Princess Bride
Sometimes there are movies that stand the test of time more than any other, whether it be because they connect with the audience stronger than your average churned out piece of cinema or perhaps because the style or the approach if you will was one that was majorly different than anything that had been applied to that type of story in the past, thus somehow making it more accessible to viewers than maybe even its makers expected. All that and more can be said about this 1987 release that performed rather modestly upon its original theatrical run but then picked up steam later on as its popularity grew to extraordinary proportions. At its core, it is a fairy tale adapted for the screen that takes place in a faraway (and fictional) land a long time ago, but given some of the writing and acting here, itâs debatable as to whether the film is somewhat of a spoof / parody or rather one that actually does take its premise seriously albeit while injecting it with a self conscious sense of humor that runs underneath almost every scene. There is a rather unnecessary âframing deviceâ employed here that involves a modern day grandfather (Peter Falk) visiting his sick grandson (Fred Savage) at home before whipping out the book that this story is based upon and reading it to him. The upside to this is having Falk actively narrate several parts of the story while the downside is having several instances of the extremely annoying Savage interrupt his granddad, usually to whine about certain parts of the book which he doesnât particularly like, a story device which makes one almost feel that the actual fairy tale being told here was strong enough to carry the movie without the intrusive framing segments. Even the final scene throws the viewer off into thinking that the real point of the whole thing was in Savage reconciling with his estranged grandfather (since itâs implied in the opening scene that Savage doesnât even like his grandfather all that much). But until an edited version is produced without the irritating interruptions, it might just be best to tune those parts out and focus on the meat and potatoes, a story of âtrue loveâ in medieval times between a boy and a girl on a farm before the boy goes off to seek his fortune and is said to have been killed by pirates, only to return incognito passing himself off as a much feared pirate himself and besides that, having impeccable abilities when it comes to swordfighting, hand to hand combat, matching wits, psychological tactics and extremely physical acts of heroics that would leave most men either extremely winded or dead, doing it all with such a relaxed, cavalier and confident attitude that it seems that such a man would really not even fear death itself. In casting this type of role (especially in the 80s), it would appear that the producers would have needed to find an actor who somehow would miraculously carry the DNA of both Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks and even more miraculously would appear to have found that very actor in one Cary Elwes, who became an overnight star (although he would eventually regress to character acting roles and outright villains) in the role of Westley, hero extraordinaire who returns to his homeland after five years to be reunited with his one and only love in Buttercup, The Princess Bride (Robin Wright, who makes considerably less of an impression than Elwes), only to find that since she believed him to be dead, she has now agreed to be married into The Royal Family of their country, namely to Prince Humperdinck, the slitheringly charismatic leader to be who is played by Chris Sarandon, a guy whose career has veered between forgettable B grade roles and some truly unforgettable performances in films such as the recent (at that time) Fright Night. Amazingly, as we watch the Westley / Buttercup / Humperdinck angle play out, director Rob Reiner manages to sneak in an even more compelling storyline than that, one which is played admirably straight without neither humor nor irony. This story involves the Spanish swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin in a legendary turn that even surpasses Elwes) who becomes allies with Westley due to his own personal quest for revenge since as it turns out Humperdinckâs right hand man Count Rugen (Christopher Guest) had murdered Montoyaâs father 20 years prior in a conflict over money and now with Westleyâs mission to save his true love from The Prince dovetailing with his own hunt for The Princeâs top henchman, he is spurred on to join with him so that he can confront Guest and utter the now legendary line âAllo. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.â, delivered by Patinkin with such intensity on more than one occasion that the impending showdown between he and Guest literally overtakes the entire movie itself, ironically thrusting Guest into the lead villain role as well. Thatâs fine though, as Guest just about steals the movie with his soft spoken, deadly serious bad guy with an extremely high interest in the inflicting of pain and suffering, so much so that he has not only invented a special torture machine that he has Westley hooked up to, but he also is using Westley as a literal guinea pig for the device, inflicting certain specific levels of pain and suffering on him all while taking notes and studying the effectiveness and reactions by Westley to the agony that he endures, a trait that might come across as being darkly humorous if not for Guestâs extremely serious take on how he is documenting his work, a quality that by itself alone elevates his Count Rugen above Sarandonâs Humperdinck as being the more effective of the two antagonists in the movie and thus also elevating Matinkinâs Montoya (with his obvious passion for revenge) to a higher status as a hero. Also helping Elwes and Patinkin is Andre The Giant (less than a year before he turned into a major bad guy in pro wrestling) as Fezzik, a giant (obviously) whose size and strength come in handy when needed in combat, but what really made Andre (who would die in 1993) so endearing in the role was the humorous pathos with which the character (and performance) carried himself as Fezzik is shown to be a really sweet, dumb guy who just happens to be 7 foot 5. Also on hand in this all star cast that is littered with cameos is Wallace Shawn (always one of the most irritating character actors to ever live) as the Sicilian mastermind Vizzini, Peter Cook hilariously making the most of his five minutes of screen time as The Impressive Clergyman, Mel Smith contributing little to nothing as an Albino henchman and Billy Crystal coming dangerously close to Jewish / Yiddish stereotyping here as Miracle Max, an apparently low rent wizard of some kind who nonetheless can concoct a way to even cheat death. Crystal apparently was the toast of the set during the filming of his part for what would appear to be some rapid fire improv, but onscreen his Catskills comedy act while playing this character somehow throws the whole rhythm of the film out of whack, making his role almost stick out like a sore thumb for seeming so out of place amongst the others, only redeemed greatly by Carol Kane coming out of nowhere halfway through his bit in the film as his shrieking wife (âGet back, witch.â âIâm not a witch. Iâm your wife!â) as at least getting to watch these two play off of each other is pretty damn hilarious. But itâs the script and dialogue that is truly a joy to take in, instantly making most of the characters relatable by not using dated, pompous âmedieval speakâ but rather in giving many of them (especially Elwes) a rather wry, sardonic sense of humor, as if these characters from a thousand years ago were suddenly inhabited by the personalities of modern day Americans while still having full knowledge of their own time period and the technological shortcomings which they face, although it does get a bit carried away at times such as when Shawnâs Vizzini makes a direct cheap shot reference to Vietnam. The majority of the film still works rather well even to this day, although for some picking your favorite of the two heroes (Elwesâ dashing derring do with a wink and a smile or Patinkinâs honor bound swordsman on a mission of revenge with most giving the edge to Patinkin) or the two villains (Sarandon wins points for his prickly elitist with the heart of a coward but as stated Guest is much more effective) is as enjoyable an ongoing debate as any ever seen in recent cinema history with this undisputed perennial classicâŚ
8/10