THE PRINCESS BRIDE Midnights at The Tivoli This Weekend

“Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!”

Why is this such a classic line in the minds of many? I don’t know, really. But I do know that the way that Mandy Patinkin delivers it in this film has ‘classic line’ written all over it!

Believe it or don’t, but I just saw THE PRINCESS BRIDE for the first time earlier this year at a Tenacious Eats ‘Movies for Foodies’ event. I’d heard great things about it for decades so I’m not sure why I’ve spent so many years avoiding it. Perhaps because I was 25 when it was made in 1987 and really, what self-respecting dude would watch a movie called THE PRINCESS BRIDE with his buddies (I must not have had a girlfriend at the time)?

One of the best qualities of THE PRINCESS BRIDE is that it simultaneously manages to be both fairytale and fairytale parody. It lampoons the whole world of fairytale and fantasy while, at the same time, celebrating it. Most of the characters within play it for laughs other than the title character (who is, after all, a fairytale princess and not a female Groucho Marx) and Mandy Patinkin’s Spanish revenge-bent swordsman.

The cast, largely composed of lesser-known talents (at the time) and notably absent the big megastars that were then dominating the box office, is superb. The romantic  leads were basically unknowns; the beautiful and talented (nice English accent!) Robin Wright and the suave and handsome Cary Elwes. Wally Shawn is also perfectly cast as the supremely intelligent (or so he thinks) Vizzini. Andre the Giant plays the role of giant that was (literally) made for him to play — he does a good job and is very appealing as the archetypal gentle giant. Chris Sarandon gets to go way over the top to great effect as Prince Humperinck (apologies to Englebert, but did they choose the name just ‘cos it’s inherently funny?) and Christopher Guest shows off both another flawless British accent and the ability to quite effectively and quietly capture the feel of your basic model psychopathic sadist. Peter Cook even gets to make an appearance as a clergyman with a speech impediment. Billy Crystal is great and his ad-libs add to the film. Carol Kane is also effective — both of them in extreme make-up — as his wife. Back in the present day reality, Peter Falk is terrific as the grandfather who’s patiently reading the tale to his grandson, well played by young Fred Savage.

I have yet to meet someone who has seen THE PRINCESS BRIDE and didn’t love it which makes my 27 viewing gap that much more inexcusable. I hadn’t seen it but now I have and if you haven’t, you’ll have the opportunity this weekend when THE PRINCESS BRIDE plays at the Tivoli Friday and Saturday as part of the Reel Late at the Tivoli Midnight film series (May 9th and 10th).

The Tivoli’s located at 6350 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO. Admission is a mere $8!

The Tivoli’s website can be found HERE

http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/st.louis/tivolitheatre.htm

Here’s the Reel Late at the Tivoli Line-up for the next couple of weeks:

May 16-17 REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA – With live cast, The Graveyard Shift!
May 23-24 DIE HARD

Stay tuned here at We Are Movie Geeks for an announcement of more midnight movies soon!