The Princess Bride (1987)

The movie begins in the present day, with a grandfather, (Peter Falk), visiting his sick grandson at home. He's come to read his grandson (Fred Savage) a story. He says, "In my day, television was called books!" As he begins to read, we see the story take place, with occasional flashes back to present to see the discussion the grandson/grandfather are having about it. One of the cutest parts is in a scene where one of the book's character is in the sea, surrounded by killer eels, and just as the drama climaxes, it flashes back to to Grandpa, who assures Grandson that the character won't get eaten. He says, "I just wanted to let you know, because you looked a little nervous...".


This is one of Robin Wright Penn's earlier works, and actually, she was "Robin Wright" at the time of this movie. She plays the lovely "Buttercup", who lives on a farm and finds herself in love with the farmhand, Westley, played by Cary Elwes. After they profess their love for one another, Westley leaves the farm to seek his fortune so that he can come back and provide a life for himself and his beloved Buttercup. Unfortunately, Buttercup soon receives news that Westley has been killed.

Not long after, the Prince Humberdink chooses Buttercup to be his queen (against her will, of course, since she is still in love with Westley). She ends up being kidnapped, and thus begins the adventure of the Princess Bride. There is swordplay, pirate ships, magic spells, dungeons and everything you'd expect from this move.



On a side note, I was SURE Prince Humperdink was Mark Ruffalo, but actually turned out to be Chris Sarandon (Susan Sarandon's first husband). See the resemblance on the right? (Ruffalo on left, Sarandon on right)





My son was not sure he wanted to watch a movie with "princess" in the title, but the minute the story began with the grandfather and grandson, he seemed to be drawn into it. He was having a lot of the same reactions that the grandson was having! But all in all, The Princess Bride was a movie we both enjoyed. It was funny, witty and pretty clean!

17 AGAIN

You might have seen it before - you know, a movie about the adult going back to relive high school?



There's Freaky Friday, where the mom and daughter change bodies. We've seen both the original with Jodie Foster/Barbara Harris, as well as the remake with Jamie Lee Curtis/Lindsey Lohan.




And you may or may not (probably not) remember Vice Versa, with Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage as a father/son that trade bodies.


Then there's Like Father Like Son, where Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron play the father and son body-trading team.




And my all time favorite movie is Peggy Sue Got Married, where Kathleen Turner faints and wakes up to find herself back in high school.

Actually, I think that Peggy Sue is the one that most resembles "17 Again", because nobody trades bodies here. There's only the adult who's made a mess of his/her life and wishes they could go back to do things differently. At least they think they would do things differently!


You might think that since this plot has been done before, that 17 Again might not be worth your time. But if you are a big fan of the time travel genre, as I am, you will love 17 again!

Matthew Perry plays Mike O'Donnell, a husband and father who gave up college and a basketball scholarship to marry his pregnant high school girlfriend, Scarlett. Years later, she's kicked him out because she is tired of hearing him complain about the life he "could have had" if he hadn't have had to marry her. In one scene, as he looks at his high school basketball photo, a "mysterious stranger" asks him if he wishes he could be 17 again, and Mike says, yeah, he does. Later, he sees this mysterious stranger on a bridge getting ready to jump. Mike goes after him to save him. Later, when he gets home and is changing clothes, he looks in the mirror and discovers that he is...17 again. His best friend (who he's been staying with since Scarlet kicked him out) poses as his "father" and they get Mike back in high school, where he gets a second chance at the basketball scholarship. At first he thinks that this has happened to him so that he can get back the life he lost, but soon he realizes, as he gets to know his kids from a different perspective, that the purpose of his experience might be different than he first thought.

I know Zac Efron is a big star because I see his face plastered everywhere. But I have boys, and so my household has just not gotten into "High School Musical. I gotta say, I am impressed with his acting! I was convinced I was actually seeing Matthew Perry in Efron's body because he did such a great job mimicking Perry's facial expressions and mannerisms!

Of course, its predictable, as this genre of movie often is. But those of us who like this genre think that's ok, as long as the characters are believable and we connect emotionally with the movie. Great movie!