Some quick facts that you need to know about me: I turn 35 this year, I loved The Princess Bride as a kid because he looked like Zorro and as a Hispanic kid I loved Zorro, I love pro-wrestling, and I didn’t like The Princess Bride as an adult.
If you’ve ever driven from Austin to Dallas, you know it’s hell. First, because you’re sitting in traffic on I-35, and second, because you’re leaving Austin for Dallas. (Just kidding. Dallas has a cool skyline!) I like to pass the time on these drives by scrolling through my library’s audiobook app and grabbing whatever seems fun. For a recent trip, I snagged Cary Elwes’ As You Wish, an admittedly weird choice for a guy who isn’t into the movie. I do love behind the scenes stuff about ANYTHING (garbage, movies, industrial plants, funeral homes), and Cary Elwes and other stars read the book, so why not?
About twenty minutes into the book, Elwes delivers the titular line, and I have to admit that when he did, I got goosebumps and cried in my Camry. It’s so apparent from Elwes’ reading that he loves both the movie and the time he spent working on it. It was a lot of fun listening in on how he was cast, his first time meeting Robin Wright, Andre the Giant stories, swashbuckling, and his thoughts on why the movie sticks. (It’s even better because Hollywood players like Billy Crystal, Chris Guest, Carol Kane, Rob Reiner, Wallace Shawn, and Robin Wright all read their own parts. (Spoiler: Andre and Robin Wright come off as everyone’s favorite people.)
If you like Hollywood behind the scenes stories, I recommend this audiobook. It’s a lot of fun.
PS I rewatched the movie and loved it.