Home Movie: The Princess Bride
By Emily Ashby,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Star-studded remake is most fun for original film's fans.
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Home Movie: The Princess Bride
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What's the Story?
HOME MOVIE: THE PRINCESS BRIDE is a conglomerate remake of the modern classic love story between the fair-haired Buttercup and her besmitten farm boy suitor, Wesley. Using scenes recreated by screen stars like Jon Hamm, Jennifer Garner, David Oyelowo, and Zoe Saldana, director Jason Reitman pieces together the story in its entirety and presents it in chapters of varying lengths. As Buttercup and Wesley's star-crossed love tale evolves, villains attempt to keep them apart but true love refuses to surrender. They and the rest of the characters are played by a rotating cast of performers with makeshift costumes, settings, and props.
Is It Any Good?
If you've ever wondered what you might get by challenging a bunch of big-name celebs with a movie remake on a nonexistent budget, then you're in luck. Enter Home Movie: The Princess Bride, a total oddity in traditional entertainment but oddly satisfying nonetheless. There's nothing perfect or even polished about it. Despite the fact that it's a word-for-word copy of the original story, it's full of unpredictable twists like gender-swapping character presentations, cameos by actors' kids, and family pets in supporting roles. Action figures and toy building sets help stage stunts that exceed the lack of budget (The Cliffs of Insanity, for one), and imagination and humor helps fill in the rest.
This fan-film version of The Princess Bride is designed for viewers with a better-than-average knowledge of the original movie, as the constant cast changes make it almost impossible to follow otherwise. Even with a good recollection of the story and dialogue for context, the option to watch in split-screen alongside pictures and reference notes from the film is a help in identifying both the characters and the multitude of actors who appear. As for the individual performances, some are decidedly better than others. Some fail to wow, while others -- like Patton Oswalt's version of the lispy and cackling Vizzini -- utterly delight.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the entertainment value (or lack thereof) of projects like this home movie version of a beloved movie. Did you enjoy watching it? Does the chapter format (and the wait between new chapter releases) encourage or discourage interest? Is it fun to see celebrities in this kind of less-polished production?
Whose performance impressed you most in Home Movie: The Princess Bride? Which ones involved notable creativity? Where did you see performers take the most artistic license with their re-creations? Do you think this production has very broad appeal, or is it targeted more toward a specific group of viewers?
How does technology enable projects like this one and open the playing field for nontraditional entertainment? Does this change our definition of what entertainment is?
TV Details
- Premiere date: June 29, 2020
- Cast: Jon Hamm, Patton Oswalt, Jennifer Garner
- Network: Quibi
- Genre: Comedy
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Princesses, Fairies, Mermaids, and More, Book Characters, Fairy Tales, Pirates
- TV rating: NR
- Last updated: February 27, 2022
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