When people get into their heads what they think a ”chick flick” is, it often makes them write it off really quickly. While we’re in a new age now where films can be for everybody and this idea of sectioning them off by gender isn’t as big a deal anymore, there’s been plenty of films that seem catered to one specific demographic, and the chick flick has had several films attached that haven’t had the best track record, therefore leading many to dismiss the genre entirely. However, when it can produce something like the 1987 film, The Princess Bride, you can see where the strength that come with it. In the fictional kingdom of Florin, a young boy sick in bed (played by Fred Savage) is visited by his grandfather (played by Peter Falk) who proceeds to tell him a story of fantasy, pirates, and a lot of romance, which the boy initially is hesitant to. A simple farmhand named Westley (played by Cary Elwes) falls in love with a farm girl named Buttercup (played by Robin Wright), and Westley declares that he will travel across the seas in order to seek the fortune required for the both of them to wed. After Westley is apparently killed at sea, Buttercup is forcibly betrothed to Prince Humperdinck (played by Chris Sarandon). Unbeknownst to her, Westly survived, has become a famous pirate, and is now looking to find his love who has been kidnapped by three colourful crooks; vengeful Spaniard and skilled sword-fighter Inigo Montoya (played by Mandy Patikin), a soft-hearted giant named Fezzik (played by the late Andre the Giant) and a sharp-tongued Sicilian man named Vizzini (played by Wallace Shawn). Once the two are reunited, Prince Humperdinck puts his own plans into motion to remove Westly from the picture entirely and have Buttercup all to himself. Swords are clung, lips are pressed, and allies and villains collide in this fantasy comedy of small scale, but of memorable proportion. The fairy tale adventure comedy that spawned so many famous quotes, scenes and funny moments, The Princess Bride has such a laid-back and subdued tone, while also being silly and childish at the same time, in the best way possible. The medieval movie stereotypes are all in this film and portrayed in the most entertaining way; the simple story, the energetic actors, the wildly likeable humour, the fun action, the nice romance, and the well-balanced atmosphere, resulting in an overall wonderful experience.

Based on the ‘abridged novel’ by William Goldman titled The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, The “Good Parts” Version, with the original story by S. Morgenstern actually being a bitter satire of politics which was truncated down by Goldman to replicate the way the story was read to him by his father, who only kept in ”the good parts”, which resulted in the story showcased before you. With this in mind, it brings a lot of context to the story, not just through the narrative crux of a child being told story by his grandfather, but in the way the story both subverts and embraces its fantasy element to create something fun and inviting, but also a hint more than what is usually presented in this kind of narrative. The film appears to contain the book’s signature style of comedy and wit while also sticking pretty closely to the narrative outline. Due to the film’s minimal running time of only an hour and a half and its wonderfully brisk pace, it never beats around the bush and gets to each point as directly and as quickly as it can. On the one hand, it’s a refreshingly quick fun movie where the characters and story are very simple and easy to grasp so it gets to the fun really quick and keeps running with it, but on the other hand, it’s a movie that doesn’t really allow for too many moments of reprise or reflection, so a lot of the characters, story points and even writing feel like they always continue with this simple story rather than allowing for certain moments of contemplation. It’s almost like a proper fairy tale satire or something that The Muppets or other sketch comedies would do, where the focus in more on the ways they tweak and alter a basic fantasy tale rather than letting exist as its own creation, but everything is so well delivered regardless that it doesn’t really matter. The direction by Rob Reiner of Stand by Me fame, is very well done; every scene invokes the emotion that’s needed for the scene perfectly, the romance, the action, the intensity, the sadness, all match perfectly with the tone and atmosphere of the picture and never forgets what kind of story it is. With Goldman assisting as a screenwriter on the film, which easily could’ve led to a very overwritten movie which isn’t able to evolve into the visual medium, but through the use of a narrator as well as the film having a tone that somehow fits that fiddly, even forcefully long-winded manner of speaking, it doesn’t feel distracting and oddly gives the film a unique identity and like popular British comedies like Monty Python and the like, but with less of a chaotic absurdist presence and more of a cheesy and poetic, but stabilized nature.

