Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Princess Bride as The Beatles

So last night as I lie awake, I pondered.  And, as my thoughts traveled freely from place to place this is what I pondered.
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I think the Princess Bride is like the Beatles.  (Really, it is things like this that I ponder at night, pity Ed if you must.)  Odd, yes? But think about it.  The Princess Bride was the apex of most of these people's careers.  The Princess Bride was, as they say, lightening in a bottle.  Walk through this with me and see how easily the cast fit into the Beatle roles.
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 First you have the lovely Cary Elwes as Paul McCartney.  He was the hero of the Princess Bride.  The dreamy eyes and pretty hair.
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Truly, he was lovely in the Princess Bride.  Okay, he has put on some weight in  the intervening twenty years, but he has produced a nice steady output of work.  Some good, some mediocre, some terrible.
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The Crush and Bram Stoker's Dracula represent the "Linda McCartney" influence (if you know what I mean), but Men in Tights and The Cradle Will Rock  are totally classic Wings.  They stand on their own.
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And then you have Robin Wright as John.  The beautiful albeit moddy Robin Wright.  Who took her fame reluctantly.
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Robin Wright (now, but soon to be formerly, Wright-Penn) became the true art-teast of the group.
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I mean she did White Oleander, Empire Falls, Nine Lives, The Singing Detective.  All great amazing works.  Yet none are really relatable at all, come on... who has really watched more than 30 minutes of White Oleander?  Anyone... Buhler?  
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Totally John Lennon post break up, releasing album after album of stuff you know you were suppose to like, but just couldn't quite make it through.  FYI - that makes Sean Penn the Yoko Ono of the group, which is, in and of itself, enough parallel right there.
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George Harrison of Princess Bride?  The do-gooder...
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Clearly Fred Savage.
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Every now and then Fred pops in in something and everyone is like, "Wow!  Is he still alive?"  Just like people used to do with George Harrison.  Well, for a while, because George isn't alive now, but you know what I mean.  George died in 2001 from Cancer, but Fred is alive.  Remember when he (Fred, not George) popped up in Austin Powers, Goldmember?  No - don't remember.  See, George Harrison.
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And that leaves Ringo.  Ringo is the Beatle that will show up anywhere, do anything, because he used to be big.
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I hesitate to include this trio as Ringo, since Andre the Giant has passed on.  And since Mandy Patinkin used to be amazing.  Really, I saw him onstage as Che Guevera in Evita and he totally WAS Che (until Antonio Banderas played Che in the movie.. Antoino couldn't sing but was way hotter than Mandy).  
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You say I am being harsh?  Mandy once did the movie The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland - I am not sure even Ringo would touch that bad boy.
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So there you have a portion of my night.  "It is very messy up here", he said pointing to his brain.