“Is this a kissing book?”
Thoroughly charming, comedy fantasy with a hilarious script that still gets me laughing. To great benefit, The Princess Bride doesn’t even attempt true fantasy escapism. The sets often look cheap or soundstage-y, and many of the performances are lifted from sketch comedy. The only three characters who take things seriously are Westley, Buttercup and Inigo Montoya. Not that they don’t have some fun. The sword duel between Westley and Montoya is still the greatest swashbuckle of the last 50+ years.
Montoya’s seriousness makes a nice deadpan reaction with Fezzik. Plus, in the midst of all this silliness, there’s true excitement when he finally faces off against the six-fingered man. His chant – “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” – builds and builds to stand up and cheer climax.
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