The Princess Bride (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
'The Princess Bride' (directed by Rob Reiner) is constructed as a story-within-a-story. In reality, a grandfather (Peter Falk) stops by to read a story, The Princess Bride, to his sick grandson (Fred Savage) - I like that he must put down his vapid video game to listen to grandpa's story. The story starts slow, but before long, the grandson is transfixed by said story & his imagination makes it come alive. The narrative, which changes as grandpa reads, takes place in the magical realm of Florin, & tells of the true love btwn. peasant girl Buttercup (Robin Wright) & 'farm boy' Westley (Cary Elwes). They declare their love for each other but are soon separated by evil forces, & Westley is believed to be dead. It's at this point where the grandson interrupts his grandfather's telling of this story to ask, 'is this going to have a lot of kissing in it!?' {haha}. Grandpa assures, 'there will be Screaming Eels'.
Back to the story. Buttercup, heartbroken & stoic after her loss, is chosen by odious crown Prince Humperdink (Chris Sarandon), to be his bride. However, he intends to arrange for Buttercup's abduction, frame a rival for her murder, & start a war in the kingdom of Guilder. For this, he hires 3 rogues to capture Buttercup: Vizzini (the diminutive Wallace Shawn), a scheming conniver who thinks he's the smartest man in the world & loves the word 'inconceivable'; Fezzik the Giant (Andre the Giant), who is dumb, but kind; and swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), who is hell bent on finding a 6-fingered man - who killed his beloved father. Vizzini, Fezzik, & Inigo kidnap Buttercup while she's out riding. Heading back to the Guilder realm, they take her away by boat.
Hot on their trail is the Dread Pirate Roberts. He pursues them to the Cliffs of Insanity where he gets in a fencing duel with Inigo, a wrestling match with Fezzik, & a double-talkin' battle of wits with Vizzini to win Buttercup. Once she's with him, the Dread Pirate reveals himself to be Westley! Fleeing Humperdinck & his lackey, Count Rugen (Christopher Guest), B & W enter the Fire Swamp, where Rodents of Unusual Size are hungry for flesh. Later, it's more run-ins with Humperdinck. Fortunately, B&W have allies. Fezzik & Inigo have joined up with them on their quest. And when trouble befalls Westley (once again) they receive aid from an old dwarf wizard named Miracle Max (Billy Crystal) & his henpecky crone of wife (Carol Kane). They specialize in bringing the dead back to life.
Will Humperdinck's evil plans trump the good guys? Will Inigo Montoya find the 6-fingered man who killed his father? And most importantly, will the "Wauve, Twoo Wauve" (true love) of Buttercup & Westley win the day? I almost don't know where to begin with expressing my adoration for this film. It's got great production values. Awesome fantasy locales. The performances are loads of fun. And it's entertaining (clever script, a beautiful princess, daring swordplay(!), an evil prince, genius kidnappers, friendly giants, swamps, rodents, sadistic albino torturers, miracle workers, et al). Furthermore, the script is witty, AND it pokes fun at itself. 'Princess Bride' acts as a wonderful satire of the swashbuckling/romantic epics of movies past. It parodies, but also celebrates the genre.
The cast excels. Robin Wright & Cary Elwes are appropriately good-looking in the Lead roles, & they make us care about them every step of the way. Elwes is adept at nailing comedy, drama & action. And American Robin Wright nails lends a stellar British accent to her role. Mandy Patinkin - someone I don't usually love - is fantastic as Inigo; a 'bad guy' who we sympathetic for. And his "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." line is truly iconic. Andre the Giant makes Fezzik a lovable brute. Wallace Shawn is great as the egotistical Vizzini. The 'war of wits' he engages in with Westley is one of the great comedic set pieces in movies {in my opinion}. Chris Sarandon makes for an appropriately vile, pompous villain, Humperdinck. You want to wipe the smirk off his face. And both Billy Crystal & Carol Kane are riotous as Miracle Max & his crone wife. Their repartee & ad-libbed line deliveries are comedy gold.
