My views: 11
It's hard for me to remember a time when I hadn't seen this movie. It used to be on TV quite frequently, so I saw a lot of bits and pieces of it when I was growing up. I didn't really understand all the stuff about trying to start a war, but I thought Wesley was one of the most attractive men I'd ever seen, and that ROUSes were the most terrifying things in the world. Then, as I got older, I began to appreciate this movie more and more for its incredible script and the brilliant way the actors deliver the lines.
Most movies have a few really great lines that people like to quote a lot. The Princess Bride is one of the few where practically all of its lines are quotable. From short catchphrases like "As you wish" and "Inconceivable!" to dialogues like "No more rhymes now, I mean it!" "Anybody want a peanut?" to monologues like the one about mutton lettuce and tomato sandwiches to "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die," the entire script is overflowing with wit. And that, in a nutshell, is what I love about this movie. I've probably mentioned it before, but I love films with good dialogue. In real life, it's hard to come up with the right thing to say on the spot, but movies aren't real life, and people have time to think about what should be said in every situation. It makes me really happy when writers use this to their advantage, and this film is a perfect example. I'm not sure who made the decision to let William Goldman do the screenplay, but it was ingenious. The film is significantly different from his book, but it retains his witty, satirical voice, which is the best aspect of the book in the first place. And then there are the incredible actors who read the lines the way they were supposed to be read. I mean, when you've got, in addition to Cary Elwes and Robin Wright, people like Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Christopher Guest, Billy Crystal and Carol Kane, with Rob Reiner directing, you can't go wrong.
Another reason I really like this film is it appeals to a wide audience. If you like romantic films, there's a great love story between a beautiful rich girl and her poor farm boy. If you prefer action/adventure films, there are some pretty epic sword-fighting and chase scenes. If you want something a little more heart-warming, you can focus on the grandfather who's reading a story to his grandson. This is why I usually end up watching this film when I'm with a large group of people: it's something we can all agree on. In addition, The Princess Bride's wide appeal and immensely quotable script make it one of the few I can recite without people looking at me like I'm crazy.
One thing people find out rather quickly when they get to know me is I recite movies a lot. It goes back to what I said before; it's hard to think of something to say on the spot, but people who write film scripts get to think them through. I also have a really good auditory memory (I'm not really sure if that's a thing, but I'm pretending it is), so if I hear a song or a line of dialogue a few times, I'm likely to have it memorized. This is probably part of the reason I like musicals so much. Anyway, as you can probably guess when I have movies like Neptune's Daughter in here, most of the time people have no idea what I'm talking about when I reference my favorite movies. But The Princess Bride is a film that most people have seen and memorized lines from, and if they haven't seen it, they've almost certainly heard someone quote it before. Like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, this is one of the movies that makes me feel less weird about being obsessed, because I'm not the only one.
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