I’ve seen bits and pieces of The Princess Bride for years but never saw it all the way through until last week. I’m glad I finally watched the whole thing because it’s a wonderful movie and I had a lot of fun watching it. Before I share more of my thoughts on it, I’ll give a spoiler-filled recap of the plot. If you haven’t seen it yet, skip to the last paragraph or, better yet, watch it before reading this review. Ready? Ok, here we go.
A young boy is sick in bed, so his grandfather reads him a story in the hopes of making him feel better. The story tells of a woman named Buttercup who falls in love with her farmhand named Westley. Before they can marry, Westley is presumed to have been killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts and Buttercup is heartbroken. Making matters worse, Prince Humperdinck decides to marry her and she is forced to accept.
The wedding is delayed, however, when she is kidnapped by Vizzini and his henchmen, a giant named Fezzik and a Spanish fencer named Inigo Montoya. Their plans are ruined when the Dread Pirate Roberts appears and defeats each of them before rescuing Buttercup. Just as Prince Humperkinck and his men arrive, Buttercup learns that Westley is the Dread Pirate Roberts and the two of them briefly evade Humperdinck before being captured. Humperdinck promises Buttercup that he will release Westley but instead has him tortured to death.
Fezzik and Inigo meet again and decide to search for Westley as Inigo believes he can help him find the man who killed his father many years ago. After they discover his body in the torture chamber, they take him to Miracle Max and beg for his help. Because Westley is merely “mostly dead” and, therefore, “slightly alive”, Max is successfully able to revive him. Westley develops a plan to invade the castle, rescue Buttercup, and allow Inigo to avenge his father’s death. The plan works perfectly and they all ride away on horseback to the perfect fairy tale ending. Meanwhile, the sick boy ends up loving the story despite initially being extremely skeptical and asks his grandfather to read it to him again the next day. His grandfather replies “As you wish”, which, just like in the story, means “I love you.”
The Princess Bride is a rare movie in that it appeals to nearly everyone who watches it. I think everyone I know who’s seen it has enjoyed it. That’s a pretty rare accomplishment for a movie but not surprising for this one since it has something for everyone: action, adventure, comedy, romance, and plenty of heart. The small amount of behind-the-scenes footage I’ve seen makes it appear that everyone enjoyed working together and had a lot of fun making the movie, and it shows in their performances. I just love watching everyone onscreen, especially during the funny moments. The comedy is a good mix of over-the-top silliness and casual deliveries that meshes perfectly with my sense of humor. And the tone of the movie is well balanced so that the lighthearted moments don’t overshadow the more serious moments and vice versa. All of this makes The Princess Bride a fun movie that anyone can enjoy watching over and over again.