Get ready to wail about the swift passage of time, because The Princess Bride is officially 30 years old. It’s safe to say that many have grown to love the pirates, sword fights, resurrection, and the quest for The Six-Fingered Man, considering how often your best friends still shout “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” However, despite all of the snarky quips and revenge quests, it’s ultimately a movie about love. Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright) and Westley (Cary Elwes) fight like hell for their love to survive, melting even the coldest viewer’s hearts in the process.
If you need help believing in love again, let these moments from The Princess Bride guide you.
“As you wish.” — Westley
As we all know, what he really meant was “I love you.” The love between Westley and Buttercup was the kind that sneaks up on you when you aren’t expecting it, but really Buttercup should have seen this coming. Farmboy or not, no one is that thrilled to shine your saddle unless they worship the ground you walk on. When Buttercup realizes who the Dread Pirate Roberts actually is as he shouts out this line later in the film while rolling down a hill into the Fire Swamp, she and the viewers are reminded that love is not so easily thrown aside.
“Is this a kissing book?” — The Grandson
Yes, Fred Savage, it is. But as most people will tell you, The Princess Bride is so much more than a kissing movie. Still, while listening to his Grandfather read him the story, the boy realizes that the kissing stuff isn’t all that bad.
“This is true love. You think this happens every day?” — Westley
Before being apparently lost at sea, Westley seems pretty certain that his love for Buttercup and her love for him will last forever. While they certainly had a few bumps along the way — evil princes, pirate kings, killer rodents, the usual stuff — this fairy tale had a happy ending. While the impediments to love may be a bit more mundane in the real world, they are still worth conquering.
“Sonny, true love is the greatest thing in the world. Except for a nice M.L.T., a mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean, and the tomato is ripe. They’re so perky. I love that.” — Miracle Max
While the main focus of The Princess Bride is on the young and beautiful lovers, there is also love of a harsher and more hilarious kind with Miracle Max (Billy Crystal) and Valerie (Carol Kane). These two have been performing miracles side by side for decades, and while they may bicker continuously, you can tell that they’re in it for the long haul. Honestly, if you’ve been married that long and still find them as appealing as your favorite sandwich, you’re probably in good shape.
“There’s a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. It would be a pity to damage yours.” — Westley
While the serious declarations of love are all well and good, there’s something to be said about having fun with your significant other. Yeah yeah, you’ll love them until the end of time, but acknowledging the attributes that get you going is important too. Westley may have been a bit indisposed at the moment — coming back from the mostly dead has a bit of a recovery time — but Buttercup quickly picked up on what he was laying down.
“Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam… And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva… So tweasure your wuv. ” — The Impressive Clergyman
The silly accent and the over-the-top sentiment are the perfect combination, making this an insanely quotable line, but the idea that you should “tweasure your wuv” is nothing to laugh at. Buttercup and Westley fought princes, shrieking eels, and death itself to prove how much they cherished each other, so you may want to take some notes while watching.
“Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.” — Westley
Scoff at the idea that “true love conquers all” all you want, but love really is the greatest and scariest adventure that any of us can go on. It may not look like it does in the movies, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Hopefully, you won’t have to become a pirate, get trapped in quicksand, or agree to marry a homicidal maniac along the way.
