Though it is certainly no great shakes when compared to such Merchant-Ivory fare as "The Remains of the Day" and "Howards End," "Princess Caraboo" turns out to be a delightful little surprise.
An elegant parable, decked out as a lavish period piece, "Princess Caraboo" is the story of a young woman (Phoebe Cates) who is arrested as a vagrant and threatened with imprisonment in 1817 England. But when she begins speaking in a foreign tongue that no one can identify, and when it is noticed that she seems to have a regal bearing, people begin paying attention to her.
Eventually, it is determined that the young woman is trying to convey her story, that she was kidnapped by pirates from a foreign royal household and escaped in a shipwreck off the coast of England. And because one of the words she says repeatedly is "Caraboo," she is dubbed "Princess Caraboo."
Still, jail looms until she is rescued by Mrs. Worrall, a woman of some wealth (Wendy Hughes) who hopes the supposed princess might bring her to the attention of the aristocracy. Her drunken, womanizing husband Mr. Worrall (Jim Broadbent), however, deplores the idea. That is, until he sees a way the princess can help him increase his own holdings, which appeals since the family money belongs to his wife.
Meanwhile, a snoopy reporter (Stephen Rea) is skeptical and decides to track down the truth, employing the services of a prissy academician (John Lithgow) and, on the sly, the Worrall's equally skeptical Greek butler (Kevin Kline).
The "Anastasia"-"Pygmalion"-like mystery of whether Princess Caraboo is the real thing or a fake is held very well throughout the majority of the picture, and the ending is satisfying and justly romantic.
But the film's real joys are the players, who all seem to be having a grand time. Kline steals the picture in a delightfully comic take on his character, while Lithgow is also quite wonderful, much funnier and more convincing than he was in "A Good Man in Africa." And Cates, who plays much of the film in silence, is a charming presence, just right for the character — as are the many supporting players.
In all, a satisfying and amusing fable, lovingly realized by all concerned. "Princess Caraboo" is rated PG for a couple of minor vulgarities and some mild violence.