'As You Wish' by Cary Elwes

As You Wish, Inconceivable Tales From the Making of The Princess Bride, Cary Elwes, with Joe Layden (3.5)

If, like me, you love the movie, ‘The Princess Bride’, you’ll enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at the casting, filming and aftermath of the movie. Besides Mr. Elwes’s own recollections, the book is filled with comments from all those involved, including a forward by Rob Reiner, the director. Sometimes these comments are redundant, though that seems to be an editing problem. I really enjoyed following the sword training, film shooting and meeting all the great cast and characters involved with this fantastic movie. This is certainly not a ‘tell all’ type book, if anything my biggest complaint is that everyone involved is depicted as the nicest, funniest and most talented person Mr. Elwes has ever met. You definitely get the impression that this was a special project for all of those interviewed. I particularly enjoyed hearing about the beloved Andre the Giant and the talented Wallace Shawn – who played two of my favorite characters. Wallace Shawn had heard that Rob Reiner wanted Danny DeVito for the role and felt throughout the whole filming that he would be replaced. Nice to know that famous playwright/actor/author/Oxford professors can be insecure like the rest of us! We also learned a lot more about Rob Reiner (vastly respected for his overall skill and specific abilities with actors) and William Goldman, the author of the original book. Mr. Goldman anxiously watched as his ‘baby’ transforms into a classic movie – and there are a handful of stories of just how anxious he actually gets. Time to re-watch the movie and re-read the original book!