The Princess Bride (1987)

Director: Rob Reiner
Writer: William Goldman (Novel and Screenplay)
Cast: Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Wallace Shawn, André the Giant, Fred Savage, Peter Falk
Genre: Family, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Comedy

If The Princess Bride was a young man, he would probably by those who loved him be described as honest and brave, with a boyish charm. Those who wasn't such fans might say childish, spoiled and full of him self, but therein lies the beauty of any entertainment. It's all in the audience's own experience of it.

There was a time almost anything Rob Reiner touched turned into gold. He was a mainstream King Midas of Hollywood, with the successes of this movie along Stand by Me, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, This is Spinal Tap and A Few Good Men, all made in a period of eight years. Not all of them box office successes, not all of them critically acclaimed and not all of them even acclaimed by the masses, but all of them have a devoted fanbase.

The Princess Bride followed his pre-teen adventures of the boys in Stand by Me released the year prior, but this adventure is made in an old-fashioned way, much like the way old folk tales are told. I love the way they go into the movie, I love the grandpa reading story angle and I adore the first half hour of the movie all together. It's funny, light, magical and hints at several old tales, as well as it stands on its own merit.

Sadly the acting isn't great, but for a while you're really not caring that much as the charm of it's poor quality flows much like the story it self. After a while the story slows down a bit, and then the acting and the entire story's build-up starts to become a little annoying. Yet, not more so than we're able to forgive thanks to its overall charm. I would predict this as a sure hit with the children, but it works for the rest of us as well. It reminds us of a different time, a different kind of storytelling and for many probably about their childhood when they watched it for the first time them self. Haven't seen it prior, I have no such nostalgic reasons to enjoy it. I still do enjoy it, and are actually not surprised at all of its high overall ranking and top 250 spot at IMDB despite its flaws.