The Princess Bride (1987)

This tongue-in-cheek send up of fairy tale renaissance romance has become something of a cult classic. It features superb acting, cheeky humor, clever dialog and not a hint of self-importance. The world of The Princess Bride is full of colorful characters, lush scenery and the kind of on-screen magic that cult classics are made of.

The tale of The Princess Bride is itself as story within a story. A young boy, Fred Savage, is sick and his grandfather is watching him for the day. He reads from a book of the same name and is met throughout the film by commentary from his grandson, who is disapproving towards such mushy fairy tale junk. The grandfather persists and sucks his grandson and the audience into the tale of Westley and Princess Buttercup.

On the surface, it’s a standard tale of two lovers separated by distance and time. The hero makes his way through a series of escalating perils to return to his true love. The challenges he faces are bizarre and the woman he fights for is lovely, though otherwise unimpressive. This is the true test to any live-action fairy tale- making the characters likable.

If you plucked most fairy tale heroes and their women out of the books and put them in real life, the men would typically be arrogant and full of themselves while the women would mostly seem vain and naïve at best. If we met them on the street, the good guys in fairy tales wouldn’t be very likeable. The fact that the actors have put aside any reservations and absorbed themselves so deeply into these shallow characters makes The Princess Bride all the better. They don’t try to humanize them or rationalize their actions. They portray everything deadpan but they don’t shy away from including the more cartoonish elements to this very flesh-and-blood film.

As I think it probably is with most fairy tales, it’s the supporting cast that makes the movie. The princess and the hero are to be expected, but in order to like either of them you need a villain who is foul and far more arrogant and conceited than the hero. Only then will audiences sympathize with the hero’s quest and his love’s longing to be rid of her captor.

While the villain is the most essential supporting player, you also need lackeys for both sides of the battle. In The Princess Bride, the evil Prince Humperdinck has his sidekick and the hero, Westely, picks up his band of helpers along the way. With a cold calculating six-fingered count, a Spaniard bent on revenge and André the Giant in your supporting roles, you can’t help but be entertained. Throw in an inspired cameo performance by Billy Crystal (under heavy makeup) and you’ve got yourself a winner.

Pulling all this comedic potential together is director Rob Reiner. Made during his heyday, Reiner knew just where to find the funny in each and every scene. While not every moment of the film is amusing and enjoyable, Reiner creates some classic scenes that have been cherished and recited by fans for over 20 years now. Though far from perfect, The Princess Bride is a light and fun tale that can be enjoyed by those who love silly romantic fairy tales and those that love to make fun of them.

RATING: 3.75 out of 5