Monday, April 22, 2013

The Princess Bride (1987)

"The Princess Bride" is that rare classic that can be enjoyed by all members of the family, regardless of age. It is also a cute, mostly clean comedy that won't bore adults or go over the heads of kids.

   In plotline #1, A sick little boy (played by 80's child-star Fred Savage) is presented by his grandfather (Peter O'Toole) with- not an Atari video game, as he no doubt would've hoped- but a leather bound book, 'The Princess Bride.'

   We are soon pulled into the book and it happenings- of its characters, and lively scenes of swashbuckling and daring-do. Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright Penn) loves Wesley (Carey Elwes,) a lowly stable boy, so naturally she torments him and heckles him with constant petty demands (I've never understood why these kind of women always get hitched first- ideas?)

    Wesley has neither the lineage nor the money to wed Buttercup, so he seeks his fortune at sea, where he meets an uncertain fate at the hands of the Dread Pirate Roberts. Swearing never to love again, the beautiful Buttercup is nevertheless pursued by the douchey Prince Humperdinck, but her kidnapping at the hands of a trio of oddballs only complicates things for the princess.

   The script here is a lot of fun, and the actors' near-perfect delivery of their lines results in one of the most quotable films in movie history. The acting is strong even from the minor players, including Christopher Guest as the devious Count Tyrone Dugan and Mel Smith as the expressive and quite sadistic albino.

   One complaint is Buttercup herself, who takes the cake as the most insipid movie princess of all time, and that includes the sappy, crappy, fragile princesses of early Disney. When she isn't planning her own suicide and badgering Wesley, Buttercup can usually be found crying tears that don't seem to dampen her crystal-clear complexion.

   Despite my animosity towards the fragile, soppy heroine, I concede that "The Princess Bride" is a both a perennial classic  and a movie worth cherishing and sharing with the younger generations, who may nonetheless be skeptical of the 80s' effects. Fun and excellently written, "The Princess Bride" is worth past-tripping for.

 

4 comments:

  1. Adore this film so much. Can quite happily watch it at least once a month and it's usually my go-to film when I'm ill or feeling a little blue. Perfect pick me up.

    Have you read the book? It's well worth a read, definitely recommend it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I didn't like this film the first time I saw it, much to my husband's chagrin (it's one of his favorites); but after seeing it again and again it's grown on me and I am quite the fan now. I loved the book even more (one of my all-time favorites), which may account for some of that. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ahhh, yes, this is one of those movies (and books) that stands the test of time, me thinks. The film is iconic. Name one guy who didn't want to share a peanut with Fezzik or one girl who didn't want to swoon in the arms of the dear Wesley. Pure perfection. Whether you choose to read the book or see the movie, you're in for a real treat!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is one of those cult-classics that are indeed fun to watch w/ the whole family. There are so many memorable characters, though Mandy Patinkin with his 'prepare to die' line is the one I remember the most. Plus Carl Elwes was soooo hunky :D

    ReplyDelete

Hello, and thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts -- reader comments make this blogging gig worthwhile. :-) Due to excessive spam, we are now moderating all comments. Like that dude in the Monty Python skit, we just Don't ... Like ... Spam. I will try to post and respond to your comments as quickly as possibly.