MovieChat Forums > The Princess Bride (1987) Discussion > Why I hate this film..

Why I hate this film..

posted 8 years ago by Torres89013
40 replies | jump to latest

I remember watching this film in high school around 2007. It was for a theater club's movie night. I was told it was one of the best movies ever. People, however, treated it that night as a rocky horror screening and I was so confused. Why was this funny? I saw how over the top it was and thought "okay, it's so bad it's good". Then I read reviews for it. People took it seriously.. this just turned me off because I couldn't figure this movie out.

So tell me, IMDB, why is this a good movie?

[–] Noel_MarquisDeMaynes 8 years ago

Because it is a humorous, funny, tongue-in-cheek, over the top parody of the fantasy and fairy tale genre. Every other line makes me smile or chuckle. Fezzik ("my way is not very sportsmanlike"), Inigo ("I am not left-handed"), Vizzini's crazy reasoning during the battle of wits, Humperdinck (who identifies a poison because it has no recognizable smell), the ROUS (Rodents Of Unusual Size), the grandfather ("it contains lots of sports: fencing, wrestling, riding, torturing") etc etc.

Don't take the movie serious, and you will enjoy it. Even the cheap special effects.

[–] Torres89013 8 years ago

It's not about me taking the movie seriously. It's the fact that I was introduced to it as a parody or a "so bad it's good" movie, only to realize that people take it as seriously as LOTR.

[–] dmahnarch 8 years ago

It's as serious as 'The Naked Gun' series.

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[–] velvoofell 8 years ago

I'm with the OP. I have a real affection for 'Labyrinth' and 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' and I think the problem is that this falls far short of both. The score is awful - sounds like the cheap synth track on a Hallmark movie - plus I think the Fairy Tale parody was done a million times better in 'Shrek'. The Princess Bride is a well made and acted film but it just leaves me cold. It knows it is "witty" and that smug atmosphere just turns me off. I don't find the Falk/Savage bits warming and I don't find the school show in-jokes funny either.
It just doesn't have the MSG of an Indiana Jones or the danger of 'The Neverending Story'.

[–] lost_dream 8 years ago

It was good movie i enjoyed watching it , not great but good and no time wasting .

[–] markafc83 8 years ago

Why? You already said you hate the film. Why would anyone waste their time trying to convince you otherwise? You'll probably still hate the film irrespective of the strength of our defence.

As for people 'taking the movie seriously'...this is relative surely? I take The Princess Bride more seriously than a Mel Brooks or Monty Python movie for example. It's a dead-pan parody.

[–] Torres89013 8 years ago

I'm actually opened to understanding the other side. The reason I hate it is because I was shown it (as explained) was a "so bad, it's good" movie and then people treat it like the mother of all fantasy movies. So there's something I'm missing here..

[–] markafc83 8 years ago

Yes, I read the OP and I still have no idea what you're talking about. It's neither a "so bad it's good" movie or "the mother of all fantasy movies". If you are judging the movie based on it fitting the criteria of either of said categories then it's unsurprising that it fell short in your estimation. Generally speaking I think it's best to judge a movie based on its merits rather than whether it adheres to a pre-conceived notion.

The film is more in the style of a fairy tale than high fantasy (even the fantasy creatures such as the ROUS and shrieking eels aren't particularly far fetched). The tone is such that tongue is planted firmly in cheek but it also takes itself sufficiently seriously that you are invested in the characters and storyline.

I would say it's unique in that I can't think of any movies that are especially similar.

A movie much loved by others didn't impress you. Perhaps you feel you've missed out on something and feel short changed? C'est la vie.

[–] Torres89013 8 years ago

Yeah. It was also presented to me in a high school auditorium filled with kids making fun of it..this was years ago but that kind of tainted the movie for me, especially since I had no previous knowledge of it.

It's like if someone presented you with "Neverending story" as a kid, saying it's effects and acting are so over the top, it's bad.

[–] justwrite3 8 years ago

You seem overly affected by what some other people told you. Imagine if a bunch of people told you that Ender's Game (a movie you rated highly) was just an awkward teen angst story and lousy sci-fi about a video game. Would you then be unable to like it?

If you can't get past the peer pressure extravaganza of an auditorium full of kids making fun of The Princess Bride, there's not much anyone can do.

No film is a hit for everyone, but most people who watch The Princess Bride have more fondness for this film than just about any other. Why? It's a mash-up of multiple genres -- fantasy, adventure, fairy tales, comedy, farce, buddy films, old-time swashbucklers -- that manages to satirize those genres while at the same time being an homage to them. It is brilliantly written -- if you don't know William Goldman, look up his IMDB page and watch whatever strikes your fancy. The cast and the direction are great. People who find so much to love about a movie can overlook cheesy effects and a dated score, or even consider them endearing. For a couple of hours, it takes people to a place where they can view the world through a simpler lens of good and bad and touches people in a way that no other film has.

If you are truly interested in trying to understand what so many people like about this film, maybe you should start by reading the book. That may be a way to escape the prison of expectations that you seem to be caught in. When you read a book, no one is there to tell you what to think. Then after reading the book, give the movie another try.

[–] Torres89013 8 years ago

Ender's game would be different because it's not a satire. It's not that I'm impressionable now, but I was back then.

I think it was the presentation of satire, cheesy effects, and the audience all summed up together that gave me a bad impression. I want to understand the audience and fans of this movie.

I'll do what you reccomend. :)

Life is a movie. Write your own ending. Keep believing. Keep pretending.
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[–] Kowalski (75524) 5 years ago

THIS PERSON WAS RIDICULOUS.

[–] morn1960 8 years ago

It sucks

[–] Mickyfinn 8 years ago

You should try making the jump to two syllables sometime. It's amazing how effective it can be.

You just have to be resigned-
You're crashing by design

[–] chilone (17864) 6 years ago

Yon left out the "o" in your name.

[–] allaf (63) 7 years ago

It's not 'so bad it's good', it's a parody for christ's sake. All the scenes, the characters, the story are a bit fake on purpose. It's brilliant.

[–] Otter (24464) 7 years ago

The book was a parody of sorts, more a parody of early literature and its incomprehensible digressions than a parody of the modern fantasy genre. Of course when the book was adapted to film most of that was lost, instead of a narrator reading a centuries-old book there was a grandfather reading a book to a kid, with commentary. It's not meant to be taken completely seriously, there's deadpan humor and subtle satire and things that are just absurd, things that are totally impossible to appreciate in the midst of a noisy, unappreciative audience.

If you ever decide to watch it again, watch it when you're in a good mood, and in a place free of assholes.

[–] Cheepshooter (672) 7 years ago

Being in high school in 2007 was the first problem. You need to see it when you are about 10. If you can't do that (space-time continuum and all that), you need to watch it again by yourself or with a good friend who can be quite during a movie. Then, a year later, watch it again.