Film Review: The Princess Bride

**Spoilers**

If you have not seen this film, PLEASE stop reading right now and do so immediately.

        Endlessly quotable and exploiting the tropes and stereotypes of classic fairytales to a charming degree, The Princess Bride is a cult classic film that everyone should see at least once during their lifetime. There is fencing, kidnapping, rodents of unusual size, romance, magic, and more witty banter than you can shake a stick at.        

            There's also an evil prince who is just a little bit more intimidating than this:

          And just slightly less on-the-top-of-the-kill-list-irritating than this:

        Basically what this film does is take every fairytale trope and stereotype and inflate them to a ridiculous, exploitative, self-aware level of awesomeness. You will be in tears by the end of this movie...tears of laughter. What's the story?

        Well a young boy is sick in bed is visited by his grandfather who brings an old storybook to read to him. This is a handy framing device as it not only gives us an 'in' to the magical world of the story but the boy and grandfather also provide running commentary throughout, adding to the commentary. The Shrek franchise stole a LOT from this movie as their Farquaad reminds me very much of Prince Humperdinick sometimes and the chalice challenge from Merlin: The Labyrinth of Gedref shows up here as well. Not to mention the romantic dialogue that is so cheesy you could serve it with wine. The sad thing? This intentionally terrible and melodramatic dialogue is somehow better and more believable than a lot of the stuff you'll hear in serious romantic films.

      "I've hired you to help me start a war. It's a prestigious career choice with a long and proud tradition."

       The scenes between Inigo and the Man in Black (haha) are a lot of fun. I like the way they are both so painfully honorable that they let the other rest before they fight to the death. I like that Inigo tells the story of his father while they're waiting. I also love the very civil and ridiculous conversation they have over the edge of the cliff. Their sword fight is a thing  of beauty as well. In fact, all of the fencing matches in this movie are. In a way they remind me of West Side Story in that they are more of a dance than an all-out brawl. There's not even an EFFORT to make them seem gritty and realistic...but somehow that only adds to the charm and humor of the whole thing.

 

          Like I said, this movie is endlessly quotable. I have a whole plethora of gifs on hand, just to use in my reviews. Scarcely a scene goes by without a sentence or conversation that is worthy of being put on a teeshirt. "You're trying to kidnap what I have rightfully stolen." You know you've found something great whenever there are THAT MANY lines that are memorable.

          Now are there maybe a few people in the world who don't enjoy The Princess Bride? Well, hmmm, I suppose there must be a couple who have seen it and don't get it. There's always somebody. Still, the idea of someone actually HATING this film? Inconceivable! 

        It's a cult classic and, watching it again, it's easy to see why. This movie has a little bit of everything. It has comedy, cheese, romance, camp, drama, satire, and lots and lots of fencing. You can't go wrong with swinging swords about and spouting one-liners. And rodents of unusual size. Don't forget those. The Princess Bride is a 5/5. If you have not seen it and ignored the warning at the top of this review, GO AND WATCH IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! I hope I didn't spoil too much for you.

        

 What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?