The Princess Bride. [DVD]

Every now and then, someone makes one of those rare movies that crosses the lines of romance, action, fantasy, fairy tale, and a story for all ages. And isn't annoying either. With snappy dialogue and lovable characters, "The Princess Bride" is a classic tale of high adventure, danger, true love, screaming eels, and Sicilians who talk too much. And yes, there's kissing.

A bored little boy (Fred Savage) is sick in bed, is told a story by his quirky grandfather (Peter Falk). In it, young lovers Buttercup (Robin Wright) and Westley (Carey Elwes) are separated when Westley is apparently killed. A few years later, the heartbroken Buttercup is unwillingly affianced to the slimy Prince Humperdinck. As if that weren't enough, she's kidnapped by a trio of mercenaries.

But things go wrong for the mercenaries -- a mysterious masked man is following them, and he defeats each of the mercenaries with his swordplay, strength and wits. He also knows quite a bit about Westley's fate -- and Buttercup soon finds that he IS Westley after all. But Buttercup is only a cog in Humperdinck's evil plot, and now it's up to Westley, gentle giant Fezzik (Andre) and vengeance-seeking Spaniard Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) to save her.

If "Princess Bride" had been done in a halfway serious manner, it wouldn't have been even remotely interesting. It would have been just another kids' film. But with William Goldman's tongue-in-cheek script and entertaining characters (Miracle Max, anyone?), it becomes something a lot sweeter and funnier.

Rob Reiner has a deft, wry touch that matches Goldman's story, and he does a superb job of keeping the grim moments lighter than they would have been otherwise ("We'll never make it through!" "Nonsense, you're only saying that because no one ever has"). With scenes like the torture machine, Miracle Max and Westley's three duels, Reiner keeps it deadpan rather than openly comic. But there are also scenes of touching romance and reconciliation, and some very good swordfights for Inigo.

And the dialogue (penned by Goldman) is full of quotables -- lines like "Inconceivable!" "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die," "I'm not left-handed!" and "As you wish" are more or less immortalized. At the worst of times it's solid; at the middling times, it's memorably quirky; at the best of times, it's hilarious.

Yes, the title is about Buttercup. But she's a pretty pallid character compared to Westley, Fezzik and Patinkan. Elwes always seems to be winking at both the characters and audience, while Andre is lovable as the sportsmanlike, superstrong giant, and Patinkan as the discouraged Spaniard searching for a six-fingered man. His clash with the casually evil Rugen is a wonderful action-packed climax.

And Billy Crystal makes a brief but insanely good appearance as the Miracle Man, an embittered medieval healer with a very peeved wife (Carol Kane, who steals the scene with her shrieks of "Liar!").

Crammed with adventure, true love, swordfights, pirates, casual villains, and a clergyman with a speech impediment, "The Princess Bride" is an adorable comic classic. A must-see.

Fantastic film..Tongue in cheek excellence. The charaters are superbly cast, the acting is spot on. I can see why people do not like this film...IT IS BECAUSE THEY JUST DON'T GET IT! The tongue in cheek style can be missed, and they maybe expecting Indiana Jones special effects. This is a shame because they are missing out on a great, funny, clever film.
The sword fight is amazing, the lines are funny and delivered perfectly, as well as the acting...Go on try this film, and if you are luckily enough, you will become part of it's cult following..

Westley (played by Cary Elwes) and Buttercup (Robin Wright Penn) have that rare and wonderful gift, true love. But, when Westley is captured by the Dread Pirate Roberts, who leaves no prisoner alive, Buttercup must go on with her life as best she can. However, her life becomes quite complex when, in short order, she gets engaged to a prince, gets kidnapped by a group of outlaws, and is pursued by a mysterious man in black. What will become of Buttercup, and can true love really conquer all? [Color, released in 1987, with a running time of 1:38.]

This is a great movie! Though it didn't do very well at the box-office, this is a great movie that has done very well in home viewing, and it's easy to see why. This is a family-friendly movie, moving back and forth from humor to action and back again in a great manner. Now, there is some violence in this movie, including the burning and stabbing of a giant rodent, and the stabbing of a villain, so you might want to be ready if you have younger or more sensitive viewers in your home.

But, that said, this is a great movie that my family and I enjoy immensely. (By the way, there is no nudity in this movie.) If you are looking for a movie with humor, action, adventure and romance, then this is the movie for you! My family and I give it our highest recommendations.