A Review of ‘The Princess Bride: An Inconceivable Evening with Cary Elwes’

Written by Juanita ‘Obi-Juan’ Bonner

Hello, my fellow nerds and geeks. As we near the end of 2022, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on one of my favorite events of the year – The Princess Bride: An Inconceivable Evening with Cary Elwes. But before I begin, I am compelled to say that if you’ve never seen The Princess Bride (20th Century Fox; 1987), first… WHAAAAT? (LOL!) and second, you better get to it!! For this beloved classic, released 35 years ago September, has warmed hearts for decades and personally resides as one of my top favorite films of all time. Why? The campy nature mixed with a stellar cast and epic dialogue oozes comedy, adventure, intrigue, pure silliness, and most of all… true love! Simply put, it’s perfect and: “I’ve never seen its equal.” So, with that in mind, I jumped at the chance to not only view the movie on the big screen, but to meet Westley himself – Mr. Cary Elwes. *HECK YEAH*
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Showing at the historic Paramount Theatre in Denver, CO, ticket prices (w/o taxes and fees) varied from $29.50 to $49.50 for various general admission seats and $149.50 for VIP seating. As a Holiday gift for my son and I, I splurged on the VIP experience which gave us preferential seating for the movie and moderator led Q&A, a short meet and greet with Cary, a photo op and a signed copy of his New York Times bestseller - As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride. *BIG GRIN* So, in that order, let’s discuss, shall we?

The Film:

As I’ve already stated, I LOVE this film. Its quirkiness is brilliant. The acting superbly warm. And the story – ranked 80th by the American Film Institute in their 100 Greatest Love Stories of All Time and 84th by the Writers Guild of America in their 101 Greatest Screenplays – is as I said… flawless!! But, until December 10, 2022, I had not seen The Princess Bride in the theatre. *WHAT!?!* I mean… the film itself wasn’t a smash hit. Not until home video. That’s when it hit its stride to eventually become the blockbuster it is today. I recall watching it in my mom’s living room when my son was a baby… 34 years ago! *WOW* So… boy was it a treat to not only view this masterpiece on the big screen, but at a stunning historic theatre… filled with fellow fans like myself to boot. *NICE!!* There was cosplay, fun energy, and great conversation. *HECK YEAH* We all relished in favorite scenes, lines, and ensembles. Many, including myself, recited various famous lines along with the film which ramped up the overall excitement. And as the credits rolled – showing each actor in character on screen – the crowd erupted with applause and cheers. We squealed for all of them. Especially Mandy Patinkin (Iñigo Montoya), Wallace Shawn (Vizzini), Andre the Giant (Fezzik), Peter Falk (The Grandfather), Carol Kane (Valerie) and Billy Crystal (Miracle Max). Of course, the biggest and loudest praise came when Westley appeared. A fitting end that led perfectly into the discussion section.

The Q&A:

Second only to actually meeting Cary, the Q&A was absolutely fantastic. The moderator, having spent the day with Cary, during his introduction, gushed over just how nice Elwes is. How respectful, appreciative and kind. *AWESOME!* Refreshing news for a Hollywood film star, right? Then, with help from some audience submitted questions, they went on to discuss the film, co-stars, Cary’s family, his book and more.

Elwes was extremely thankful to us – his longtime fans. While showing his joy for having to add a second showing at 2pm due to the overwhelming response, Cary joked that he might just need to move to Denver. *LOL!* He also celebrated how personal all of this has been and how grateful he is to have been a part of such a magical film. Even better, he spent ample time on various stories from set along with details about his castmates. His story about Andre the Giant and the ATV hijinks was hilarious… LOL!! Overall, it was beautiful to listen to and made me love the film, Cary and the cast and crew even more.

