The Princess Bride

Director: Rob Reiner
Year Released: 1987
Rating: 1.0

Swashbuckling Cary Elwes looks for his captured lady in this film of William Goldman the Great's novel - Goldman being, for those not 'in the know,' the guy who only wrote one really good movie and has been riding that horse for years. It's supposed to 'transcend' the Fairbanks-meets-fantasy setup, but ends up being just another rehash - originality is in short supply, and the nudge-nudge 'hey look what we're doing' irony only makes me shrug in a 'so what?' kind of dismissal. When you remake an old concept, aren't you supposed to jazz it up and have it play as something new and fresh instead of putting Billy Crystal in old man makeup and grouching about? It is neither energetic nor funny - but at least Mandy Patinkin looks like he had a good time making it.