We needed a family movie night. The fall weather was miserable, and the basement tv called along with blankets, popcorn, and all of the family fitting tightly on a couch.
I started scrolling the Netflix lists looking for a movie that would capture the kids’ attention and keep me awake. No big superhero movies, no cartoons, something .. good.
The last time one of these night beckoned, I discovered Monkey Kingdom. We loved it and it turned into a huge pursuit of animal adventures for the next week.
A few months back we served up The Goonies. It was good for a while, but then the boys got spooked once the crew started to investigate the eerie basement. That was the kind of film I was looking for. Some live action 80s classic. And then I landed on The Princess Bride.
“What about The Princess Bride?,” I called to my wife. “I’ve never seen it, will the boys like it?”
“You’ve never seen it?!!?,” she exclaimed. “Inconceivable!”
The joke was lost at me at the time as I popped some corn, gathered blankets and assembled the family for a fairy tale.
Here’s are some notes I made as I declared to my Facebook friends that it had taken me 29 years to see this 80s classic. (It should also be known that Netflix serving up The Goonies was also my first kick at that classic)
The subtle gems in the writing of this film are wonderful. It’s Simpsons-esque in the way they could make a fairy tale fun for adults and kids alike.
As you wish .. Have you ever heard of Plato? .. I do not think that means what you think it means. .. He’s not dead. He’s only mostly dead. ..I don’t even exercise. .. Inconceivable etc
The lines hit me and I chuckled learning not to start a ground war in Asia and where so many one liners of the past 30 years of my life had come from.
Then I started to spot the cameos. I knew Andre the Giant was in the movie, but I didn’t know Fred Savage and Peter Falk were in it too.
The cavalcade didn’t slow down.
Hey, there’s the guy from Saw!
Hey, there’s Saul from Homeland!
Hey, it’s Madame Vice President from House of Cards!
Hey, that’s Harry and that lady from Kimmy Schmidt!
It was perfect and for the past 3 weeks my boys have been shouting INCONCEIVABLE! to each other and odd, random times.
Serendipitous sidebar? A week after The Princess Bride, I discovered Wallace Shawn was going to be attending the Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo. So Charlie and I lurked around his booth and snapped a quick pic before rushing off to grab some Pokemon Go gear and play with light sabers.
So great!
This is why I love Netflix. Yes, there are awesome new shows that grab everyone’s attention in the moment, but there’s also that catalog. A long list of classics is waiting, as you wish.
Disclosure: I’m a member of the Netflix Stream Team