And beyond all those warm fuzzies, there were three things that really stood out to me during this Q&A. First, Elwes noted that he still keeps in touch with the majority of the cast. He also stated that he just talked to Rob Reiner (Producer and Director): “last week.” *AWWW* Second, each time he affectionately referred to a cast member, he embodied them with a voice over that was just too cute… LOL! And though I haven’t listened to the audio version of As You Wish (yet!), I’ve been told he does the same thing in his narration. *NEAT!* Third, throughout and especially towards the end, Cary showed immense respect and love for Andre the Giant who left us in 1993. *SIGH* Not only were his impressions great, but when discussing Andre’s gentle, playful nature, and kind soul, he actually choked up and had to take a minute. Clearly taken aback by it, he apologized stating how surprised he was it overtook him. *WOW* It was touching to say the least and by the end, helped create another great transition into the final piece of the evening.

Meet and Greet w/Photo Op:

Though meeting Mr. Elwes was of course my favorite part of this wonderful night, seeing the film and hearing his warm discussions prior, made the whole experience even more inviting. Unfortunately, the process for the meet and greet seemed a bit chaotic. The staff, though super friendly, were all over the place and the lines were disorganized and took forever. In fact, we were roughly in the middle of the VIP line, and it took over an hour to get through. Regardless, we did have a lovely discussion with a staffer just inside the meeting room who said that he’s met all kinds of people and stars for events like this and he specifically pointed out that Mr. Elwes was: “One of the nicest of them all.” Kind and appreciative to EVERYONE, not just the higher ups. *AWWW* It was also immensely satisfying to know that our wait was long because Cary greeted each and every person no matter how large the party. It wasn’t just some rats at a feeder pellet photo op line where the star barely spoke, if at all. Knowing this made the wait well worth it!! I mean… even MORE warm fuzzies all the way around!!

Topped off by actually meeting the man, I was truly struck by how soft spoken, warm and inviting he was. With multiple handshakes and salutations, in the middle of it all, I introduced my son stating he was born the same year The Princess Bride came out – 1987. I then told Cary that: “I raised my son on your movie.” The joy on his face was priceless as he repeatedly thanked me. If not for COVID restrictions, I actually thought he was going to hug me. It was absolutely sweet and something I’ll never forget. Mr. Elwes, if you’re reading this – and goodness I hope you are – from the bottom of my heart, thank you. *SNIFF, WIPE, SNIFF* LOL!!

Moving into the photo op, Cary stepped on the other side of the COVID barrier while instructing my son and I to take our places on the x-marked floor. Once the photo was done, we got yet another warm handshake and thank you before he sent us on our way. It was magical! As my thoughts moved to: “If you want I could fly,” we left with ear to ear grins while being handed a copy of Cary’s book on the way out… “You mean you wish to surrender to me? Very well, I accept.” *WINK* 

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Signed copy of As You Wish:
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Tucked inside the book was a piece of paper with a website for us to retrieve our photo from a locally based photographer which I thought was a nice touch. As for the book itself? It’s dedicated to Cary’s daughter: “For my little princess, Dominique.” To whom Cary spoke of as his own little Buttercup during the Q&A *TOO CUTE* Additionally, there is a Foreword by Rob Reiner, an Epilogue by Norman Lear (Executive Producer), Acknowledgements by Cary, and an Index so one can jump to specific sections at will. *NICE!*

For me? I will cherish and pour over this book as it’s not only filled with great stories from Mr. Elwes, but pictures on and off set and many, many excerpts from various cast and crew members. Including Mr. Reiner, Producer Andy Scheinman, and William Goldman (book and screenplay). As well as the Bride herself, Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright), the Grandson (Fred Savage), Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), Count Rugen (Christopher Guest) along with all the others mentioned in The Film section above. Save for the late, great Andre. *RIP* A spectacular read all the way around!! I look forward to the audio version too!! And to that I say… “Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles…” Hmm! “Doesn’t sound too bad. I’ll try to stay awake.” *WINK*

Until next time.

Follow me on Twitter @obi_juanita

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride is an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc. New York, NY. ©2014

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