A movie that will entertain everyone? Inconceivable!

When I first saw The Princess Bride at the age of eleven, I liked it somewhat. Nowadays I like it even better. At that young age I enjoyed the adventures, the swordplay and the antics of Andre The Giant playing a literal giant. Today, at the age of 25, I find myself enjoying the human comedy and one-liners. When first viewing The Princess Bride, the fairy tale aspect of the story impressed me. Today I see The Princess Bride as an example of what a fairy tale would look like if Mark Twain got a hold of it. Like Shrek it pays homage to the traditional Brothers Grimm tale while simultaneously demolishing the conventions of it.

Rob Reiner directed The Princess Bride from a script by William Goldman (who adapted it from his novel). The movie tells the story of a young peasant girl named Buttercup (Robin Wright Penn) whose favorite pastime is bossing around a farm hand named Wesley (Cary Elwes). He dutifully caters to her every whim, until they realize that they are in love with each other. Wesley goes off to seek his fortune so he can provide for Buttercup, yet is captured by pirates. In the interim, she is chosen to marry Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). She doesn't love Humperdinck at all, probably on account of his horrible singing ("Please release me") and one day while riding her horse, she finds herself kidnapped by a band of brigadoons working for old Englebert. It seems that Humperdinck wants (for some unexplained reason) to instigate a war with the neighboring country of Gilder and Buttercup is part of the plan.

The brigadoons are a colorful bunch. They are led by a slimy Sicilian named Vizzini (Wallace Shawn) and the group also includes mysterious swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) and literal Giant Fezzik (Andre The Giant). Vizzini is the only truly evil one of the bunch and after he's eliminated in a rather hilarious way, the other two show off their good sides.

This paves the way for scenes that feature a swamp that literally breathes fire, screaming eels (sounds like the name of a band), Rodents Of Unusual Size, A miracle man played by Billy Crystal buried under tons of makeup and much more. And of course, some of the funniest dialogue that has ever been put into a movie. Let's see some examples:

"Miracle Max: Sonny, true love is the greatest thing, in the world-except for a nice MLT - mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is lean and the tomato is ripe."

"Count Rugen: As you know, the concept of the suction pump is centuries old. And really, that's all this is, except that instead of sucking water, I'm sucking life. I've just sucked one year of your life away. I might one day go as high as five, but I really don't know what that would do to you, so let's just start with what we have. What did this do to you? Tell me. And remember, this is for posterity, so... be honest. How do you feel?"

"Prince Humperdinck: Tyrone, you know how much I love watching you work. But I've got my country's 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder, and Guilder to frame for it. I'm swamped!"

"Vizzini: You only think I guessed wrong - that's what's so funny! I switched glasses when your back was turned! Ha-ha, you fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is "Never get involved in a land war in Asia", but only slightly less well known is this: "Never go in against a Sicilian, when *death* is on the line!". Hahahahahah!"

"Wesley: There's a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. It would be a pity to damage yours."

And of course, the most famous line in the movie:

"Inigo Montoya: Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

The characters in The Princess Bride are some of the most memorable ones in film history. There's Elwes as Wesley and Penn as Buttercup and they are one on-screen couple that you can't help but grow to love. Then of course there is Crystal as Miracle Max, who gets in loads of quotable lines. In fact, all of his lines are well remembered. Chris Sarandon plays Humperdinck as more of a pompous schmuck than a truly evil man and that is why the fate that ultimately befalls him is appropriate. But for my money, the three most entertaining characters in the film are Vizzini, Inigo and Fezzik. Shawn is only on screen for a short time. But he's especially memorable with his arrogant opinion and his ongoing use of the word "inconceivable". Andre The Giant may not be a great actor or even an actor at all. But he plays Fezzik just right as a good-hearted goof. And Patinkin gives what is easily the best performance in the film as the hell-bent on revenge Montoya. From the moment you hear him utter his trademark line, you find yourself grinning from ear to ear.

The special effects aren't the best. But no matter. If you want a film that's great for entertaining the whole family, The Princess Bride is it.