Is ‘The Princess Bride’ Gone To History?

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Originally published January 21, 2025

   Rom coms are part of a trifecta of Valentine’s Day, and the love story that captured hearts way back in 1987 is “The Princess Bride”. After almost 3 decades, critic Peter Bradshaw of ‘The Guardian’ continued to think of “The Princess Bride” in a bright light.

   “It’s a movie that manages to be both a pastiche and a fervently real love story,” Bradshaw said.

   “The Princess Bride” covered many genres of movies that brought audiences of all kinds together," sixth-grade ELA teacher Mrs. McGraw felt that it had something for everyone.

   “It’s clever, it’s action, it’s romance, it’s funny,” Mrs. McGraw said. “It just covers a lot of different landscapes.”

   The movie is almost 30 years old, something about how younger audiences would view it today. seventh-grade science teacher Mr. Mentink believes only middle schoolers and older people would watch “The Princess Bride”. 

   “The humor might go over younger audiences,” Mentink said.

   Although comical remarks and quotes might not perk up younger audiences, other things may be of interest. McGraw thinks “The Princess Bride” can cover all the bases from younger to older audiences.

   “It has something for everybody,” McGraw said. “The witty banter can be overlooked by the young ones, but there’s so much visual enjoyment to look at.”

   While later movies have relied on CGI to make it shine, this movie had no after-effects to its name. Due to being made in 1987, Bradshaw views the movie as from an older time.

   “The Princess Bride is from an analogue age,” Bradshaw said. “Different from the genetically modified, digital creations that came along later."

   “The comedy in ‘The Princess Bride’ fell flat for me having never seen the film until well into adulthood,” Joest said. “It’s far less funny than it is endearing nowadays.”

   Although the famous quotes that came from “The Princess Bride”  made the movie feel too anticipated, forgetting where it’s said and enjoying the movie might have made it feel more new. Critic Linda Holmes of Pop Culture Happy Hour resonated with exactly that.

   “The 30th anniversary of ‘The Princess Bride’ is a fine opportunity to track it down and watch it, trying not to anticipate its famous lines,” Holmes said. “Just appreciating it for the simple, good-nature, off-kilter comedy it was when released in 1987."