The Princess Bride

Rob Reiner's masterpiece was a wonderful influence in my life

I know the awful discourse going around about Rob Reiner and his wife's death. It is heartbreaking that our president can't even make a decent gesture towards the loss of a legend of the film industry. As expected, he made it about himself.

From all I have seen and heard, he was a decent person and a humanitarian of high regard.

I am going to withhold my anger today and instead focus this article on one of Rob Reiner's best films. One that has stuck with me since I was about 12 years old.

The movie was adapted from the book by William Goldman, “The Princess Bride,” and was released in 1987.

It had some great actors and some not so great, but it had one thing that is missing from most movies: it had heart. The story contained elements of comedy, horror, fantasy, high seas adventure, and most importantly, love.

Despite the obvious lack of a special effects budget, Reiner gave us a look into the beauty of the human spirit.

The ability of Rob Reiner to take a low-budget film, and put together a movie that has resonated with myself and millions more was proof that you can deliver art without a high budget.

The movie was funny and achingly beautiful and has stuck with me and my family for decades.

Rob Reiner was a man of amazing talent. To recognize the humanity of people and to draw that out through a performance like “The Princess Bride” took a truly rare talent. To translate a fairly dry book (IMHO) to the screen was such a delight to see.

I have watched “The Princess Bride” dozens of times and could probably recite the entire script if I had to.

One of the most memorable lines that has stuck with me, among many, was used at my Mother’s Memorial. My father said it as his closing remark when completing her eulogy:

“Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.”

A beautiful line that was a direct quote from the book. But the amazing way it was delivered by Westley (Cary Elwes) was a credit to his acting as well as the director. That line could have come off as a joke or a sarcastic remark, but instead it was said in such an honest and unremarkable way that it felt like it was indeed from the heart.

I think this type of work encompasses the ability of what Rob Reiner was capable of. His great character and inspired words continued through his other movies as well as his activism.

He has left this world far too early, as did his wife. He had the ability to take words from a book and bring them to life. He proved that special effects and money didn’t necessarily mean you couldn’t make an impression on people. He was indeed a unique and talented person.

In one of the final scenes of the movie Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright) summed up what I believe could be a metaphor for today.

She found the courage to stand up to the evil Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). The line came off beautifully despite the tongue-in-cheek silliness of the movie. It can apply to today as an anchor to something that I believe many of us have forgotten. The line is as follows:

“Westley and I are joined by the bonds of love. And you cannot track that, not with a thousand bloodhounds, and you cannot break it, not with a thousand swords!”

I feel today this can apply to the obvious evil and hate spewing from the mouths of the evil men and women in the regime.

No matter how hard they try, we will continue to care for each other. Love will win the day. We are not ever going to stop, and we will never let hate win.

We are all joined by the bonds of love no matter how many ICE agents are on the street. They cannot break us, not even with a million tanks.

We know where love, common decency, respect, and empathy live. It is with us. Rob Reiner and William Goldman just put it on a screen and paper. It has been said for thousands of years. Nothing has changed; human connection, regardless of religion, lifestyle, place of origin, disability, and any other difference we have. Love is the universal bond.

We are not just observers; we are individuals with a spirit of hope. Hope is the engine of love.

I think Rob Reiner showed us what that looked like in this particular film. I mourn for Rob's family, and I mourn that his voice has been silenced by this tragedy.

Rob Reiner was a gift to us all. I think we could all learn a thing or two if we took a page out of one of his screenplays.

Love you all.

Erik

(Liberaldad)