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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein that Regé-Jean Page actually improvised one of the movie’s funniest visual gags. Hitting theaters last week to surprisingly positive reviews and a strong box office performance, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the beloved tabletop role-playing game to life. The movie features a standout cast, including Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez, and has been highly praised for its inventive combination of action and comedy.
In a recent interview with Mashable, Daley and Goldstein reveal that Page improvised one visual joke during his character Xenk’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves ending scene. The scene in question features Xenk heroically walking away after aiding Edgin and the others before encountering a large boulder. Check out Daley and Goldstein’s comments on the improvised scene below:
Daley: ”[Xenk’s walk] was us commenting on the trope of the weary hero walking into the sunset and pulling the rug out from the expectation of that trope. That moment was one of the few things that we found on the day. We had Regé walking in a straight line away from the scene, and we decided to just keep the cameras rolling and see what he’d do.”
Goldstein: ”He would just go until we’d call ‘cut,’ so we were like, ‘Don’t call cut. Let’s just see what happens.
Daley: “We had no idea how Regé would handle [the rock]. And the fact that he hopped over it was so hilarious to us that we knew we had to include it.”
Why Honor Among Thieves’ Comedy Works So Well
Although perhaps a surprise considering the movie’s source material, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves often feels more like a straight-up comedy than any kind of fantasy movie. Judging from the reviews and the critical response, this decision to lean into the comedy of Dungeons & Dragons was a wise choice. Instead of tackling the game in a more serious and somber way, which likely would have alienated a large portion of the film’s potential audiences, approaching it with humor has made the adaptation more accessible.
Of course, Honor Among Thieves‘ comedy benefits from clever writing, but the film’s cast is also instrumental in making the jokes and physical gags work. Pine has now proven himself an actor capable of working well in just about any genre, and he is perfect as Edgin, the charming, lute-playing Bard. Rodriguez is well-suited to playing the physically-demanding role of a Barbarian, which comes with its own form of comedy, and Hugh Grant is now widely known for his unique brand of dark British comedy, both on-screen and off.
Honor Among Thieves clearly owes a great debt to the Monty Python comedy troupe. The film features a few standout action sequences, but can also swiftly pivot into an absurd comedy bit that would feel right at home in the likes of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. While Daley and Goldstein don’t reveal any other improvised bits in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, it seems likely that Page’s physical comedy gag is just the tip of the iceberg.
Source: Mashable
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