Discuss: 'The Princess Bride' is Only for the Guys

What the hell is this chick smoking?

"The Princess Bride" isn't a "dude" movie -- no matter how many swords are waved about, no matter how many screaming eels emerge from the waves. One can find just as many references to the gentler sex if one looks close enough -- like, say, the Pit of Despair.

Okay, okay, I'm kidding about the Pit. Don't stone me.

Anyone who loves swashbuckling action sequences, clever dialogue, tongue-in-cheek comedy and fairytale romance in its sweetest and purest form will love "The Princess Bride." Regardless of sex or gender.

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It has everything guys want in a movie...

"Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles... "

Sounds like the perfect guy movie to me.

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I have man parts... On my senior trip i brought the princess bride and when it was put in the buses dvd player, everyone booed. So I dont think it has anything to do with gentials (except for perfect breasts). I think if you are a mature person you like it and if you are of the screaming masses you do not.

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My husband and I both love Princess Bride and watch it at least once per year! I suspect that the girl in question is just not that secure in her womanhood, afraid to find fun in the way the film pokes fun at stereotypes, yet makes us love them all the same. I imagine she sees Buttercup as weak. I say Buttercup is strong for she refuses to believe that Wesley will not rescue her and is willing to take her own life. She is willing to do so, not because she would not be complete without Wesley, but because she knows to give in to the king/prince and being his wife would kill her a little bit more each day.

The movie is a fun bit of a reminder of the classic costume movies of the 50's(?) with the swash buckling and all, but gives us a lot of quirky fun with true romance running through it all. "As you wish" and "My name is Inigo Montoya.." are oft quoted in my household... and beyond.

Patty P

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I was having this exact discussion the other day with my wife. "The Princess Bride" is one of my all-time favorite movies and the book is even better. When Ella and I met, this was one of the first points of contention concerning pop-culture. She couldn't stand the film, and finds absolutely no reason for my adoration.

I tried giving her the book, thinking that perhaps the short-hand employed in the script left her out in the cold on the genius of the story, but she like the book even less.

I've since talked to lots of other guys who grew up loving the movie (and most have fallen for the book once they know it exists) while their significant others are ambivalent at best and often downright hostile.

I think it may have something to do with the plots direct correlation to the modern man's sense of lost purpose. For generations (eons really) men were supposed to fight the bad guys (or rodents of unusual size), save the Princess (while making witty small-talk), and live happily ever after. In modern society, women are our equals (they always were, but we finally recognize it) and don't need saving that much. Bad guys are hard to tell from the good guys since we are all wearing varying shades of gray hats, and the purges of the early 20th century have left us with very few rodents of unusual size.

It's all a shame really, and "The Princess Bride" brings those feelings out in even the youngest of boys. Maybe, since in this idealized past, the girls would have needed rescuing, it's not something that they look back on all that fondly. Or, maybe they just don't like rhyming giants. Whatever, it's their loss.

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Interesting this is brought up now, as this was a topic of discussion in one of my college course. This being my 10th year out of college I can't remember which one, but the point that the class came to was that it WAS beloved by everyone, and those that hate it tend to use the fact that it's not for their particular sex as an excuse for some insecurities about ones self.

So basically this argument can be used both ways, the men saying it's too lovey dovey to cover for their inadequacies of expressing emotion, and woman saying it's too manly because they have issues with dealing with masculine men.

Still, I've found an even number of my own personal friends, male and female, that love the movie. Although I have found that those older than me, who were in their 20-30's when I was growing up, find it too silly or flippant to enjoy.

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There are people (of any gender or otherwise over-generalized category) that don't like The Princess Bride? o_0 I didn't know that was possible.

It's always struck me as the film that has everything - adventure, romance, comedy - and that can be enjoyed as a kid for the swashbuckling aspects and as an adult for the sly satire (and the swashbuckling aspects).

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I'm a girl, who admittedly watched The Empire Strikes Back more than Cinderella growing up, but still ALL, ALL of my girl friends absolutely love The Princess Bride. We love Inigo, we love the fencing, and we especially love Welsey. I don't know what that drunk girl was on about.

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This movie is quotable/chock full of one-liners. Girls generally hate movies like these, because they know their guys are going to be quoting the movie for ten years to each other in conversations that completely exclude the girls. I know I'm taking liberties and am posting something borderline sexist, but my experiences lead me to these conclusions. To prove my point: Start a conversation with an even number of guys and girls, at random, that is nothing but quotes from (Holy Grail, Big Trouble in Little China, whatever) and see how long it takes the girls to declare their dislike of the movie or leave the discussion.

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My wife and I both love The Princess Bride. I always thought it was more of an age thing or when you first saw it thing.
In college (1999-2003) it seemed like those of us that had seen it in our childhood (be they of the male or female persuasion) loved the movie, while those who didn't see it until high school or college didn't understand everyone else's love for the film.
It was never a "guys love it/Girls Hate it" thing. It was just the age of your first viewing.
Personally I think the buy/girl thing is crap. You either like it or you don't. Guys love the sword fights, revenge, and giants (and maybe a part of us loves the "True Love" but we'll never admit it) and Girls love the romance, guy fighting for his girl, and handsome Wesley. It really has something for everyone.

I do have to say recently I've found the only other film that I've ever compared to The Princess Bride, Stardust. While the film is in so many ways nothing like Princess Bride, it's the closest comparison I have for it.
The both have sword fights for the boys and a love story for the girls. They are both fantasy, romances. Anyone who loves Princess Bride should check out Stardust.

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I've heard The Princess Bride described as the ultimate boyfriend movie. It's almost like it's a secret that guys love it too (even though everybody knows). Because it's got the qualities of a "chick flick", it can be used to score points. As in, "Hey, let's just stay in and watch a movie. I dunno, maybe The Princess Bride?" as opposed to, say, Porky's.

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Female here, love the movie. It's one of my favorites.

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Both my wife and I love this movie and the funny thing is, I only saw parts of it in the past and never really sat and watched the full thing until a month ago and it was fantastic. After watching it I found myself wondering how people would feel about the movie if the word princess and/or bride was not in the title.

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As long as you can skip over the gross kissing parts, it's a great guy movie.

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So... everyone here is arguing against something that was screamed out loud at a party by some drunk person and absolutely no one else in the history of film.

Why?

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