This gentle "true" fairy tale succeeds on nearly every level, becoming an intelligent handling of a tabloid story. In 1817 a young foreign drifter (Phoebe Cates, never better) sets a small portion of England buzzing that she is a royal princess from an uncharted land. This feels like a magical movie with slightly overcooked characters, such as Kevin Kline's Greek butler. The supporting cast is older than in most movies of this type-no cute actors, we have performers with chiselled features and gruff voices. Director Michael Austin's decision to approach this as a true story keeps things firmly grounded so the eccentrics are not overplayed. Beautifully filmed by the great Freddie Francis (Glory) and featuring a surprisingly rich cast (Stephen Rea, Wendy Hughes, Jim Broadbent and John Lithgow), Princess Caraboo is simply the best family movie since The Secret Garden. -Doug Thomas.

In the screwball comedy Speechless, Michael Keaton and Geena Davis are political speechwriters with bad cases of insomnia who meet, fall in love, and then discover that they are working for opposing candidates. The subsequent short-lived war of dirty tricks and one-upmanship is one of those contrivances that is soon (and thankfully) discarded in light of their instant rapport and mutual respect. In a world where candidates are for sale and campaigns are fought like poker games, these idealists are made for each other-they just don't know it yet. Director Ron Underwood (City Slickers) has a light touch with comedy and a nice feel for romantic fun, but it's the charm of Keaton and Davis that puts the bounce in an otherwise limp political satire. -Sean Axmaker.

In Husbands and Wives, another typical Woody Allen exploration of relationships between screwed-up New Yorkers, the drama centres on two married couples who have been close friends for years. When Jack and Sally (Sydney Pollack and Judy Davis) announce they're breaking up, it exposes the cracks in the relationship between Gabe and Judy (Allen and Mia Farrow). The shenanigans that result are touching, funny and horribly true to life. Jack finds himself a cliché trophy blonde, Sam-an aerobics instructor-and thinks he's got it made until she expounds the eternal truths of astrology to his friends, humiliating him in the process; Gabe, meanwhile, finds himself increasingly drawn to his precocious student, Rain-beautifully portrayed by Juliette Lewis-while Judy and Sally get involved with the same guy (though not simultaneously), the shy but alluring Michael (Liam Neeson). The touch of genius is to have an off-screen narrator, with whom the main characters share their innermost thoughts, thus drawing the viewer right into the emotional heart of the movie. This is vintage Woody, with gentle but witty observations of human failings. On the DVD: Husbands and Wives is delivered in widescreen with a Dolby Digital soundtrack. The only extra features are trailers for both this and Allen's previous movie, Manhattan Murder Mystery. In addition the audio set-up option is in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and subtitles in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Finnish. -Harriet Smith.

Based on Neil Simon's own play, 1967's Barefoot in the Park is a perennially joyous film starring carefree Jane Fonda and staid lawyer Robert Redford as young newlyweds setting up home in Greenwich Village. Although the opening credits are fragrantly idyllic (aided by Neal Hefti's soundtrack, you can almost smell the blossom in Central Park), the film doesn't idealise apartment living in New York, à la Friends, far from it: Fonda and Redford's apartment is up several flights of stairs; there's a hole in the skylight and the bedroom is the size of a cupboard. All of this puts some strain on the marriage. When Fonda introduces fellow free spirit and ageing, behind-on-the-rent Lothario (Charles Boyer) to her somewhat inhibited mother (Mildred Natwick), the hapless Redford in particular is forced to come to terms with his own inhibitions. Although the second half of the film moves at a less cracking pace than the first, Barefoot in the Park is as exhilarating as a romantic weekend city break. Directo r Gene Saks, scriptwriter Neil Simon and composer Hefti would regroup in 1968 to make the similarly wonderful The Odd Couple. On the DVD: With the aid of filtering, the DVD recaptures the almost unreal colour quality common to films of this period, while the sound is faithful to the nuances of Hefti's soundtrack. The special features are miserly-subtitles, a choice of languages and the original trailer, though this at least conveys the engaging naiveté of the period-("The rarest, unsquarest, happiest motion picture in many a year!"). -David Stubbs.

The director and stars of 1998's You've Got Mail scored a breakthrough hit with this hugely popular romantic comedy from 1993, about a recently engaged woman (Meg Ryan) who hears the sad story of a grieving widower (Tom Hanks) on the radio and believes that they are destined to be together. She's single in New York, he lives in Seattle with a young son, but the cross-country attraction proves irresistible and pretty soon Meg's on a westbound flight. What happens from there is. well, you must have been living in a cave to have let this sweet-hearted comedy slip below your pop-cultural radar. There's little complexity or depth to writer-director Nora Ephron's cheesy tale of a romantic fait accompli, and more than a little contrivance to the subplots that threaten to keep Hanks and Ryan from actually meeting. But the purity of star chemistry here is hard to deny, and this may be the first film to indicate the more serious and sympathetic side of Hanks that is revealed in later roles. With its clever jokes about "chick movies" and repeated homage to the classic weeper An Affair to Remember, this may not be everybody's brand of amorous entertainment, but it's got an old-Hollywood charm that appeals to many a movie fan. -Jeff Shannon, Amazon. [+]

