“Timeless” isn’t quite the right word to describe The Princess Bride. Released in 1987, it’s certainly a product of its time — cheesy music, a lack of CGI, and villains without a tragic backstory. Yet this romance-adventure-satire-fantasy movie is every definition of classic.
It’s one of those films that could have easily slipped through the cracks of ‘80s media. The set pieces are obviously fake. The music is laughably bad at times. It’s so cheesy it could feed an army of mice. But all of this is part of its charm.
The Princess Bride begins as a sweet romance between Westley and Buttercup on a medieval farm (first of all, what kind of a name is Buttercup?). Thank goodness the movie is more than the first five minutes. Buttercup (Robin Wright) and Westley (Cary Elwes) are two of the dullest characters I’ve seen in a love story.
The characterization, however, improves dramatically when it stops being your basic love story. As one of the characters says, the simple romance turns to “fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, [and] miracles.”
Every character brings their own charm to the story. Inigo Montoya (with Mandy Patinkin’s Spanish accent) is a swordsman obsessed with avenging his father’s death. The wacky Vizzini (Wallace Shawn) is a Sicilian with either a death wish or a lack of brain cells. Fezzik (André the Giant) is a gentle giant in the wrong line of work.
The villains, too, are hilarious in their own way. They are serious and pokerfaced, but, of course, they are equally ludicrous. And, unlike many villains today, they don’t have tragic backstories or a sympathetic side (I’m looking at you, Cruella). They’re just bad guys who, instead of crocheting or collecting stamps, have a passion for torturing people or starting wars.
As for our main characters, Westley changes from a boring farm hand to a romantic, sword-fighting pirate who relentlessly insults Prince Humperdinck as a stalling tactic. Swoon. My only complaint is Buttercup, who is almost as dull and passive as she was in the first five minutes, although I will give her credit for her loyalty. She’s your typical damsel in distress, albeit a pessimistic one who tells the Man in Black he should kill himself. It’s like she and Westley are made for each other.
There are also moments of impeccable timing in this movie. My favourite is when Buttercup mentions ROUSes in the Fire Swamp. Westley goes, “Rodents of Unusual Size? I don’t think they exist,” and is immediately attacked by an ROUS.
This movie is a great collection of witty dialogue, unforgettable characters, and absurd premises. If I haven’t convinced you to watch The Princess Bride, it might help to know that this movie is timely for one specific reason. When asked why he was wearing a mask, the Dread Pirate Roberts replies, “They’re terribly comfortable. l think everyone will be wearing them in the future.” Who knew, right?
Danaye studies English and procrastination at UFV and is very passionate about the Oxford comma. She spends her days walking to campus from the free parking zones, writing novels she'll never finish, and pretending to know how to pronounce abominable. Once she graduates, she plans to adopt a cat.
