like Clash of the Titans, The Beastmaster, Conan the Barbarian, The Dark Crystal, Krull (reviewed here), Legend, Labyrinth, and Willow; with a tip of the hat to The Princess Bride (reviewed here), Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It also purports to be a stoner comedy, as evident by the film's title, title sequence, and the marketing photography. So, I thought that I would like Your Highness. I thought wrong.


The problem is that the film doesn't know what it wants to be. It's a fine sword-and-sorcery fantasy film, but its attempts at humor are all over the place, and that brings down the fantasy elements. At one point it even attempts to be a musical! It was advertised as a stoner comedy, but there is very little stoner humor in it. This is not Cheech and Chong or Harold and Kumar or even the filmmaker's previous effort, Pineapple Express. Your Highness is filled with dick jokes. Lots and LOTS of dick jokes, especially of the "hetro-awkward homosexual" variety. The dick jokes and the anachronistically dirty language are humorous the first time, but become monotonously annoying by the 100th time. The first half of the film is really dry and unfunny. It picks up when Natalie Portman enters around the 50-minute mark.


The cast is really the best thing about the film. I'm not talking about stars James Franco and Danny McBride, who also co-wrote the script. Neither of those guys do much for me, though they were both much better in other projects. Natalie Portman's Isabel the reason to stick with the film through the end, though I can't help but think that Keira Knightly would have been an even better casting choice given that she played similar characters in King Arthur and the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Zooey Deschanel is fun as Belladonna, who even gets a Dana Barrett-like possession. I really wish she had more screen time and wasn't relegated to being the damsel in distress. Charles Dance, from Ghostbusters (2016) and Last Action Hero (reviewed here), appears as King Tallious, the father of Thadeous and Fabious. He also doesn't get to do much here, but it serves as a nice preview of the Game of Thrones role he'd get the same year this film was released. Rounding out the cast are Justin Theroux (as Leezar), Rasmus Hardiker (as Courtney), Toby Jones (as Julie), and Damian Lewis (as Boremont).


Your Highness ends with the set up for a sequel starring Portman and McBride, which we'll never see due to the box office failure of this movie. I would actually love to see Portman and Deschanel in a sequel as a bisexual couple on a quest to kill a certain witch for the reasons stated in the ending. The movie could be set up as if the Franco and McBride were the stars again, even show them prominently on the poster, but then unexpectedly kill them off in the first five minutes. With a new story focusing on the women, it's not likely that there would be so many dick jokes in Your Highness 2, and that's something I highly approve of!


Your Highness is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:42:16 for the Theatrical Cut and 1:45:24 for the Unrated Cut. Audio languages include English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The film includes English SDH subtitles.


Here's a list of all of the bonus features that can be found on the Blu-ray disc.

• Audio Commentary with director David Gordon Green and actors Danny McBride, James Franco, and Justin Theroux. Available on both versions of the film.
• Commentary Introduction (0:30) - Director David Gordon Green and actors Danny McBride, James Franco, and Justin Theroux introduce themselves. Plays when you select either commentary option from the bonus features menu.
• Alternate Scenes (2:07) - Two scenes, individually chaptered. There are no names for the scenes on this disc, but the Universal disc named them as such: "Fab & Court Talk at Camp" and "Fab & Bella Married".
• Deleted Scenes (8:15) - Six scenes, individually chaptered. There are no names for the scenes on this disc, but the Universal disc named them as such: "The Quest Begins", "Heroes Escape Marteetee", "Shitty Moans", "Muldiss Darton", "Labyrinth Hallway", and "Birth of a Dragon".
• Extended Scenes (15:13) - Four scenes, individually chaptered. There are no names for the scenes on this disc, but the Universal disc named them as such: "Leezar Chamber", "Campfire", "Minotaur Love", and "Fairies".
• Gag Reel (5:14) - Hilarious moments from the filming of the movie.
• Damn You Gods: Making Of (30:14) - A rather detailed look at the making of the film.

Your Highness was previously released on Blu-ray in 2011 by Universal. I am saddened to report that Universal's Blu-ray contains some bonus content that is not included on Mill Creek's Blu-ray:

• MISSING: Line-O-Rama (4:03) - A rapidfire string of improvised lines left on the cutting room floor.
• MISSING: Perverted Visions (2:32) - A second set of outtakes, all involving the Great Wise Wizard.
• MISSING: A Vision of Leezar (2:57) - Spend some quality time with Leezar, up close and personal.

If you can find Universal's Your Highness Blu-ray for a cheap price, it would definitely be the preferable version since it contains everything that Mill Creek's Your Highness Blu-ray has, plus a few more bonus features. However, should the Universal disc go out-of-print or be really expensive, Mill Creek's disc is a reasonable option, especially given Mill Creek's budget pricing.


All images were taken from the IMDB gallery of the film. This item has been provided by Mill Creek Entertainment for review on this site.