The Princess Bride

Year: 1987
Directed By: Rob Reiner
Written By: William Goldman (book and screenplay)

RYAN’S REVIEW

This is a movie I had looked forward reaching in the blog forever. Amber and I have two young daughters and we had finally reached a movie that not only we could watch with them but also one they seemed perfectly suited for. Despite my best efforts, both of my girls are very girly and I live in a world dominated by pink and princesses. This was a classic movie that I and most in my generation grew up with. It was one I wholeheartedly looked forward to showing my own little princesses and passing on a classic to another generation. Sadly this experience was spoiled when we started watching it and come to find out they had already seen it with their grandmother. They loved it, of course, but that’s not surprising at all. This is an exciting and timeless movie that will always be fun and entertaining for children.

I find though that the generations from the mid-90s and up are by and large unfamiliar with this film. I got several strange looks from the young adult guys at work when I mentioned it. Even a few were brazen enough to suggest I was being silly by watching a princess movie. It became frustrating then trying to convey that this isn’t considered a girly movie at all by my generation and that the name was simply misleading. It sucks too anytime the boys have a chance to call me out. I live in a house full of women and take no crap about the princess band-aids I come into work wearing. I am a proud father of girls and wear those princess adorned band-aids with pride. When it comes to my taste in movies and the ones that I own I take no crap. Mentioning this movie seemed to give them the idea they had something to give me a hard time about and I was at a loss in explaining that isn’t the case.

Nothing suggests masculinity less than a film entitled The Princess Bride but it simply gives the wrong impression. The kids at work didn’t know any better and it wasn’t easy swaying their adolescent minds. It’s discouraging that these guys don’t know because I don’t think I convinced them to give it a chance and I doubt they’ll ever click on the title if they come across it on Netflix. It’s unfortunate because they are missing out. They’re missing out on the revenge of Inigo Montoya, the fire swamps and R.O.U.S.’s(Rodents of Unusual Size), most importantly they are missing out on Andre the freaking Giant! The young men at work thought they had something to give me a hard time about but they have no idea what they themselves have missed out on and that’s a shame. It’s ironic too because the movie starts with the young boy played by Fred Savage who doesn’t want to listen to his Grandfather’s boring book about a princess until he finds himself really interested. It’s sucks how life has changed for me personally in this regard. I’m no longer the kid that doesn’t listen because he knows everything already but the grandfather who can’t get the kid to listen even though at his age he actually does know.

I remember watching this movie at a very young age and becoming completely enamored with it. I have a passion for sword fighting in films and it very well may have started with this movie. With Inigo Montoya and the Dread Pirate Roberts on the edge of the Cliffs of Insanity. I learned so much from this film as a kid, lessons that would mold my imagination as I grew up. The quest for revenge and the perseverance that is necessary. The romance of Buttercup and Westley and how it affects the lives of all that get mixed up in it. The boldness of bravery and the excitement of action. The fun of the fairy tale medieval setting. So much of what I love about other stories I learned from this one as a beginner to the media of film. I have grown up watching movies in an age where putting your kids in front of the television was the easiest way to shut them up. It is from so many films that I have learned the lessons that have stayed with me in life. This movie is one of the oldest I remember watching and learning from when I was around 5 or 6 years old.

There is one question that comes to mind for me every time I watch this movie. Why didn’t the career of Cary Elwes do any better? Nearly 30 years after this film his costar Robin Wright is still a successful actress currently starring in the hit Netflix show House of Cards. Yet Elwes has done practically nothing of note aside from this movie. The only other thing that immediately jumps to mind is the very silly Robin Hood Men in Tights, which I loved as a child, but there is little else. You could make a case for Saw, or…..Twister, maybe, but I wouldn’t. I just don’t understand because this movie would seem to suggest he was on his way to being a regular leading man. Although maybe he just seems cooler with his company. It could be argued that even Wallace Shawn seemed much cooler flanked by Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya and Andre the Giant (no matter who he played, he’s Andre the freakin Giant).

Some movies you never outgrow, some of the films that really leave impressions on us stay with us forever. I often consider this film an afterthought but it without doubt is significant to me personally. It’s a movie that I find myself getting sucked into again each and every time I come across it. If nothing else I consider myself lucky to see the duel on the Cliffs of Insanity anytime because it is a scene that never gets old for me. Despite the know it all boys I work with I think each of them would agree with my opinion of this film if they pulled their heads out of their asses and actually watched it. It’s a timeless classic that has a place in each succeeding generation. I have never been a fan of Rob Reiner or any of his films but I make an exception for this movie. Credit should be given where it is due and in this case it is. The Princess Bride is a film that everybody should see regardless your age or sex and it is without doubt worth your time to see.

NEXT MOVIE: Prometheus (2012)