Roxanne

Plot synopsis:
C.D. "Charlie" Bales, the fire chief of the small ski town of Nelson, British Columbia is intelligent, humorous, charismatic, athletic and skilled. Bales is sensitive about his large nose, which many in town have learned to not mention. He is unable to have it surgically altered because of a dangerous allergy to anesthetics. He is close to many in town, especially his godsister, Dixie, who owns the town diner and several rental homes. He becomes immediately attracted to beautiful newcomer Roxanne Kowalski, an astronomy graduate student renting from Dixie while searching for a new comet during the summer. She adores Bales, but only as a friend, preferring Chris, a handsome but dim fireman.
Roxanne goes to Bales for help when Chris fails to advance their relationship further than curious glances. Through a turn of events, she falsely believes Chris is deeply intelligent. When Bales informs Chris of Roxanne's interest, Chris gets sick, intimidated by intelligent women. Chris starts to write her a letter, but takes all day with little result. He convinces Bales to write the letter, with prose that soon bowls over Roxanne. When informed that Roxanne wants to meet him, Chris again gets sick and refuses to meet until Bales comes up with a plan to allow him to be as brilliant as his letter makes him appear. Chris arrives at Roxanne's house with a hunter's cap on, hiding the earphones that relay Bales' words. When the equipment fails, Chris bungles the meeting by speaking his own crass thoughts. After Roxanne storms back into the house furious, Chris begs Bales to fix his mess again. At first he repeats what he is told from under a tree beneath Roxanne's window, but soon also ruins that. Then they switch jackets and hats so Bales can speak the words as Chris. They achieve their goal, and she invites Chris in to make love.
Roxanne gets word about the comet and has to go out of town for a week. Since she can't find Chris, she gives Bales the address of her hotel and asks him to tell Chris to write to her. Bales writes her several times a day, each letter more incredible than the last. They affect Roxanne so deeply that she returns early. Bales is writing a new letter to her in Dixie's diner when he finds out that Chris (who knows nothing about the letters) is on his way to see Roxanne. He arrives at her home and warns Chris that Roxanne would be mentioning some letters that he supposedly wrote. She tries to get Chris to be the man in the letters, revealing that his looks are only secondary to her. Knowing that his looks are all he has, Chris runs out, leaving her confused. Dixie puts the last letter under her door and after reading it, Roxanne calls Bales over.
Chris prepares to leave town with a bartender, Sandy, whom he met while Roxanne was away. When she asks if he has told Roxanne (the women are acquaintances), he replies that he will write her a letter since he has a history of it.
Bales arrives, unaware that Roxanne knows the truth. She asks him to read one of the letters and then to look at the back, which shows that Dixie revealed its true author. She explodes in anger that he lied to her. He retorts that he simply wanted to tell her how he felt about her, but she was only interested in Chris's face and body. When he reminds her that it only took a few nice words for Chris to get her into bed, she punches him in the face and throws him out. As he prepares to say more he stops and sniffs the air. He slowly walks back to the firehouse and alerts his team, who then "follow his nose" until they find and extinguish the fire. During their celebration afterwards, someone mentions his nose and although everyone thinks he will get upset, he doesn't.
Back home, sitting on his roof, Bales hears someone speaking his words to him. It's Roxanne, declaring that she realizes that it was everything from Bales that she loved, not Chris' looks. Bales descends from the roof and they reconcile. During the credits, she reveals that she named the comet "Charlie" - after her father.

Tags: romantic, psychedelic, entertaining

Review:
Whether he's playing a slapstick routine trying to leave Roxanne's apartment or trying to think up the (more than) twenty insults that would be better than `Big Nose,' Martin's pen rarely falters.
You do not have to be familiar with the source to enjoy this witty, satisfying, and very funny movie - but if you are, you will enjoy it all the more.Note added 2015: When I first wrote the above in 1999, Steve Martin had not yet done most of his (in my view) best work; but I still go back to this as my very favorite of his performances..
Don't get me wrong I love romantic films but a bit of variety every now and again wouldn't hurt.Rossovich and Hannah are good enough in their roles but are completely outshone by Martin.
So, this is pretty much as close as I will get to the story even though my mom has the old version of Cyrano de Bergerac, it doesn't look that entertaining.Steve plays Charlie, a kind and funny fireman with one little...
