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'Princess Bride' Reunion: Mandy Patinkin's epic delivery has Internet demanding Oscar for Zoom performances

'This is absolutely the Mandy Patinkin show (much as Inigo Montoya is the real protagonist of the movie),' said a fan

On August 13, Sunday, Wisconsin Democrats came together for a virtual fundraising event, 'A Virtual Princess Bride Reunion,' where more than 110,000 people donated at least $1 to tune into the live event. 

"Tonight's once-in-a-lifetime Princess Bride reunion changes the odds on who wins Wisconsin," said Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. "This is by a mile the biggest grassroots fundraiser that we have ever had." Wikler added that "chipping in to register for tonight, and post-signing up to volunteer tonight, can make the difference between the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration, and another four years of the Trump nightmare."

Most of the original cast — at least those who, as director Rob Reiner put it, are "not dead" — reunited for a script reading of the 1987 classic which included Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Carol Kane, Chris Sarandon, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, as well as Reiner as the grandfather reading a story to his sick grandson.

"None of the dead people will be here but all the live ones will be here, so that's exciting," Reiner said. "But if we have glitches, and things, you know, go haywire, just bear with us. We're here to have some fun. And as Ben pointed out, we're here basically to get Donald Trump out of the White House so that's the main goal."

The three-hour-long event included, of course, the most famous lines from the film, from "Inconceivable," to "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die." 

As soon as the event started and concluded, #PrincessBrideReunion started trending on Twitter. Commending the event, ESPN journalist Sarah Spain commented, "Do they give out Oscars for Zoom performances, @PatinkinMandy? #PrincessBrideReunion." While one user posted, "I could write a dissertation about which of the #PrincessBrideReunion actors mimicked their 33-year-old performances and which found new layers, new bits to emphasize. The best change, I think, is Robin Wright bringing a bit more steel & confidence to Buttercup -- feels right."

One Internet user shared her experience and said, "Watching the table read of Princess Bride with my youngest was the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Loved the strength that @RealRobinWright brought to the role this time. Shades of Claire Underwood. #princessbridereunion."Another one called the reading, a 'gift' and said, "The perfect ending to a perfect reading. Such a wonderful gift from the cast of the Princess Bride in these terrible times. The cast returned to raise money to defeat Trump aka #DumpTrumperdinck #PrincessBrideReunion."

While one user who seemed like a huge fan of 'The Princess Bride' said, "When you’ve watched a film many times, it is like a cast recording in that you can picture the action as you listen. During the #PrincessBrideReunion script read, I could see the Dread Pirate Roberts climbing the rope, the kidnapper Vizzini, the giant Fezzik," and "the amazing tracker yet evil Prince Humperdinck, the evil sidekick Rugen running from Inigo, the outrageous Miracle Max and Valerie, and Peter Cook, as The Impressive Clergyman, saying, “Mawwiage” so loudly. The #PrincessBrideReunion was a lot of fun."

Mandy Patinkin's fans applauded his performance and said, "This is absolutely the Mandy Patinkin show (much as Inigo Montoya is the real protagonist of the movie)"