I was re-watching the 1987 classic film, The Princess Bride recently, and I realized something: The sequences with Fred Savage take place at Christmas.
I don’t know how well-known this is. With the popular meme about Die Hard being a Christmas movie spreading over the last twenty years, and that reaching out to all of these other “secretly a Christmas movie” films such as Gremlins or Batman Returns, I never see The Princess Bride on that list. But check it out:
When the film opens, The Grandson is playing Hardball! on the Nintendo Entertainment. His mom opens his windows, and the outside is all snowy, and the neighbors have lights decorating the top of their porch.
Then Grampa Peter Falk shows up, and there’s a terrifying Santa Claus on the closet door.
And a Santa figure of some kind behind the Masters of the Universe toys and the Secret Wars Captain America.
And a snowman on the other side of the dresser, which you can see here over The Grandfather’s shoulder.
Fred Savage is wearing a Chicago Bears shirt, and he’s got a poster of 1980s Bears superstar player William “Refrigerator” Perry, as well as a Chicago Cubs pennant on the wall behind his bed. So this movie probably takes place in a Chicago suburb, as well. Fred’s probably home on Christmas vacation with his cold.
So now when people ask you what your favorite Christmas movie is, you can throw The Princess Bride out as your answer, and watch as people get upset with you about it.
Merry Christmas!