Charlie has a huge crush on Roxanne, but she's attracted to Chris, Chris also has a thing for Roxanne, so through the hardest times, Chralie helps Chris try to woe Roxanne with his words going through Chris's mouth.It's a very sweet and romantic movie with some good little laughs here and there.
I like several of Steve Martin's movies and most of the time I have some good laughs with his comedies.
And despite the fact that I didn't think that Steve Martin would be able to play an important role in a romantic comedy, I must admit that he did a very good job with this role.
Daryl Hannah too did a nice job playing Roxanne and Rick Rossovich was interesting as the incredibly shallow Chris.Overall this is an interesting and funny movie that is a lot better than the average romantic comedy, thanks to the original approach of the story.
Steve Martin is the long nosed fire chief in a scenic mountain town who falls for the lovely Darryl Hannah, only to have her fall for a good looking but lowbrow fireman.
Roxanne is beautifully filmed, confidently directed, smartly written and features very good supporting performances from Daryl Hannah, Michael J.Pollard and especially Rick Rossovich.
He wrote his own screenplay too, cleverly if loosely taking the old classic story of the big-nosed romantic Cyrano De Bergerac and transplanting it to a modern American small town romantic comedy.As Charlie, the local fire-chief, Martin's character, besides being a loquacious wordsmith, is also, it would appear, a Cirque-class acrobat and martial arts expert which he amply demonstrates as the movie progresses.
The arrival in town of intellectual hottie Darryl Hannah finds the two striking up a blossoming if offbeat friendship before the entrance of lunk-hunk Chris, nicely played by Rick Rossovich, to his fire-crew finds Charlie pressed into action as Chris's prompter in trying to win over Hannah's heart in his stead.Needless to say, the paths of true love don't run smoothly but do eventually find their rightful destinations for all the main parties but not before many highly comedic scenes get in the way.
The extended scenes where Martin takes out two insulting tennis players at the start, his top 20 nose-jokes and especially the by-proxy seduction of Hannah at her Juliet window are all hilarious, but there's plenty of devilry in the detail too especially the short scenes with the "Golden Girls" of the town.Just maybe, Martin could have downplayed the slapstick comedy element of his Keystone Fire Brigade, which can't touch the Golden Silents of Keaton and Lloyd for amusement, but their coming together to finally demonstrate competence in actually putting out a fire, to the strains of "The Blue Danube", at least concluded another minor plot story arc too.
Two guys like the same girl.One has a way with words,the other does not.The girl likes the latter guy,and the latter guy wishes to approach her but doesn't want to blow it with a bad choice of words.The two men work together,so he enlists his golden tongued boss to be his coach.It's a great premise for a comedy film,one tailor made for the comedic genius of Steve Martin..It is by far Martin's silliest film and one of his best..I mean,wall to wall silliness!
You may look for a dramatic moment here and there,but there's none to be found.Martin is surrounded by a great supporting cast,who all worked equally as hard as he did to make it a gem of a comedy film..
A modern retelling of the 1897 verse play Cyrano de Bergerac, 'Roxanne' is a heart-warming & light-hearted Romantic-Comedy, that brings a smile to your face.
The Legendary Steve Martin, in the lead role, delivers a Superb Performance!'Roxanne' Synopsis: Based on the play "Cyrano de Bergerac", large nosed C.D. Bales falls for the beautiful Roxanne while she falls for his personality but another man's looks.'Roxanne' is a heart-warming film.
The idea Steve Martin updating the story of Cyrano de Bergerac may seem a little like stretching a round hole to accept a square peg, but the result was actually one of the brighter romantic comedies of recent summers, thanks in large part to the ideal balance of talents between Martin's typically absurd sense of humor and some level-headed direction by veteran Fred Schepisi.
The support cast are all good and play their roles well, but really it's Martin's show and he is allowed both out and out comedy as well as more tender moments.Overall, it may not be as funny as The Jerk or Man With 2 Brains but with a solid story and semi-realistic setting it makes this Martin's best developed comedy to date..
Roxanne proved to the world the true comic genius of Steve Martin, as both writer and Star, and even if his work has gone a little mawkish of late (although Bowfinger was great) this proves his true talents.
The plot is pretty much identical to Cyrano, with the exception of a friendlier ending, but the film is still a charming little comedy with some great standout moments (C.d. taking on the golfers, the famous "Is that the best you can do" scene, the "Can I fluff you're pillows' line and any scene featuring Michael J.
