PRINCESS CARABOO
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1994 Scott Renshaw
Starring: Phoebe Cates, Jim Broadbent, Wendy Hughes, Stephen Rea, Kevin Kline, John Lithgow. Screenplay: Michael Austin and John Wells. Director: Michael Austin.
Every once in a while, a film sneaks up on me and takes me completely by surprise. I don't necessarily mean in terms of quality; rather, I'm referring to the mere knowledge of its existence. Usually I know what films are on the way a year in advance, but two weeks ago I had never heard of PRINCESS CARABOO. It has slipped rather quietly into limited release, and appears destined to slip out just as quietly. That's a shame, because PRINCESS CARABOO is a delightful fable, romantic, gentle and very appealing. What's more, it's surprisingly insightful and provides a sharp-witted lesson in English social history.
PRINCESS CARABOO is based on an actual event in early 19th Century England, involving a young woman (Phoebe Cates) who is found wandering the countryside. Apparently unable to speak any English, she is taken in by good-hearted gentlewoman Mrs. Worrall (Wendy Hughes). Her banker husband (Jim Broadbent) is none-too-pleased about this strange houseguest, until the Worralls begin to believe that the woman may be royalty from an East Indian island, the Princess Caraboo. This development inspires plans for a lucrative trading venture for Mr. Worrall, and an introduction into elite social circles for Mrs. Worrall. However, local journalist John Gutch (Stephen Rea) is not convinced that the woman is what she seems to be, and sets out to find out the truth about Princess Caraboo.
As a social satire and comedy of manners, PRINCESS CARABOO is a winner. It takes place in an era when it was common practice in England to jail vagrants and hang beggars, and that practice comes in for an obvious hazing. But it is handled most effectively through the character of Mr. Worrall, a drunken womanizer whose bank is in deep trouble thanks to his corruption and ineptitude. He is worse than one of the idle rich; he is one of the actively odious gentry so eager to distance themselves from the lower class they think nothing of simply eliminating them, and since the house and money are all from Mrs. Worrall, he is a bit too close to them for comfort. While hypocrisy is an easy target for ridicule, director and co-writer Michael Austin keeps the treatment too light-hearted to be heavy-handed. He also takes a unique stab at the trendiness of the upper classes, as the Princess becomes a "sensation" at court. In one of the film's best sequences, Princess Caraboo is the guest of honor at a party hosted by the Prince Regent (a wonderfully foppish turn by comic John Sessions), and the lords and ladies end up following her around in a thoroughly silly native dance. It is then that PRINCESS CARABOO shows how easily people are swept up in "sensations," an idea that takes on a timeless quality (and makes the film an interesting companion piece to the current QUIZ SHOW).
Social commentary aside, PRINCESS CARABOO is simply an eminently enjoyable entertainment. The performers are mostly delightful, particularly Phoebe Cates, who is radiant in a part that requires a gift for pantomime. Her supporting players are also appealing: Wendy Hughes as the patient and kindly Mrs. Worrall; Kevin Kline as Frixos, the Worralls' suspicious and superior Greek butler; Stephen Rea as the world-weary but ultimately romantic Gutch. Only John Lithgow is a disappointment, turning in a limp performance as a scholar who attempts to verify the Princess's identity. The story twists and turns just enough so that the question of whether or not the Princess is really a princess is always in some doubt, without becoming gimmicky. It is unfortunate that the growing attraction between Gutch and Princess Caraboo isn't given more time to develop, because the potential seemed to be there. When it finally does blossom, it seems too quick to be plausible.
PRINCESS CARABOO is patient enough in establishing its sense of time and place that it might seem a bit slow to viewers seeking a fantasy romp. Still, it has both escapist and intellectual appeal, and is well worth seeking out. It is the kind of film that makes my job its most rewarding--a hidden gem.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 princesses: 8.
-- Scott Renshaw Stanford University Office of the General Counsel
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