Now-a-Dollar May 13 | Buzz Blog
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Thursday, May 12, 2011

A&E / Culture

Now-a-Dollar May 13

Posted By on May 12, 2011, 8:03 AM

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Two recent comedies make their bargain-theater debuts this week -- though to the extent that they succeed, perhaps it's best to put "comedies" in quotes. ---

Arthur casts Russell Brand in a remake of the 1981 Dudley Moore vehicle about a perpetually tipsy layabout multimillion-heir who ponders giving up his fortune for the girl of his dreams (Greta Gerwig). There are plenty of funny lines in the script, but the casting simply feels off, with Brand less endearing than Moore and Helen Mirren less prickly in a gender-switch role as Arthur's faithful servant/babysitter. Comedy success is all about chemistry, and this one feels a few drops of something askew.

Your Highness, like Arthur, is also about a son of privilege in need of some growing up -- and the movie itself is even less successful. Danny McBride co-wrote and stars in this fantasy/comedy as a prince on a medieval-ish other world who joins his heroic older brother (James Franco) on a quest to retrieve a maiden (Zooey Deschanel) from an evil wizard. Kudos, I suppose, for attempting to combine stoner gags with swords & sorcery, but the jokes are embarrassingly lazy, generally of the kind that assumes dropping the word "fuck" into any given line inherently makes it a punch line. The only actual punching is what you might like to do to everyone involved in making it.

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About The Author

Scott Renshaw

Scott Renshaw
Bio:
 Scott Renshaw has been a City Weekly staff member since 1999, including assuming the role of primary film critic in 2001 and Arts & Entertainment Editor in 2003. Scott has covered the Sundance Film Festival for 25 years, and provided coverage of local arts including theater, pop-culture conventions, comedy,... more

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