The Princess Bride

Time to review another movie suited for Valentine’s Day. I’m really excited this time around because I will be reviewing one of my all time favorites, “The Princess Bride.” This is told as a story read to a sick little boy, and the boy is carefully doubtful – who wouldn’t be? Here is a complete fairy tale filled with imaginary characters, crazy adventures and a lot of other things that is definitely not for everyone. However, “The Princess Bride” has charm and honesty at its corner, and when it comes to fairy tales, those are major resources. It also has a great cast and a happy, serious style that turns out to be even more attractive as the film goes on. Even the little boy, who can be difficult, eventually likes it.

“The Princess Bride,” released in 1987, was adapted by William Goldman from his 1973 novel, which claims to be a suitably reduced version of a children’s book the author loved in his childhood. Janet Maslin said in her review, “The film version has been streamlined even more drastically, so that the heroine - an innocent beauty named Buttercup -has been introduced, disappointed in love and affianced to the wrong man before the first five minutes are over.” That’s all right. There’s a lot more of the story left, and the look-alike blond Buttercup (Robin Wright) and her true love Westley (Cary Elwes) are on the boring side anyway. Maslin noted, “In the world of fairy-tale royalty, that's very much as it should be.”

Buttercup then gets engaged to the splendidly arrogant Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), whose objectives are not the best and whose henchman, Count Rugen (Christopher Guest), delights himself on a “deep and abiding interest in pain.” However, before falling in their hands, Buttercup is kidnapped by three strange men: a happily evil gang leader, Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), Fezzik the giant (the late professional wrestler, Andre the Giant) and the elegant Spanish swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin from “Criminal Minds,” “Chicago Hope,” “Dead Like Me” and currently “Homeland”), who, like most of the story’s characters, is just too kindhearted for his own good. “You seem a decent fellow – I hate to kill you,” he tells one man. There starts a mighty swordfight to the death, but even this ends with a nice little punch on the head.

It’s hard to think that anyone besides Rob Reiner, whose other films have shown such an essential feel-good type, could have handled “The Princess Bride” so well. This stuff could have easily made itself to large parody or become too cute for its own good. However, Reiner makes it as a bedtime story, pure and simple. Maslin said, “Its look is modest - even the high-flying adventure scenes have a mild quality - but ''The Princess Bride'' has a unifying conviction.” Reiner looks like he understood exactly what Goldman loves about stories of this kind, and he shows that with clarity and warmth.

Maslin credited, “''The Princess Bride'' has been well cast, with each of the actors managing to remain within the bounds of the storytelling framework and still make a strong impression.” With maybe the exception of Wallace Shawn, whose comic looks in tough-guy roles are becoming so familiar, the actors are all perfectly matched to their roles. Mandy Patinkin, who is really good, turns out to be a skillful swordsman, although not a very smart one. Maslin noted, “His heroic presence is somehow only enhanced by a halfway-impenetrable Spanish accent.” Chris Sarandon, always a great villain, walks gracefully and shows his own type of evil appeal. Christopher Guest is the exact incarnation of cold-blooded villainy until one suddenly funny duel scene, and Peter Cook is in here briefly but memorably as a cleric performing a ceremony of, as he pronounces it, “mawwidge.”

Billy Crystal and Carol Kane, both looking like they are a collective age of about 400, fight so much as a miracle maker and his irritating wife. As the film’s other romantic duo, Robin Wright and Cary Elwes are properly pleasing. Among the film’s most pleasing elements are a score by Mark Knopfler and the nicely forward presence of Lieutenant Columbo himself, Peter Falk, who shows up as a grandfather reading “The Princess Bride” to his grandson, played by Fred Savage, and interrupts the fairy-tale action occasionally. Maslin ended the review by saying, “Mr. Falk doesn't do much more than make a great ceremony out of the act of reading, but that's enough.”

You shouldn’t have even been reading this blog if you haven’t seen this movie. Go out and see this movie right now because it’s an absolute must. You will love this movie, I promise you. Especially with such lines like, “Inconceivable,” “You keep on using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means,” “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father; prepare to die!” and the ever loving, “As you wish.” I give this film a seriously high recommendation.

Stay tuned Friday for the next installment of “Black History Movie Month.”