Rude Fun

Movie: Your Highness

My Rating: 3 stars

So, back when this movie came out, I had contemplated going to the theater and seeing it with my mom.  It looked like a light, whimsical (if slightly rude) medieval romp.  After having just watched the movie on DVD, I’m glad I didn’t subject her to it.  The jokes are all very raunchy.  It’s all penises, and butt-rape, and molestation.  Now, I’m fine with this sort of impolite fun.  Everyone gets in that sort of mood every now and then.  But, my mom would definitely not have been amused.  That being said, I thought the movie was pretty funny.  No, not all the masturbation and man-fondling—or even any of the slapstick, physical humor.  No, it’s the written jokes that I found to be the funniest, especially when delivered in straight deadpan.  These jokes just catch you so off-guard.  I love it when that happens.  And, this is actually one of the only films in which I find Zooey Deschanel to be funny.  She really nails the delivery of these poker-faced jokes.  Maybe I just don’t like it when she’s cast as too much of a hipster.  That knocks out just about every one of her other films.  But, she’s a perfectly delightful damsel in distress here.

The movie pretty much makes fun of all the ridiculous bits from all those old, fairytale-style quest stories.  We are so used to these stories that there are lots of highly implausible, stock plot points that we just take for granted (without even taking into account all the magical elements).  There are the virginal maidens who have been held captive by evil wizards since they were babies.  And, the fact that these damsels will fall in love with just about every prince who will come along to “rescue” them.  (It’s not clear how this “rescue” is better than her prior captivity).  Then, there is the delight with which we are expected to accept our hero’s slaughtering of whole races of different creatures.  It’s all pretty absurd, and this movie tries to capitalize on that.

This is by no means a great movie.  I’m just saying that it really appealed to my sometimes sick and twisted sense of humor.  On the surface, this movie boasts some of the crudest body-focused humor ever.  But, I do think there are a few nuggets of genuine fun.  However, this may not be enough for most people to justify sitting through all the genital jokes.  And, there sure are a lot of them.  I guess you’ll just have to use your own judgment.