Film Review: The Princess Bride

His name was Inigo Montoya. You killed his father. Prepare to die. To those of us who have seen the Princess Bride, forgetting the meaning of these words would be inconceivable! Directed by Rob Reiner, starring Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, and Robin Wright Penn, this 1987 cinematic fairy tale tells the story of a simple stable-boy's undying love for the beautiful princess he serves.

The truth is the film's story is absolutely as simple and elegant as that. Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy feigns his own death, boy turns into a dread pirate. I'm pretty sure that's how all the great love stories go. This narrative of The Princess Bride is framed by a plain story of a grandfather reading a book to his grandson when he stays home sick from school. The beautiful thing about this plot device is that the fairy tale where the film spends most of it's time, has to make no pretense about being real. It's silly, over the top, and illogical in all the right places and never has to apologize for it's cartoony sets that look as much like lovingly-made crayon drawings as real life.

More than anything else, more than the witty, friendly dialogue, or brightly colored visuals, what drew me into the Princess Bride were the characters. The people you meet watching this film will stay in your back pocket the rest of your life, popping up from time to time to parrot a line or two from your favorite scene. They're all so well-rounded, filling the standard fairy-tale character slot they represent perfectly, the swashbuckler, the princess, but always with a hint of something more. Something anachronistic and unpredictable, that delicately prods at the ever-thinning fourth wall and leaves you smiling.

It's this reckless abandon of reality that makes The Princess Bride such a singularly wonderful film, and one unlike any you'd see in a theater today. So many films made now trade the splendor of absurdity for something darker and grittier, believing that today's audiences would refuse to suspend their disbelief for a movie like this. I'm here to tell you that if you haven't seen The Princess Bride, it's time to give in a bit on this desire for veracity and open yourself up to a warm, charming little film that will touch your heart and make you laugh in a distinctly genuine way.

Where to get The Princess Bride:
www.amazon.com/Princess-Bride-20th-Anniversary/dp/B000TJBNHG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1
www.jr.com/product/movie/pv/_1016744V/
www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp
www.buy.com/retail/product.asp
video.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp