Princess Caraboo

Loosely based on an actual incident, this family-friendly British comedy is also a sly satire of class consciousness. Phoebe Cates stars as a woman who appears in the English countryside of 1817 wearing exotic garb and speaking gibberish. Delivered to a nearby manor, the mystery woman is sheltered ...more

Given the surplus of strong actors from both sides of the pond, Princess Caraboo should have made more of an impression than it does. Brits Jim Broadbent and Stephen Rea and Americans Kevin Kline and John Lithgow all loaned their considerable talents, but the result is not much more than a light farce in the vein of something like Mrs. Winterbourne. Instead of mistaken identity, Princess Caraboo deals in unknown identity -- which doesn't make it that much more interesting. Phoebe Cates is fine ...more