Princess Caraboo (1994)

The Worst Film Ever

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I have used some of my IMDb reviews to assert that we as movie audiences need to acknowledge certain actors/actresses - such as Dorothy Provine and Richard Benjamin - more than we presently do. Therefore, I will use my "Princess Caraboo" review to assert that we need to recognize Phoebe Cates more than we do. In case you aren't familiar with the name, she starred in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and the "Gremlins" movies. But this movie constituted one of her most interesting roles. She somehow seems to exactly fit this role of a woman who may or may not be a princess from another part of the world. The whole movie creates an almost mystifying feeling.Also starring is Cates's husband Kevin Kline (who turned 60 yesterday) as a butler; they later co-starred in 2001's "The Anniversary Party" with their son and daughter. There's also Jim Broadbent and John Lithgow.Worth seeing.

Princess Caraboo is one of those films for all ages and with a superb cast.During the King George III's court,beggars and all kinds types of vagrancy were punished with death or prison. Many problems and farces were frequent,making people very suspicious about humble people in general and even foreigners.One day, a beautiful and exotic girl is found walking down the road by two farmers. She is dressed as a beggar, but since she has oriental and noble aspect/manners, and only speaks in a strange language,people stay confuse about her Ancestry, taking her to a judge, where they make the conclusion that her name is Caraboo and she is a princess from an exotic country who was kidnapped by pirates. Being the focus of so many curiosity by the English court and also by the King himself,Caraboo is analyzed by a language professor and the maids who think she is a impostor. Would be a real impostor or a true princess? Got to found out watching this film. :)

"Princess Caraboo" is about the selfish and fashionable endeavors of the aristocracy of 19th century England, about the role of true charity and from whence it comes, and perhaps most of all it is about humankind's fascination with the story. Although we catch glimpses of, and come to care for, the true character of Caraboo (Cates), the movie's namesake serves mainly as a vessel through which the subject of the film can flow. In this movie a young beggar who speaks no English is taken in by a well-to-do family, and before long they have determined that she is a queen of the Orient. In no time, she is the town's sensation, and if nothing else, living like royalty. Her story attracts the attention of a newspaper man (Mr. Gutch played by Stephen Rea) who, in determinedly trying to discover the truth about Caraboo, falls in love with her. He half hopes the legend is true, half hopes that she's remarkable enough to have made up a story and a language and a manner to fool the very class she'd always been taught to fear and respect.I liked this movie for many reasons. It must be said that it's decidedly predictable, but such is the case in movies that are not so much concerned with plot as with characters. The question is, are the characters worth making a movie about? They are. Cates is delightful as always, and in such a role in which she scarcely speaks, she has the opportunity to shine and to demonstrate (through action and manner) her ability to act the part. Stephen Rea is never to be outdone, and has a genuine ability to pull off passion in whatever role he plays. The British aristocracy is portrayed as largely grotesque and corrupt and mind-numbingly self-absorbed.For my part, I always appreciate a movie that doesn't revolve around romance, and though this movie is touched with pieces of romanticism (definitely a chick-flick in certain ways), it's not about the romance. It is instead about how the story completes us, and how compelling the human imagination really is. Despite the moral values the film purports, Princess Caraboo is not didactic and short on sappiness. I think "Princess Caraboo" is a delightful and beautiful tale, and I recommend it to those who prefer the story to the action, and who like to see the rich get theirs.

If you're looking for an evening of video watching with your family, you'll love being transported to another time and place with this film. The cast is phenomenal - Phoebe Cates is perfectly, and beautifully, mysterious. Is Kevin Kline capable of a bad performance? Lithgow's British accent is superb. When it was over, our kids wanted to talk about the movie. Then, after they went to bed, my wife and I found ourselves talking about it. What higher praise can I give a family film?