Danny McBride fans, stand up! Your favorite “Foot Fist Way” and “Eastbound & Down” star and co-writer karate chops the big screen today in “Your Highness.”
McBride brings his trademark stoner slacker style to the medieval fantasy genre as Thadeous, a prince comfortably living in the shadow of his heroic and accomplished older brother Fabious (James Franco). When Fabious’ bride-to-be Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel) is kidnapped by the villainous, power-hungry Leezar (Justin Theroux), the duo forgoes their sibling rivalry and teams up on a quest to defeat their enemy and save Fabious’ betrothed, meeting vigilante Isabel (Natalie Portman) along the way.
“At the end of the day, when you’re involved with a movie like this, you want the audience to kind of let go and be able to follow,” McBride recently told MTV News of the "Your Highness" cast. “Even finding humor in a guy who has to fulfill his prophecy and he has all these pressures put upon him by his parental figures, we were just trying to find the humanity in the comedy.”
Indeed, there are some A-list players involved in the side-splitting, traditional medieval archetype-busting “Your Highness,” and they bring their respective smarts to the table. Here are five of the key reasons you should worship “Your Highness.”
Danny McBride (Thadeous)
Multiply his “Eastbound & Down” counterpart Kenny Powers’ crass-minded, foul-mouthed, cannabis-addicted, character by a zillion and you’ve got Thadeous. Such a character could easily make an audience’s skin crawl, but McBride manages a pitch-perfect balance between the inane and loveable – it’s what we adore most about him.
James Franco (Fabious)
Franco plays the golden half of the royal bros with panache and charisma – an eerily familiar version of his Oscar host persona, only this time, everyone else is in on the joke, too. He flexes his muscles and his (admittedly sub-par) vocal chords with ease, and it’s hard not to see why he’s the apple of father King Tallious’ (the distinguished Charles Dance) eye.
Zooey Deschanel (Belladonna)
Deschanel convincingly plays the doe-eyed damsel in distress, even obtaining her requisite singing scene in the flick. It’s no wonder that her beloved Fabious would make out with a pervy wizard, helm an unmanned carriage and battle a five-headed dragon to rescue her from peril.
Natalie Portman (Isabel)
If only the Academy had known! Portman plays an assassin hell-bent on avenging her deceased family, and is as comfortable dropping trou as she is playing off Thadeous’ overtly sexist and offensive advances. She’s the ultimate gorgeous, strong, butt-kicking heroine with a sense of humor.
Justin Theroux (Leezar)
The villain of “Your Highness” almost manages to steal the show from our genetically-linked protagonists. As Theroux told MTV News: “He starts strong and finishes soft in a great way – in that he’s all bluster when he shows up, but by the end, he gets more and more human – which is a strange way to go with a villain, because normally they’re at their craziest in act three.” We’d just like to state that we agree wholeheartedly, and – also – we’ve never found ourselves more moved by a speech given over fish-sticks and peas. You'll see.
Are you seeing "Your Highness" this weekend? Tell us what you think in the comments section and on Twitter!
Tags Danny McBride, james franco, justin theroux, natalie portman, your highness, zooey deschanel
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'Your Highness': Meet The Cast Of James Franco, Danny McBride And Natalie Portman's Fantasy Comedy
Posted 4/8/11 12:20 pm EST by Katie Calautti in Casting Call, Commentary, Humor
Danny McBride fans, stand up! Your favorite “Foot Fist Way” and “Eastbound & Down” star and co-writer karate chops the big screen today in “Your Highness.”
McBride brings his trademark stoner slacker style to the medieval fantasy genre as Thadeous, a prince comfortably living in the shadow of his heroic and accomplished older brother Fabious (James Franco). When Fabious’ bride-to-be Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel) is kidnapped by the villainous, power-hungry Leezar (Justin Theroux), the duo forgoes their sibling rivalry and teams up on a quest to defeat their enemy and save Fabious’ betrothed, meeting vigilante Isabel (Natalie Portman) along the way.
“At the end of the day, when you’re involved with a movie like this, you want the audience to kind of let go and be able to follow,” McBride recently told MTV News of the "Your Highness" cast. “Even finding humor in a guy who has to fulfill his prophecy and he has all these pressures put upon him by his parental figures, we were just trying to find the humanity in the comedy.”
Indeed, there are some A-list players involved in the side-splitting, traditional medieval archetype-busting “Your Highness,” and they bring their respective smarts to the table. Here are five of the key reasons you should worship “Your Highness.”
Danny McBride (Thadeous)
Multiply his “Eastbound & Down” counterpart Kenny Powers’ crass-minded, foul-mouthed, cannabis-addicted, character by a zillion and you’ve got Thadeous. Such a character could easily make an audience’s skin crawl, but McBride manages a pitch-perfect balance between the inane and loveable – it’s what we adore most about him.
James Franco (Fabious)
Franco plays the golden half of the royal bros with panache and charisma – an eerily familiar version of his Oscar host persona, only this time, everyone else is in on the joke, too. He flexes his muscles and his (admittedly sub-par) vocal chords with ease, and it’s hard not to see why he’s the apple of father King Tallious’ (the distinguished Charles Dance) eye.
Zooey Deschanel (Belladonna)
Deschanel convincingly plays the doe-eyed damsel in distress, even obtaining her requisite singing scene in the flick. It’s no wonder that her beloved Fabious would make out with a pervy wizard, helm an unmanned carriage and battle a five-headed dragon to rescue her from peril.
Natalie Portman (Isabel)
If only the Academy had known! Portman plays an assassin hell-bent on avenging her deceased family, and is as comfortable dropping trou as she is playing off Thadeous’ overtly sexist and offensive advances. She’s the ultimate gorgeous, strong, butt-kicking heroine with a sense of humor.
Justin Theroux (Leezar)
The villain of “Your Highness” almost manages to steal the show from our genetically-linked protagonists. As Theroux told MTV News: “He starts strong and finishes soft in a great way – in that he’s all bluster when he shows up, but by the end, he gets more and more human – which is a strange way to go with a villain, because normally they’re at their craziest in act three.” We’d just like to state that we agree wholeheartedly, and – also – we’ve never found ourselves more moved by a speech given over fish-sticks and peas. You'll see.
Are you seeing "Your Highness" this weekend? Tell us what you think in the comments section and on Twitter!
Tags Danny McBride, james franco, justin theroux, natalie portman, your highness, zooey deschanel
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