As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride
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Summary
From actor Cary Elwes, who played the iconic role of Westley in The Princess Bride, comes a first-person account and behind-the-scenes look at the making of the cult classic film filled with never-before-told stories and interviews with costars Robin Wright, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, and Mandy Patinkin, as well as author and screenwriter William Goldman, producer Norman Lear, and director Rob Reiner.
While Mr. Elwes may not be the most skilled wordsmith, he does have a tendency to indulge in a bit of humblebragging and excessively glorifying his co-stars. However, I found great pleasure in delving into the captivating behind-the-scenes details of this remarkable novel/script/film. In fact, it inspired me to introduce the movie to my children just this week. It truly is a timeless masterpiece.
I absolutely adore The Princess Bride, it's a timeless favorite of mine.
I had high hopes for this book because, well, see my first point.
I was really looking forward to gaining insight, picking up some trivia and behind-the-scenes tidbits.
The book received rave reviews from people who share my appreciation for the movie, so I thought it couldn't possibly disappoint.
Well, it did.
What did I end up getting? Well, have you ever watched interviews where actors talk about other actors? They always say things like, "Oh, he's a great person. Working with him was one of the highlights of my life. Blah blah blah."
I understand that there's a certain etiquette to be maintained in public forums, but in books written by insiders, I wanted something more substantial. Not necessarily gossip or scandal, but those captivating stories that take you deep into the heart of the subject.
Listening to Elwes drone on and on about how amazing (insert name) was to work with, how undeserving he felt to be part of the project, and how thrilled he is that the movie eventually became successful, just became monotonous after a while.
Even the snippets from the other cast members were somewhat interesting, although they were often reduced to generic statements about their fellow actors.
To be fair, the few nuggets of actual information that managed to slip through the "Actor Speak" filter were mostly about Andre the Giant, which I found quite intriguing. I appreciated those moments. It would have been a far more captivating read if Elwes had acknowledged that his audience is already aware of the incredible cast and tried to humanize them rather than idolize them.
Overall, the book was a tedious experience with only occasional sparks of interesting content amidst a sea of what we already knew.
I'm sorry to break it to you, but this book accomplishes only one impossible feat: it turns a vibrant and delightful movie into something dull and utterly uninteresting.
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