A film to share with your kids like the grandfather did with the book ...

Rating: 8/10 (24 December 2013)

It is not surprising that Rob Reiner chose to narrate "The Princess Bride" from the frame story of a grandfather (Peter Falk) reading a book to his sick grandson (Fred Savage). The film is a fairy tale written by an adult who understood children, not any children, but modern children impregnated with action films and video games, who would more likely open their minds to thrilling sword-fights and adventures than anything involving 'a lot of kissing'.
Reiner amusingly punctuates the story with the kid's reaction as to reassure the most skeptical of us that this won't be your typical 'fairy tale' fantasy. And rightfully so because the overture would hardly make kids lower their guard, the film starts with a (typical) love story between the beautiful Buttercup (Robyn Wright) and her servant Wesley (Cary Elwes). Wesley obeys every demand with an enamored "as you wish", until Buttercup realizes she loves him too, and the film hasn't make it to the fifth minute before the two leads embrace in land of Florin's bucolic landscape.
The signature shot of "The Princess Bride" cuts immediately to the kid who can't listen anymore to that cutesy stuff, and at this time, Reiner got us, and by us, I mean, children and adults, the audience is relieved to see that the emotion shared by the listener is taken into consideration, and will work as the premise to a whole other material. I remember very well, the first time I saw the film, on 7th grade class, we were all 12 or 13-year old preteens and our teacher used the film to illustrate the value of 'narrative structure', we were all, 'what the hell is that?' until that immediate reaction, and the story could finally pick up.
Wesley leaves the country to get rich and marry Buttercup but he's taken by Dread Pirate Roberts, known for never leaving anyone alive. Buttercup, out of despair, agrees to marry Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) but she's kidnapped by three eccentric outlaws whose different frames works like a comic-book gag. There's Vizzini, the Sicilian boss, played by a cunning and detestable Wallace Shawn, Inigo Monotoya (Mandy Patinkin) as the skilled swordsman and Fezzik, played by champion wrestling Andre the Giant who doesn't seem to carry the symptoms of gentleness  not yet. They take the Princess offshore, followed by a masked stranger who seems to be Private Roberts and Prince Humperdinck and his men.
When the film was screened, the teacher referred to many scenes as parodies : the Screaming Eels were an imitation of "Jaws", the investigating styles of Prince Humperdinck were borrowed from Sherlock Holmes, the masked estranger combined with Montoya's Spanish accent made Zorro, and so on and so forth. "The Princess Bride" could easily be labeled as a parody, feeling and talking like one, but I'm positive that the film isn't as much a parody as it's a fairy tale, in fact, it deliberately floats between these two levels, making possible to touch your heart with a genuine innocence, not incompatible with its sharp wit.
And this is another power of the film, it takes some distance from Disney-like stuff without turning it into derision either, it's like a wink to the audience with a friendly tap on the shoulder. The story presents a series of adventures where we discover that there are more than simple characters in the film: Montoya plans to kill the six-fingered man who killed his father, he's already prepared his speech and naturally, with the repeated "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die", everyone cheered in the classroom, not to mention the last quote before the final slay. After triumphing over Montoya and Fezzik, there's also an unforgettable duel of spirits with Vizzini whose outcome is not only unpredictable but cynically hilarious.
The film is full of eccentric characters that all have their shining moments. It also reminded me of these Grimm fairy tales we read on 11th grade, where everyone served a purpose, the villains, the antagonists, sometimes a place like the Forest with the fire spouts, lightning sand, and Rodents of Unusual Size, the helpers, like an unrecognizable Billy Crystal and Carol Kane, as Mr and Mrs. Miracle Max who'll resurrect the hero and allow the film to conclude on a satisfying way. And there's the eternal idea that brains triumph over brawn have and the way, Wesley defeats Count Humperdinck (Sarandon is excellent!) is also funny and original at the same time.
The film has the wit and fun of Rob Reiner's "Spinal Tap" but it ends with the same bittersweet melancholy than his "Stand by Me", when after the excitement, we're left with the feeling to have witnessed something so miraculously sweet and tender, (the music helps and the "Storybook Love" enhance that emotionality) that we've had our share of thrills or fun and we're not that reluctant to have a final kiss at the end. The grandfather closes the book before the kissing, but the kid's reaction again matches ours  the film is one beautiful romance and deserves a romantic finale, we wouldn't have accept it from a spoof, but if it was one, the film wouldn't have been this endearing and so lovable classic.
"The Princess Bride" is a timeless classic full of unforgettable characters, a sweet thought to the late Andre the Giant who marked forever Cinema with his giant footprint, and unforgettable quotes. The grandfather couldn't give a more appropriate answer than his 'as you wish' when his grandson asked him to tell him the story again the day after. And like the book, the film can be seen over and over and I'm looking forward to show it to my little girl when she'll be old enough to appreciate it, hoping that her generation wouldn't be made of children reluctant to watch such a cinematic treasure.