PRINCESS CARABOO
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
Rating (0 to 10): 6.4
Date Released: 9/16/94 Running Length: 1:34 Rated: PG (Sexual innuendo)
Starring: Phoebe Cates, Wendy Hughes, Jim Broadbent, Kevin Kline, Stephen Rea, John Lithgow Director: Michael Austin Producers: Andre Karsch and Simon Bosanquel Screenplay: Michael Austin and John Wells Cinematography: Freddie Francis Music: Richard Hartley Released by TriStar Pictures
With a cast like this, it's probably very difficult (if not impossible) to make a bad movie. The strength of PRINCESS CARABOO, a likable SOMMERSBY wannabe, is in its performers, who manage to submerge a great many script-related flaws. The result is a story that, if not high on originality or inventiveness, makes for a palatable fable.
At the heart of PRINCESS CARABOO lies a question of identity: is the title character (Phoebe Cates) a real Javanese princess who had been kidnapped and sold into slavery, or is she a wonderfully creative English servant girl who has invented this character to mock an aristocracy that exploits her class? The story, which takes place in 1817, is told from the point-of-view of Gutch (Stephen Rea), a newspaper reporter trying to get to the truth. During the course of his investigation, he becomes obsessed by the Princess, and predictably falls in love.
The screenplay has a tendency to go off on unexpected and, for the most part, undesirable tangents. There's a subplot about crooked bank dealings, a long-winded examination by a local "expert" (John Lithgow) of the Princess' authenticity, and a tediously overblown sequence in which Caraboo is introduced to the Prince Regent. These distractions keep the film from ever finding a stable focus.
The romance between Gutch and Caraboo isn't especially compelling or, for that matter, believable. The two spend very little time together and, with Caraboo unable to speak English, they certainly don't hold any lengthy conversations. Rea and Cates do what they can with limited material, but the best they manage to come up with is "cute." There certainly aren't any sparks.
Wendy Hughes and Jim Broadbent play Mrs. and Mr. Worrall, a wealthy upper-class couple under whose roof Caraboo takes refuge after she is nearly imprisoned for being a vagrant. These two veterans form stable anchors around which the rest of the uneven production can swirl.
Phoebe Cates, having used roles in recent films like BODIES, REST AND MOTION to shed her GREMLINS image, is the picture of serene beauty. She is effectively mysterious and equally acceptable as either a foreign princess or a lower-class pretender. Her real-life husband, Kevin Kline, steals a few scenes with his buffoonish, over-the-top portrayal of Fixos, the Worralls' Greek butler.
Although PRINCESS CARABOO tries a lighter approach to a subject dealt with more seriously by THE RETURN OF MARTIN GUERRE and its American remake, SOMMERSBY, the issue of the central character's legitimacy is similar. In this case, however, resolving the mystery becomes a secondary diversion to watching so many accomplished performers struggle to fashion something entertaining out of an unpolished script. Their success, though qualified, proves the value of a strong cast to any motion picture.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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