935. The Princess Bride (1987)

Starring: Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright

Director: Rob Reiner

Running Time: 98 mins

The Princess Bride is an American film about a fairytale telling the story of a young woman who is to be married to the prince of the land, however she is reluctant and is unexpectedly kidnapped by three men, whilst a former love also pursues her.

This is a lovely, fun film with a lot of heart and a lot of jokes. It’s a very simple fantasy story that both takes the mick out of its own genre whilst also makes a magical enough world to be engaged in, a very entertaining combination. What’s more is that it’s got some good performances that also add to the fun of it all in a film that on paper appears very cheesy and beyond stupid.

The best thing about this film, by a mile, is its first act, when the kidnapping of the princess happens. This part is just completely insane, full of weird comedy and some even stranger characters, but, despite being about a bit of a long slog, it’s still really fun and entertaining to sit through.

That’s really helped by the slew of great performances here. Robin Wright is pretty much the only sane person in the whole thing, but she’s still a lot of fun to watch as a bit of a weird princess, but it’s the combination of Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn and André The Giant that really make this film so much fun to watch, because they put in such exaggerated performances to make their characters as cartoonish as possible, but they really seem to be enjoying themselves on screen, which is what can really help you to enjoy this film even more.

Another good thing about this film is that it’s got a lot of heart. Despite initially appearing cheesy with a slight emphasis on romance, the development of the film makes it feel like a classic fairytale that’s as magical as anything, and never annoying or idiotically preposterous, and by the end of the film, you do almost feel touched by the characters who seem so genuinely human despite being so weird at the same time, which makes it a very pleasant film to watch.

The structure of the film is also pretty funny. The whole thing starts off with a young boy sick in bed whose grandfather begins reading the story to him, despite his reluctance, and as the film goes on, we get some interjections from the storyteller and the young boy, which helps to make this feel all the more like a fun fairytale.

The only problem with this film is that it doesn’t necessarily maintain an atmosphere of complete silliness throughout. Whilst the first act is full of that, the latter stages are not as ridiculous and farcical, and the occasional overemphasis on the romance means that, from time to time, it seems a little bit cheesy, but not too much, so that’s why it gets a 7.7 from me.