Cary Elwes

After the tragic death of Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer, I put a hold on this audiobook, a behind-the-scenes account of one of Reiner's most-beloved movies. By all accounts I've heard, The Princess Bride is not just a classic movie but making it was a uniquely joyous and familial experience for the cast and crew. Cary Elwes's memoir affirms those accounts. Well, except maybe for Wallace Shawn, who was anxious that he would be fired because he believed the producers really wanted show more Danny Devito.

Elwes recounts his delight in working under the warm leadership of Reiner, uttering William Goldman's dialogue, and the skill and experience of the cast. There's a strong appreciation for André Roussimoff who is a kind and funny person despite his problems with gigantism, painful back injuries, and massive alcohol consumption (the only painkiller that worked for him). There are also tales of laughter on the set including the notorious Miracle Max scene where Reiner and Elwes had to be forced to leave the set, and another scene in which André released a notorious fart.

Core to this book is Elwes sword duel with Mandy Patinkin. The scene was scheduled to film last to give Elwes and Patinkin the maximum time to train with professional fencing instructor Bob Anderson and stunt coordinator Peter Diamond. Any time they had a break from filming, they practiced fencing. Elwes may go a bit too far in talking about how everyone had a crush on Robin Wright, but also takes the time to appreciate her acting. Unlike every other character in the movie who got to comedy bits, Wright's Buttercup had the burden of playing it straight the entire film.

The audiobook is delightful since it's read by Elwes himself. The book includes short contributions from the cast and crew, and Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Carol Kane, executive producer Norman Lear, Rob Reiner, Chris Sarandon, producer Andy Scheinman, Wallace Shawn, and Robin Wright all participate in reading their parts. Since Elwes is a talented mimic, it's especially enjoyable that he recounts conversations with Reiner while adopting a Bronx accent, and then comparing that with the parts actually read by Reiner (Elwes is pretty authentic). This is a lovely book for fans of The Princess Bride and movies in general. show less

I can't think of a single movie which means more to me than The Princess Bride. There are plenty that are important – some of the Star Treks, and Casablanca, and The Great Escape, The Thin Man and the Harry Potters and Holiday (Grant and Hepburn, not the other one). Fellowship of the Ring once meant more, maybe, but then Peter Jackson did what Peter Jackson does and retroactively destroyed even that. But the Bride? Book and film, but especially film, this is dear to me.

So this book, Cary show more Elwes's tale of the Making Of, was a shoo-in as a necessary book. I had hopes – and they were more than fulfilled. From learning that Sting was considered for the role of Humperdinck (!) to Samuel Becket's close friendship with Andre the Giant (!) to Bill Goldman's trials and tribulations on set (" … " No. I'm not going to spoil it. It's priceless), it was pure geekly rapture to get such a look behind the scenes from casting to wrap party.

It's a generous, affectionate book that serves as proof that the movie was made with love and remembered as one of the best experiences that could be had in a career. Throughout, Elwes extols the virtues of everyone involved, and he gives his co-stars room to speak in his book of memories.

Robin Wright: "My theory is that they were so completely tired of meeting girls—I think I was the five-hundredth girl they saw—at that point they were like, 'Just cast her! Make her the princess!' They were so stunned, after meeting all the ingénues of Hollywood. That was my lucky fate—they were exhausted."

Mr. Elwes is just about as modest as Robin Wright is; they were both so young, and had no idea the movie would become the Thing it is today - that people would cosplay them with great attention to every detail and that the Pope would know the actor from "The Princess and the Bride", and most of the cast probably can't go a week without a quote being demanded of them. (I wonder if anyone has the chutzpah to ask Fred Savage to say "Is this a kissing book?") They had no idea that this film would become a hallmark of The Geek: if you can't quote reams from this film, why, then, your Geek Badge must be a forgery.

There are some wonderful stories in here, and wonderful details. Great literature it is not, ghost writer or no ghost writer – but it doesn't matter. Much like the film, it's all heart, and tremendous fun. It's joyous. "As You Wish"? I love you too, Cary Elwes - thank you.

(Nota bene: the audiobook edition is read by … everyone. I want it. Now.) show less

This is a warm-hearted, thoroughly delightful memoir of making "The Princess Bride" and it strikes just the right balance between savoring personal memories and providing fun information about the production. The best part, for me, were the sections about how Cary and Mandy Patinkin worked on their famous duel. It had never occurred to me how significant it was that both actors (neither of whom were trained fencers) did the entire fight themselves, without stunt doubles (except for the show more gymnastic flips on the horizontal bar). Not even Errol Flynn did all his own fighting!

The book is enhanced by the inset commentary by Cary's co-stars, director Rob Reiner, and screenplay writer and author of the original book, William Goldman. Clearly this was a special experience for all of them.

If you're looking for snark or dirty laundry, you won't find it here. Cary's memoir is as sweet and loving as the film itself. show less

So a bunch of friends and various reviews recommended this as a really funny, interesting read and I have to say that it totally kept me laughing. I think listening to the audiobook version probably makes it even better b/c not only does Cary Elwes narrate; he has Carol Kane, Rob Reiner and others adding their two cents in with many of them narrating their own opinions as well. In addition to the funny stuff there were a lot of moving stories about Andre the Giant as well. I made my husband show more listen to bits and pieces of it too and he also thought it was very funny, even though he has no great love for the movie so you don't have to be a big movie fan to enjoy it. It was a really great, funny, poignant listen that was especially enjoyable during a very stressful week. show less