For the right celebrity, Sally Highsmith is a dedicated fan.
She waited an hour in line to shake hands with Danny McBride when the lead actor visited campus last month. She got her tickets weeks in advance and waited in line two hours early to make sure she got into the sneak preview of Your Highness. She even spent another hour unsuccessfully hoping for a chance to chat with McBride after the show.
Highsmith, a sophomore in psychology and a big fan of the actor, admits that having the celebrity attending a special event added to the movie’s appeal. Other students found the hype of McBride’s presence and the exclusive nature of the event affected the overall perception of the movie.
“Yes, it was funny,” Highsmith said. “However, at some points it felt like I was forcing laughter because the rest of the audience was already roaring and laughing hysterically.
Highsmith said the film was a mixed comedic bag at best.
“Some parts were ridiculously funny,” Highsmith said, ”and then there would be moments where the joke went on far too long. But sitting there in Witherspoon at such an exclusive event with the stars there? It didn’t even matter.”
The film opened at the box office this past weekend at number six, which is relatively low for a movie’s opening weekend. Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer only ranked it at twenty-five percent out of 100.
Your Highness raked in only $9.4 million, compared to the weekend’s top-grossing film Hop at $21 million.
Rick Gardner, associate director of Campus Activities, UAB advisor and Witherspoon Student Center manager, said there are many factors that influence perception of a film.
“First, the critics and the people have different views of movies,” Gardner said. “Even movies like Inception when it first came out—the critics said it was confusing but the general public loved it.”
“Students have different tastes than critics,” Gardner said.
In fact, according to the Internet Movie Database, Your Highness’ highest ratings were given by young viewers aged 18-29, which was most likely the target audience.
“I think critics see something like [Your Highness] and think it’s been done before,” Gardner said, “whereas the State students got that exclusive atmosphere [at the premiere].”
Gardner said another thing to keep into account is the free factor.
“A movie may seem to be a lot better than it really is if they haven’t paid for it,” Gardner said.
Students agreed having Danny McBride and David Gordon Greene on campus added to the excitement.
”The hype definitely had something to do with it,” Highsmith said. ”Meeting Danny McBride and David Gordon Green really got me pumped and excited for the movie.”
Amanda Grier, a freshman in communications, loves “stupid comedies” and thought the jokes were well-placed and funny. She said she does not think her opinion of the movie would have differed if she had not attended the preview.
“A lot of hype was from the fact the actor and director were there,” said Grier, “along with knowing we were getting a free sneak peek. But, I think I would have enjoyed the movie the same either way.”
Christian Forest, a sophomore in political science, attended the screening and believes the hype did impact the audience.
“I thought the movie was great,” said Forest. “It was hilarious and it was definitely my type of comedy, and it is sort of under the radar.”
Nonetheless, Forest said he was impacted by the stars’ presence.
“The fact that it was a preview definitely affected how it was perceived,” Forest said, ”because after the movie Danny McBride and the director [David Gordon Greene] sat down and talked about it, and they took time out of their schedules to come to State, and it was really cool.”
Amy Lawrence, sophomore in chemical engineering, saw Your Highness in theaters, not at the preview with Danny McBride, and she didn’t think it was hilarious.
“It was funny,” Lawrence said, “but I wouldn’t go too far and say it was hilarious or hysterical. It was fun to watch, but sometimes the jokes were a little much.”
Yahoo!Movies has Your Highness listed with an average grade of a C- from several critics, whereas Internet Movie Database has the movie rated a 6.2 out of 10.
The actual quality of Your Highness is a highly subjective matter, but there is no doubt that McBride’s visit to campus had a positive impact upon student views of the film.