I think it suffers from a slightly weak cast. Inigo Montoya is great, the princess is OK, but Wesley (or “Wess-ley”, as they gratingly call him) is a bit wooden.
And yeah, what’s with the ridiculous character names, “Buttercup” and “Wesley”? I can kind of understand “Buttercup” if you’re aiming for a sort of nursery rhyme vibe and not quite hitting it, but Wesley is such a contemporary name. It just doesn’t fit.
This, for some reason, was the one Fezzik line that took me the longest to understand. Finally, on my nth viewing, I just asked my friend, “What the hell did he just say?”
In hindsight, of course, it was pretty obvious.
But it’s Westley, isn’t it? Yah, it is.
Frankly, I found Buttercup to be a bit harder to swallow as a name, even if she did begin life as a milkmaid.
You’re right. I was directing my irritation at how they pronounce “Wesley” in Star Trek at the entirely innocent Princess Bride. My apologies.
It took me repeated viewings to understand Miracle Max. “I’m on the Brute Squad.” “You are the Brute Squad!” I never really got the ‘are’ for the longest time; I thought he was just repeating Fezzik, and while I could tell it was a punchline, I didn’t see the joke.
I thought Buttercup and Westley were meant to be bland, insipid names, reinforcing the boy’s low expectations for the story. As such, they were perfectly chosen.
Love, hate, revenge, death, life, torture, kissing, sword fights, giants, monsters, heroes, villains, bravery, cowardace, rescue, failure, poison, a miracle, a prince, a princess, a pirate and an albino with a wheelbarrow.
And extremely quotable dialog.
What’s not to like?
The best reason why this movie is worth watching is how so many individual scenes can be appreciated completely on a humorous level out of context from the rest of the story. My favorite scene is the scene with the glasses of wine, for example.
For those of you who love the book, if you can find it, the original Morgenstern is far superior to the William Goldman abridgment that the movie is based on.
Agreed. I had to fly all the way to Florin to find a copy of the original Morgenstern, but it was worth it.
I can’t add anything other than my voice to the chorus of Love it Love it Love it! The satire, the humor, the cast, the dialog, the book, the quotes…love it all.
I understand Cecil Adams may have a copy in his personal library…
Wasn’t it originally written in Florinese? 
Indeed it was. But as we all (should) know, Cecil is fluent in Florinese. 
I don’t think that word means what you think it means.
What’s odd about Buttercup as a name? There’s a long tradition of girls being named after flowers. Rose, Lily, Daisy, Magnolia, Petunia, Buttercup… It fits.
Because it’s a dumb name. Rose, Lily, Daisy, Magnolia and Petunia would have been fine.
They could have tried Darth Vadering it. You know, getting a voice actor to redub the lines. Even if it didn’t look perfect, I think it would fit the tone of the movie.
As for Buttercup: I think the point was to use the flower convention, but still sound a bit silly. Of course, when I hear it, I wonder if there are sister princesses named Bubbles and Blossom, so it’s even more ridiculous sounding to me.
+1. buttercup is a name for ponies.
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quotability
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awesomeness (moments of kickass)
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nostalgia / notability for the time is was released