Yes, you read that right. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a hopeless romantic — some days I feel I lean more heavily on the hopeless than the romantic — and I watch romances on the rare occasion, Rare because I don’t like watching movies that stir up desires in my heart and leave me feeling discontent.
My favorite used to be “The Princess Bride”, which I have learned is also the favorite of many other men, possibly because there is adventure tied in there with all the things a man long to do: be the hero, save the day, and win the heart of the damsel in distress. Much like Christ did for his Bride, the Church. He put his life on the line to win her heart, and like wise, so we men were patterned the same.
“The Princess Bride” is nigh over twenty years now and I suppose it was high time that a new romantic adventure movie came out that is of the same caliber. It still holds a place in my heart, but a movie that was released this fall that I hadn’t even heard any hype about despite a few of the high profile cast in it. Robert De Niro , Michelle Pfeiffer, Ian McKellen (Gandolf the Grey from “Lord of the Rings”), and Claire Danes. All give good performances. This movie is called “Stardust”.
I suppose, for me, what most makes it take the crown from “The Princess Bride” is that the protagonist is an anti-hero. In “Princess Bride”, Westley (Cary Elwes) starts out knowing he loves Buttercup (Robin Wright Penn), and that Buttercup loves him, and his goal is to get her back. Other than the scene showing him as a farm hand, the rest of the movie assumes he’s going to rise to the challenge as he’s already made a name for himself as the Dread Pirate Roberts. In “Stardust”, Tristan Thorn (Charlie Cox) is trying to win the heart of a local girl, Victoria (Sienna Miller), in his mid-19th Century town in England, known as Wall for it is situated on the edge of a wall which is fabled to guard against another realm beyond the gap in it. However, Tristan’s love is unrequited. Victoria looks forward to being betrothed to the more popular Humphrey who — as rumors fly — is preparing to journey all the way to Ipswich for an engagement ring. The same night she tells Tristan this, they see a star fall beyond the wall and Tristan asks if she would marry him if he could fetch the star. So, he sets out on the journey beyond the wall and into the magical realm of Stormhold without a clue of what lies beyond.
I find Tristan to be more endearing a character than Westley. While Westley is daring, brave, and dashing; Tristan is shy, bungling, and naive. Tristan is me, the anti-hero. I would go further, but I don’t want to spoil the movie any more than I already have, so you will just have to watch it yourselves and see what it’s like.