Wednesday, March 10, 2010

THE PRINCESS BRIDE scores again

On a visit to sunny but cool California this month, I cajoled my grandsons, 10 and 8, into watching one of my favorite movies, THE PRINCESS BRIDE. At first they were resistant. What could Papa George know about adventure movies? Rob Reiner's loving adaptation of William Goldman's comic fantasy novel (Goldman did the script as well) begins as a grandfather(Peter Falk, never crustier or sweeter) reads THE PRINCESS BRIDE to his sick grandson, played perfectly by Fred Savage. Marvelous one-liners ensue. "Wait, is this a kissing book?" and "Are there any sports in it" are only the tip of a witty script, mostly lifted from the original book.

As we watched the movie, my wife and I kept peeking at the boys, who quickly became enraptured by this most unusual mix of fantasy, comedy, and swordplay. What other movie can boast a cast of characters as surprisingly offbeat and satirical as the prissy Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), the Spanish swordsman Inigo Montoya with the terrible accent (Mandy Patinkin, who nearly steals the movie), or the has-been magician Miracle Max (Billy Crystal resorting to his New York roots). And who can forget the unlikely Wallace Shawn as a brilliant egotist who has the best line in the film...you'll have to go back and listen, folks. With these great characters and dangers like the Fire Swamp and the Cliffs of Insanity, THE PRINCESS BRIDE pays loving homage to the great adventures of the past but with a modern sensibility. Yes, the sets are obviously sets, the clouds don't move, the costumes are too bright and look rented, the music is cheesily emphatic, and the rocks are obviously foam. All of these elements produce a comic masterpiece that had my grandsons chuckling and occasionally yelling. This is one movie that will never be dated and one my grandsons will watch again.

2 comments:

  1. This made me so happy to read! I love this movie, and love the thought of the guys getting into it! Nice pick, Dad!

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  2. I'm curious: what IS the best line in the film?
    COuld it be?:
    You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia" - but only slightly less well-known is this: "Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line"! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha...

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