the princess bride

Whilst I was working for YouTube, they had a Global Summit in LA. We flew out there for a couple of weeks, spending the first by the beach, and the second in the city at the convention. It was a really great time: looking back it's a really good example of the kinds of things Google will do to foster a collaborative and friendly atmosphere that really builds relationships and friendships with coworkers. The event itself was pretty nuts: the picture below is of our private Snoop Dog concert on the last evening.

On one of the evenings we went out to a Pool Bar. It was a fairly small, busy place, and we got there pretty late, meaning we didn't get to play any pool (and almost got into an argument about who got the last game on one of the tables). One thing I remember distinctly about the bar was that it had a tiny little TV in the corner, which was playing The Princess Bride. As we weren't playing pool and the bar was a bit too loud to talk (plus I think I was pretty tired and a bit hungover), I ended up watching a fair amount of the movie.

The part I remember distinctly was the scene with Vizzini and Westley, where they try and outwit each other with poison in the wine. I still think the twist at the end of the scene is genius.

After that, the film went on my list and at some point we got around to watching it. It is very up my street. It's just very fun, and doesn't take itself too seriously. The physical humour is on point, the framing of a story in a story is great, and the number of fantastic lines is too high to count ("Is this a kissing book?" is a line Beth and I quote to each other more than I'd like to admit).

We watched it again this evening and after reading the book, I'm struck by how silly it is compared to how much darker I remember the book being. The humour is different too; it's almost slapstick in the movie, especially from the wedding to them storming the castle.

One of my favourites!

tags: movies

permalink | posted by nathan on Sunday, the 1th of August, 2021, when he should have been getting ready for bed