Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father prepare to die.

   Alright, boys and girls.  It's been a while since the last Johnny Recommends.  Here we are again, though, reminiscing about one of my favorite movies ever, "The Princess Bride."  I know what you're thinking.  "Ugh, it has princess in the name AND it's 20 years old."  This is a great movie and wonderful book if you just give it a chance.

   So, "The Princess Bride" was a book written by William Goldman.  Goldman also did the screenplay to the movie, which was directed by Rob Reiner ("When Harry Met Sally," "This is Spinal Tap").  It stars Robin Wright (before she married Sean Penn), Cary Elwes, Andre the Giant, Billy Crystal, Mandy Patinkin, Christopher Guest, gosh, the list goes on and on.  It was released in September of 1987.

   Now that the boring stuff is out of the way, let's talk plot.  The movie starts with a young, "sick" kid (Fred Savage in the "Wonder Years" look).  To cheer him up, his grandfather comes over to read him a book, much to the dismay of the kid.  The book is...guess....."The Princess Bride" by William Goldman.  So, we start out with Buttercup (Robin Wright) ordering around her peasant worker, Westley (Cary Elwes).  He does whatever she asks, down to the most menial task, responding only with, "As you wish."  Now, it's already starting hokey, right?  Just hold on, Mr. Impatient.  She begins to recognize that he loves her and that is the reason he does things for her, and she falls in love with him.  Together, they have true love.  So, then it is time for him to move on to try and get a J-O-B so that he can marry her.  HE NEVER RETURNS!  Word on the street is that he was taken by the Dread Pirate Robert. 

   Side Note:  The Dread Pirate Robert is mentioned many times throughout this film.  I find it funny that three simple words cause such fear and anxiety in the people of the film.  It's like if you were to say, "Beware the Mean Guy Johnny," over and over again, I'd get some street cred.

   So we see Buttercup crying saying, "I'll never love again!"  Outside that, all is well.  We fast forward some time into the future, and we see that Buttercup is engaged to the prickish Prince Humperdinck.  You can laugh; it is a funny name.  She is then kidnapped by a trio, the intellectual Vizzini, the Spaniard swordsman Inigo Montoya, and the slow giant Fezzik.  They are out to frame a neighboring country for her kidnapping and murder.  They soon find that they are being followed by a masked man in black.  His aim is to retrieve Buttercup for himself, but he must match the steel of Inigo, the strength of Fezzik, and the, ahem, brains(?) of Vizzini.  His quest shall take him to the edge of death and back, and all the way to the castle of Prince Humperdinck to keep Buttercup.  This is a tale of revenge and storybook love.

   I hope that I conveyed the greatness of this film.  You really should give it a chance if you are into swashbuckling adventures, because that is what this movie truly is.  There is magic, swordfighting, intellectual humor such as this: 

Vizzini: I can't compete with you physically, and you're no match for my brains.

Westley: You're that smart?

Vizzini:  Let me put it this way.  Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates?

Westley: Yes.

Vizzini:  Morons. 

    Another mention for this film is the soundtrack.  I believe it was done completely by Mark Knopfler.  Now, Mark Knopfler (for those of us the remember early MTV, when they played music) was the lead singer and guitar of Dire Straits.  Dire Straits had some of the coolest '80s videos for songs like "Money for Nothing" and "Walk of Life."  The latter song was just a collection of sports bloopers set to the song, really funny. 

    The reason I wanted to review this movie now, other than the fact that it is one of my favorites, is that there is a new movie out called "Stardust" which is an adaptation of a Neil Gaimen novel.  "Stardust" is supposed to be very close in design to "The Princess Bride" so if anyone of you see it, do let me know.  Other than that, what can I say?  This is a movie that I enjoy in a sense that it puts a smile on my face to watch it.  It is not as poignant or obtuse as "Fight Club" or slapstick as "Army of Darkness," but it is well worth queueing in your NetFlix. 

    Thanks for reading Johnny's Recommendations and do check out the film.  If you have any questions, comments, or recommendations of your own that you would like to see me review, please email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Thanks and enjoy!

Johnny