You know, kids will likely love this movie (as I did, back when). But there is so much knowing humor & ingenious set pieces that I think the biggest fans will be from the adults. There are a host of iconic lines: "The "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." "Mawwage. Mawaage is what bwings us togethahhh, today" (said by an elderly priest). "Have fun storming the castle!" And my favorite, a retort that Westley would always give to Buttercup ..."As you wish". Princess Bride' is just a treasure of a movie; a beautiful fantasy full of fun, adventure & romance.
Back to the story. Buttercup, heartbroken & stoic after her loss, is chosen by odious crown Prince Humperdink (Chris Sarandon), to be his bride. However, he intends to arrange for Buttercup's abduction, frame a rival for her murder, & start a war in the kingdom of Guilder. For this, he hires 3 rogues to capture Buttercup: Vizzini (the diminutive Wallace Shawn), a scheming conniver who thinks he's the smartest man in the world & loves the word 'inconceivable'; Fezzik the Giant (Andre the Giant), who is dumb, but kind; and swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), who is hell bent on finding a 6-fingered man - who killed his beloved father. Vizzini, Fezzik, & Inigo kidnap Buttercup while she's out riding. Heading back to the Guilder realm, they take her away by boat.
Hot on their trail is the Dread Pirate Roberts. He pursues them to the Cliffs of Insanity where he gets in a fencing duel with Inigo, a wrestling match with Fezzik, & a double-talkin' battle of wits with Vizzini to win Buttercup. Once she's with him, the Dread Pirate reveals himself to be Westley! Fleeing Humperdinck & his lackey, Count Rugen (Christopher Guest), B & W enter the Fire Swamp, where Rodents of Unusual Size are hungry for flesh. Later, it's more run-ins with Humperdinck. Fortunately, B&W have allies. Fezzik & Inigo have joined up with them on their quest. And when trouble befalls Westley (once again) they receive aid from an old dwarf wizard named Miracle Max (Billy Crystal) & his henpecky crone of wife (Carol Kane). They specialize in bringing the dead back to life.
Will Humperdinck's evil plans trump the good guys? Will Inigo Montoya find the 6-fingered man who killed his father? And most importantly, will the "Wauve, Twoo Wauve" (true love) of Buttercup & Westley win the day? I almost don't know where to begin with expressing my adoration for this film. It's got great production values. Awesome fantasy locales. The performances are loads of fun. And it's entertaining (clever script, a beautiful princess, daring swordplay(!), an evil prince, genius kidnappers, friendly giants, swamps, rodents, sadistic albino torturers, miracle workers, et al). Furthermore, the script is witty, AND it pokes fun at itself. 'Princess Bride' acts as a wonderful satire of the swashbuckling/romantic epics of movies past. It parodies, but also celebrates the genre.
The cast excels. Robin Wright & Cary Elwes are appropriately good-looking in the Lead roles, & they make us care about them every step of the way. Elwes is adept at nailing comedy, drama & action. And American Robin Wright nails lends a stellar British accent to her role. Mandy Patinkin - someone I don't usually love - is fantastic as Inigo; a 'bad guy' who we sympathetic for. And his "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." line is truly iconic. Andre the Giant makes Fezzik a lovable brute. Wallace Shawn is great as the egotistical Vizzini. The 'war of wits' he engages in with Westley is one of the great comedic set pieces in movies {in my opinion}. Chris Sarandon makes for an appropriately vile, pompous villain, Humperdinck. You want to wipe the smirk off his face. And both Billy Crystal & Carol Kane are riotous as Miracle Max & his crone wife. Their repartee & ad-libbed line deliveries are comedy gold.
You know, kids will likely love this movie (as I did, back when). But there is so much knowing humor & ingenious set pieces that I think the biggest fans will be from the adults. There are a host of iconic lines: "The "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." "Mawwage. Mawaage is what bwings us togethahhh, today" (said by an elderly priest). "Have fun storming the castle!" And my favorite, a retort that Westley would always give to Buttercup ..."As you wish". Princess Bride' is just a treasure of a movie; a beautiful fantasy full of fun, adventure & romance.