The cast of the irresistibly quotable cult classic The Princess Bride is reuniting for what might be the most exciting political fundraiser in 2020, and the man in black himself has been clear about who this event’s Humperdink is (AKA, the guy he would want “to live a long life, alone with his cowardice”).
Westley, Buttercup, and the gang (sans Fezzik, may he rest in peace) are getting together for a virtual script reading of The Princess Bride, exclusively held on September 13th, with the purpose of collecting donations “to ensure that Trump loses Wisconsin, and thereby, the White House.” As has been the case throughout this past administration, Twitter, of course, has blown up, this time in the form of a “battle of wits” between Cary Elwes, the man who brought Westley to life, and Texas senator Ted Cruz, a hardcore Princess Bride fan:
“Every Princess Bride fan […] wants to see that perfect movie preserved from Hollywood politics,” the republican senator tweeted earlier this month, accidentally opening the floodgates for Princess Bride fans all over the country to chip in donations.
“Do you hear that Fezzik? That is the sound of ultimate suffering. My heart made that sound when the six-fingered man killed my father. Every Princess Bride fan who wants to see that perfect movie preserved from Hollywood politics makes it now.” pic.twitter.com/mbUs4y6Ro0
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 5, 2020
Elwes, who brought to life the film’s hero and romantic lead Westley, was quick to reply:
.@tedcruz if you only left the fire swamp you could join us. #dumptrumperdinck https://t.co/TelBc2QT9G
— Cary Elwes (@Cary_Elwes) September 5, 2020
He then went ahead and sent Cruz a link to the event’s donation page:
.@tedcruz Must be getting hot in there. Here’s the invite…@WisDems @benwikler #dumptrumperdinckhttps://t.co/NTXPMq8TCS
— Cary Elwes (@Cary_Elwes) September 5, 2020
This is not the first time a member of the fire-swamp-surviving, castle-storming, gate-key-stealing gang ventures onto political ground. Robin Wright, who played the film’s beloved heroine Buttercup, joked back in 2017 about how Trump had taken “all of [House of Cards’s] good ideas,” which is no compliment, considering the politically critical nature of the show she was starring in at the time. Also Mandy Patinkin—the man behind the swordmaster Iñigo Montoya himself—became involved in refugee activism in 2015 and has directly spoken against Trump’s immigration policies. Patinkin, who has previously criticized Cruz’s opinion of how the U.S. needs a “war president” to defeat ISIS, also had something to say about this particular Twitter battle on an interview with CBS:
“I just wanted to ask, since he quotes all the lines from ‘The Princess Bride’, why he doesn’t quote my favorite line? [..] Those words were — and are forever — ‘I have been in the revenge business so long, now that it’s over, I do not know what to do with the rest of my life.'”
There is enough scientific evidence to suggest that Twitter wars leave its participants only mostly dead, so I’m going to assume that Cruz is still kicking and the Wisdems fundraiser is still up and running.
