Watch Carl Reiner’s Beautiful Final Performance in a Fan-Film of ‘The Princess Bride’
There is a sad but very lovely coda to the passing of comedy legend Carl Reiner, who died last month at the age of 98. Days before Reiner’s passing, he recorded what ultimately became his farewell performance — as part of the “fan film” version of The Princess Bride that is currently being spearheaded, under quarantine, by Jason Reitman.
Reitman has recruited a who’s who of actors and artists to appear in this socially distanced Princess Bride remake for Quibi. The fan film’s ranks include Rob Reiner, who directed the original Princess Bride. In Reitman’s new version, Reiner is one of the actors who plays the Fred Savage role, while his dad Carl plays the Peter Falk role. After Carl Reiner passed, Rob Reiner gave his blessing to leave the scene in Reitman’s Princess Bride.
Vanity Fair got the scoop on the performance (“At 98 years old, Carl Reiner understood every beat of that scene. His understanding of the writing, the performance, the pauses, the gestures, the hat, the look to camera, how to make an exit, were as sharp as any actor at any age,” Reitman told VF) and also posted footage of the two Reiners’ scene together, which is guaranteed to make you cry. Watch for yourself.
Home Movie: The Princess Bride is available on Quibi. It’s got at least one very good performance — the rest of the cast includes Josh Gad, Tiffany Haddish, Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman, Jack Black, Patton Oswalt, Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood, David Oyelowo, Neil Patrick Harris, and many more.
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