The Daily Stream: You Haven't Watched The Princess Bride? Inconceivable!
(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)
The Movie: "The Princess Bride"
Where You Can Stream It: Disney+
The Pitch: Maybe you've watched "The Princess Bride" a thousand times. Maybe you've never seen it. Either way, I implore you to do it again. I fall into the "thousand times" category, but it had been a while. If you have not yet experienced the wonder that is "The Princess Bride," here's the deal with your future favorite comedy (I feel pretty confident in saying that).
The story begins with a young boy (Fred Savage) who is home sick. His grandfather (Peter Falk) comes to read him a story. At first, the kid is annoyed with it all (because it's a book, grandpa) and wants to skip the "kissing parts," but later gets into the tale. We meet Westley (Cary Elwes), a farm boy who falls in love with Buttercup, a young woman who is at first standoffish but later falls in love with him as well. Westley sets off to seek his fortune so they can get married but disappears. The news comes in that Westley was killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts, who takes never takes prisoners. Buttercup vows never to love again.
Why it's essential viewing
Wait! It's not just a romance! There is adventure, too! Buttercup is forcibly engaged to the dorky Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), who is the biggest jerk ever. She's kidnapped by the best villainous trio in film history; Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), Fezzik (André the Giant), and Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin). A mysterious man in a black mask follows them and fights them all to get her back. Wanna guess who that man is? It's not really a spoiler. In fact, the entire story is very "fairy tale," and the overall arc is predictable, but the moments in it ... the comedy ... the joy. Oh, my friends, if you haven't seen this yet, it is an honor to tell you about it.
Even if you haven't watched it yet, you have definitely heard people quote this film. Inigo is not only part of the kidnapping plot by the Prince to frame another country for Buttercup's death, but he's also searching for the Six-Fingered Man (Christopher Guest), who killed his father. Surely a friend has said the line, "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Perhaps you've heard someone say that they know something you don't know — they are not left-handed. That's from the sword battle between the Man in Black and Inigo as they fight on the Cliffs of Despair, which both Elwes and Patinkin did themselves other than a flip move.
Maybe an acquaintance has recently gotten married, and someone joked, "Mawage is wot bwings us togevah today" in a goofy Peter Cook voice. Or you've gone on an adventure, and someone has said to you, "Bye-bye boys. Have fun storming the castle" from the scene with Billy Crystal's Miracle Max and Carol Kane's Valerie.
'As you wish'
There are just so many quotable moments here and perfect — yes, I said perfect — showings from every single cast member that you cannot have missed them all. There are also surprising ones. The late André the Giant gives the most heartfelt and lovely performance. Who knew that he would be one of the sweetest actors in movie history?
"The Princess Bride" is a film that both satirizes a genre and is also one of the best examples of what it's satirizing. It has every element needed for a good romance and a great fairy tale. Likable heroes, villains who turn out not to be, the really bad guy, a comic sidekick, the man seeking revenge, etc. It's also making fun of them with every moment. Westley gets hurt and dies ... except that he's just "mostly dead." The muscle of the group, Fezzik, who should generally be dumb and strong, is sweet, loves poetry, and is the most loyal friend. The sword fighter is out for revenge and doing the job he's been paid for, but is also kind, patient, and very, very funny. The hero has a wide variety of weird skills, but he got them honestly (well, through pirating, but still). The Princess is willing to stand up for herself. The wise magician is really a grumpy guy who just wants a good MLT (a mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich).
I don't want to give anything else away if you really haven't watched, but I implore you to go do it right now. (The correct response to that is "as you wish." If you know, you know.)