The characters all have great chemistry with each other which leads to a ton of iconic moments, and even though they are basic archetypes, most are able to work quite well in this film. Though they don’t have much time to develop past their initial setups, they work great in this simple comedic setting, mainly through the great acting. These actors clearly know they are in something intentionally silly, and go all the way with it, but still in a way that feels authentic and works in the actual serious moments in the film. Westly is great in how civilized he can act will performing dangerous acts and Cary Elwes is a great leading man, Chris Sarandon as Humperdinck is appropriately pathetic and likeably prissy, and Wallace Shawn and Mandy Patikin play their parts with such an over-the-top silliness but also with so much passion that it’s impossible not to enjoy them. Buttercup isn’t very stand-out unfortunately, she’s not terrible, but when even smaller characters are able to get a decent chunk of personality, the fact that she isn’t able to achieve that with a starring role is a little bizarre, but that could’ve been due to the fact that she is essentially playing a twist of the ”fair maiden that needs to be saved” and Robin Wright, despite not having much to work with, plays her pretty well. Peter Falk is a great narrator, Fred Savage might not feel like a legit kid due to how old he sounds and acts, but in means that he can carry his scenes pretty well, and Billy Crystal and Carol Kane have a great funny cameo near the end in the movie. Some of the actors can’t find the perfect direction that the others do, Andre the Giant isn’t the best actor, and you can tell he’s mainly for his stature and public appeal, so it does work out in the end.

Coming from a time before the advent of CGI, the realism of the film is apparent throughout and brings a nice physical honesty to the picture. All the locations and the sets have great atmosphere and size to them that allows for a lot of fun moments where the actors really show them off well. Being shot in various spots in England and Ireland, everything to the grey murky forests, the vast open cliff sides, the intricate castles, the derelict torture chambers, it all has great effort put into the production design that seems to really match the way the world would look in the story. The cinematography by Adrian Biddle gets some great far-off shots of cliffs and oceans, making this film, despite its goofy tone, feel decently realistic and even manages to showcase something realistic in a fantastical manner. Not much of the film features anything magical, instead keeping to mostly real-world obstacles to overcome outside of a few choice sequences like ”somewhat bringing some back from the dead” but even that feels like it matches the film’s tongue-and-cheek style of delivery and everything else makes the film delightfully bizarre and weird, yet down to earth. The film also doesn’t have a lot of action as its focus in more on its romantic atmosphere and dialogue between characters, but when it is featured, it’s done quite well. A sword fight in the middle between Westly and Inigo is clearly the highlight, with good pacing, cinematography, and choreography by fencing instructor Bob Anderson and stunt arranger Peter Diamond, both of whom trained the actors in the original Star Wars trilogy. The humor is very energetic and likeable, feeling very quirky and even to a lesser extent child-like, but in a clever way. It’s fast pace, but also witty and well timed, it’s very dialogue heavy, but not without a fair mix of physical as well, and the films tone matches perfectly in energy and spirit.

The Princess Bride is a delight by every meaning of the world and also cements how a picture that has everything that screams ”chick flick” attached to it, can still result in something amazing for everyone. In many ways, the audience is that kid listening to the story; you might be unimpressed and slightly let-down by the premise of the film and how minimal it comes across, but as you delve into the story, see what it changes and what it has fun with, witness the passion and enjoyment that comes from everybody involved, and finish off completely engrossed and wholeheartedly satisfied. It delivers that classic goofy charm, but also not without a good deal of heart and thought put behind its writing, directing, and acting. The story is straightforward but enjoyable, the characters are likeable, the actors have great energy, the humour is well done, it’s well written, directed and paced, has great atmosphere, and succeeds in the romance department as well. The only real issues are either small nit-picks, or just that it could have used more from a heavily abridged story. The chick-flick that no one is ashamed to admit they love. Check it out and see if the movie is as you wished it to be.

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