PRINCESS CARABOO
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1994 Ben Hoffman
Based on a true story, this is a delightful romantic comedy with the lovely Phoebe Cates as a woman who shows up in an English village in the year 1817, wearing a turban and speaking a language no one there has ever heard. With her expressive hands and eyes she conveys that her name is Caraboo. Knowing nothing about her, the authorities jail her for vagrancy but her manner is so regal that she wins the attention of the local aristocrats, Mr. and Mrs. Worrall (Jim Broadbent and Wendy Hughes), when she conveys to them that she is a princess.
Among the skeptics is newspaperman Gutch (Stephen Rea) who, while trying to get to the bottom of the mystery, finds himself falling for Caraboo. The Worrall butler, (Kevin Kline) is another who suspects she is a fake but is taken in by her charm. An Oxford academic, Professor Wilkinson (John Lithgow), is brought in to check Caraboo's authenticity but he, too, becomes enamored of her. Should she prove to be a charlatan, the sentence would be death.
All the cast (Cates and Kline are married in real life) are exactly right for their roles so that the story's romance and comedy are completely believable. Kline. wearing a large mustache, and dressed in livery, is sneaky. Rea (THE CRYING GAME) tries to hold back from succumbing to Caraboo's beauty while Lithgow (THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP and TERMS OF ENDEARMENT) at first says Caraboo is a fake but one look at her and he changes his mind in a hurry.
The film follows the rather weird but true story very closely and knowing that, it enhances the entertainment value. John Wells, who co-wrote the script with Director Michael Austin, has written a book, PRINCESS CARABOO: HER TRUE STORY, which is being published in September.
3 Bytes 4 Bytes = Absolutely must see. 3 Bytes = Too good to be missed. 2 Bytes = So so. 1 Byte = Save your money.
Ben Hoffman
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