The Princess Bride
The inconceivable Princess Bride
Sat Feb 12 (7 pm); Sat Feb 12 – Mon Feb 14 (9 pm) Directed by Rob Reiner Written by William Goldman Starring Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright Metro Cinema (9828 - 101A Ave)
Once upon a time (1987), there was a comic fairy-tale, The Princess Bride, that became a legend in its own right, immortalized on lists of Funniest Movies and Greatest Film Love Stories. Adapted by William Goldman from his 1973 novel, the tale's told to a grandson (Fred Savage) by his grandfather (Peter Falk) and involves true love, the rescue of a kidnapped princess, swordplay, an ice-cold prince and a six-fingered count, and much kissing. Nearly a quarter-century later, held up to Time (that cruel mirror, mirror on the wall), The Princess Bride seems more like André the Giant's sweetly oafish character Fezzik—basically charming but lumbering along occasionally. Its strengths are still ob-
vious: some exuberant action scenes, some absurdist touches (including an elaborate suction-cup torture device and lines like "You're trying to kidnap what I've rightfully stolen"), Wallace Shawn's pompous schemer Vizzini, and the frame story, with the grandson becoming more and more caught up in the romance than he wants to admit. The story's mostly about the romance of stories. The grandson forgets his videogames as his grandfather's bedtime story sweeps him away. Farmboy-turned-swashbuckler Westley (Cary Elwes) tells us how he became that notorious legend, the "The Dread Pirate Roberts," as he forges on through the Fire-Swamp with his true love, Buttercup (Robin Wright). Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) repeats the story of vengeance that drives him ever onwards, seeking the man who slew his father. These stories, along with the asides and characters' meta-commentaries on the action we're seeing, make the movie a bit too talky. It also shows some of the shagginess and slackness of many '80s Hollywood movies. Mind you, with the post-LOTR self-
seriousness of today's fantasy-epics, the playfulness of The Princess Bride remains refreshing. And the frame-story lets adult viewers be amused by the child's increasing fascination with a mere story and so secretly but shamelessly enjoy the romance themselves. Still, even with a few wise nods at the typical treatment of princesses in fairytales, the romance remains conventional and overstated—Rob Reiner's next movie, the Nora Ephron-scripted When Harry Met Sally, would prove a much more charming tale of true love. For all its appealing qualities, The Princess Bride still seems fairly tame and commercially safe. In comparison with some of the Pythons' skits and films, its touches of medieval-era absurdity aren't much (though a cameo by Python-era comic Peter Cook offers some daffy British comedy). The movie's less playful, postmodern and complex in its narrative than Goldman's book, while some comic and quest elements don't quite fuse (especially when the kvetching humour of Billy Crystal's Miracle Max bubbles up). Still, The Princess Bride is worth re-viewing. After all, I'd forgotten its one dark nod to contemporary politics, meant as a comment on Vietnam in 1973 and a shot at the Soviets in 1987 but eerily warning Bush-era USA: "You fell victim to one of the classic blunders," crows Vizzini, "the most famous of which is 'never get involved in a land war in Asia.'" Who woulda thunk a fun fairy-tale flick could offer a powerful kingdom such prescient foreign-policy advice for living happily ever after? Brian Gibson
// brian@vueweekly.com
VUEWEEKLY // FEB 10 – FEB 16, 2011
FILM // 23