An oddball love story about a fey loner named Sam (Johnny Depp), who falls in love with the mentally unbalanced Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson), who lives in the care of her protective brother Benny (Aidan Quinn). This 1993 story is hard to swallow, with its message that love can conquer a brand of mental illness that manifests itself in pyromania: Joon has a bad habit of going a bit around the bend and setting fires, but Sam's tender care apparently has the cure for what ails her. Still, if you want proof that Depp has significant chops as a physical comedian, give this film a try: He does note-perfect renditions of slapstick routines made famous by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. -Marshall Fine, Amazon. com.

This underrated comedy-drama by Andrew Fleming may one day be seen as a reflection of the muddled sexual politics of the 1990s. Three dissimilar college students played by Lara Flynn Boyle, Stephen Baldwin and Josh Charles become unlikely best friends, forging a relationship so exclusive it actually troubles onlookers. From the inside, however, the trio are enjoying the safety of their own bond and exploring varying needs of love and sexual adventurousness. Erotic, bawdy, sensuous, mysterious, and nostalgic, Threesome can make a viewer envy the state of grace these characters have found with each other. All three actors have never been better. -Tom Keogh An underrated comedy-drama by Andrew Fleming Threesome may one day be seen as a reflection of the muddled sexual politics of the 1990s. Three dissimilar college students played by Lara Flynn Boyle, Stephen Baldwin and Josh Charles become unlikely best friends, forging a relationship so exclusive it actually troubles onlookers. From the inside, however, the trio are enjoying the safety of their own bond and exploring varying needs of love and sexual adventurousness. Erotic, bawdy, sensuous, mysterious, and nostalgic, the film can make a viewer envy the state of grace these characters have found with each other. All three actors have never been better. [+]

An original Neil Simon screenplay makes Seems Like Old Times rise above what would otherwise be a forgettable comedy-love triangle. Goldie Hawn plays a good-hearted defence lawyer married to Ira (Charles Grodin), a politically ambitious district attorney. The craziness of their everyday lives becomes even more ridiculous when ex-husband Chevy Chase is framed for a bank robbery and seeks refuge with the woman he could never get over. Hawn hides the love of her life under her husband's nose as Chase tries to clear his name. Hawn tries to protect him and Grodin just tries to keep from going insane. A slapstick romance that's very often hit-and-miss, the dialogue saves this comic farce and provides wonderful moments between the three stars. -Robert Lane, Amazon. com.

Decent, lighthearted and fully amusing slapstick is hard to come by these days, and 1993's Groundhog Day manages to also be genuinely wise about the human condition. All this and belly laughs too! Bill Murray stars as Phil, a bored, petulant news reporter, who is ordered to give his annual live report from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on February 2. Though desperate to get out of the one-horse town and the appallingly sentimental assignment, Phil finds himself reliving the same day over and over again until he finally mends his ways. The film takes an absurd situation and explores its every imaginable comic possibility. Because none of the other characters are aware that Groundhog Day is continually repeating itself, Phil goes through a repertoire of responses, from conniving lust for Rita (Andie MacDowell) to gleeful nihilism to a Zen resignation worthy of Buster Keaton. Murray is reliably good, and this flick gives him a chance to be warm (though never fuzzy). Bill Murray does warmth in Groundhog Day, his most consistently effective post-Stripes comedy, a romantic fantasy about a wacky weatherman forced to relive one strange day over and over again, until he gets it right. Snowed in during a road-trip expedition to watch the famous groundhog encounter his shadow, Murray falls into a time warp that is never explained but pays off so richly that it doesn't need to be. The elaborate loop-the-loop plot structure cooked up by screenwriter Danny Rubin is crystal-clear every step of the way, but it's Murray's world-class reactive timing that makes the jokes explode, and we end up looking forward to each new variation. He squeezes all the available juice out of every scene. [+]

Alec Baldwin reprises a role he originated in Craig Lucas's off-Broadway smash (which later had a Broadway run without him) in this touchingly romantic, funny and underrated fantasy. He falls for a woman (Meg Ryan) at first sight and marries her but on their wedding day an elderly stranger wanders into the reception, kisses the bride and trades bodies with her. Once Baldwin figures out that something is amiss with the Mrs. , he must track down the old man, in whom resides the spirit of his true love. This is a beautiful allegory about the nature of love and the commitment to give oneself in sickness and health, for better or worse, to achieve a true meeting of the spirits. Prelude to a Kiss was directed with a light touch by the late Norman Rene, with strong performances by Baldwin and Ryan. -Marshall Fine.