Review of The Princess Bride (1987) by Lauren B — 03 Sep 2015

"Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...".

I first saw this movie at age 9 in the theater - a Loews 2-screen theater near home in 1987 during a special screening event where we each received a promotional 45 RPM vinyl single of the movie's theme song "Storybook Love" and an instrumental track "Friend's Song" written and performed by Mark Knopfler (of the band Dire Straits). I still have that single somewhere, at my parents' house buried with a bunch of other records (because we still actually listened to records back then).

I fell in love with "The Princess Bride" that day. It was a real fairy tale - something more grown up than a Disney cartoon but not so adult it was out of reach for a 4th grader. It had a handsome swashbuckling pirate, a princess, a giant, a Spaniard, and some villains. It was adventure. It was comedy. It was romance. And what girl doesn't appreciate a princess being rescued by her knight....er....pirate?

And I MADE my parents buy me the movie on VHS one year. And promptly watched it a hundred times...or more. And took it on high school band trips across the state. and to college where we'd pile in a dorm room and be mesmerized every time. And, I can quote every line. Because there is just something enduring and timeless about this movie. I suppose that was the intention of William Goldsmith when he originally wrote the book back in 1973. I have the 30th anniversary edition of it, which I also love dearly.

"The Princess Bride" is subtly funny, a parody of fairy tales filled with all the good parts including outrageous cameos from comedy legends. I laugh every time. This movie makes me happy. It's my zen - a reminder of childhood innocence and wonder, of awkward adolescence, of falling in love in adulthood. This movie is awesome on every level.

I recently read Cary Elwes' memoir "As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride." Cary tell fascinating and often hilarious stories about making the movie with lots of interviews from the cast and crew. I laughed most of the way through the book and enjoyed every glimpse behind the curtain he gave of how my favorite movie came into being. I'll never watch it the same way again - and that's a good thing.

If you've never seen "The Princess Bride," you're missing something truly special. Watch it now. And then watch it again. It gets better every time you see it.