And may I say it: What a great film!It stars Steve Martin, and I know I'll enjoy any movie that he is in.
He plays Charlie, a kind hearted, humourous, well know and loved identity to his home town of Nelson, who has a distinguishing characteristic, an overlarge nose (And I can tell you, the make-up department did a great job on this!!).
He falls in love with Roxanne (ala Daryl Hannah), and just as he begins to think that she loves him too, she expresses interest in a newly recruited fireman to the town, Chris, who works for Charlie.
Martin's charming, self-written rom-com update of the classic Cyrano De Bergerac story (his character is even given the C.D.B. initials) is still winning lo these years later.
For me, every scene in this film is great with a few extra funny jokes here and there it makes this film my all around best comedy ever because personally i love happy endings..
This was a "sweet" romantic-comedy in which Steve Martin was near the top of his game, so to speak, and Darryl Hannah never looked better.
Martin's character, "C.D. Bales," thought so, too.This movie, based on the famous play, "Cyrano de Bergerac," was pretty charming throughout with Martin providing light humor and and sporting a humongous nose.
Unfortunately, that nose helps prevent the object of his affection, "Roxanne" (Hannah) from receiving that back, the latter prefer the handsome-but-dumb "Chris McConnell" (Rich Rossovich).The only thing that was not sweet or charming was the abuse of the Lord's name in vain, used about 10 times in here.
(Steve Martin) and Roxanne (Daryl Hannah) and lets it play out just right.
ROXANNE was a 1987 comic reworking of the classic play CYRANO DE BERGERAC, starring Steve Martin as CD Bales, the fire chief in a small mountain town in Colorado called Nelson, who feels a lack of self-esteem because of his big nose; however, is easily the most intelligent citizen in the town and practically runs it though no one seems to know.
Just let me say that Steve Martin wrote and starred in this hilarious yet tender comedy about (essentially)"Cyrano de Bergerac" transplanted into a small town in the 1980s, and you should know right off the bat that'll it be a great movie.
Roxanne starring Steve Martin and Daryll Hannah is a cute movie and should be more popular than it is.
Roxanne starring Steve Martin and Daryll Hannah is a cute movie and should be more popular than it is.
Roxanne starring Steve Martin and Daryll Hannah is a cute movie and should be more popular than it is.
Shot in a picturesque small town (Nelson BC) which adds to the charm the film is about a Pinocchio nosed new town sheriff(or firefighter I am forgetting) Steve Martin who falls for the new beauty in town played by Hannah.
Shot in a picturesque small town (Nelson BC) which adds to the charm the film is about a Pinocchio nosed new town sheriff(or firefighter I am forgetting) Steve Martin who falls for the new beauty in town played by Hannah.
Shot in a picturesque small town (Nelson BC) which adds to the charm the film is about a Pinocchio nosed new town sheriff(or firefighter I am forgetting) Steve Martin who falls for the new beauty in town played by Hannah.
A film like Fred Shilepsi's "Roxanne" doesn't just rewrite the universal tale of 'Cyrano de Bergerac', it speaks a powerful statement about the way humor can be the best vehicle to either hide or convey the saddest feelings.
A hundred clichés move us.".And that's a way to look at Steve Martin, each of his witty comebacks, his deadpan remarks and demonstrations of gentlemanly sense of humor is one step forward toward the reveal of a deeper and more insecure heart, reaching the paroxysm of its vulnerability when he first meet the eyes of Roxanne, a beautiful newcomer, an astronomer with the face of an angel that intimidates him so much he pretends (too much to be believed) not to care.She's played by Daryl Hannah who proves how accidental her Razzie for "Wall Street" was that same year, she wasn't just as emotionally involved as she was in Roxanne.As for Steve Martin, it's one of his best performances: while he makes us smile, the deeper we feel his resentment.
It is an interesting coincidence that the same year, he had played in another comedic gem "Planes, Trains and Automobiles", in "Roxanne", it's like witnessing the jovial warmth of John Candy and the cynical lucidity of Steve Martin in that film, colliding in the character of C.D, aka Charlie.
"Roxanne" is a romantic comedy, which means that unlike the real "Cyrano", it has to try to find its way toward a happy ending, and everyone is so nice and sweet that the film manages to achieve this without the need of an antagonist or some life- threatening situation.
It's all in the way these people come to the realization and finally make the right choice, for the film to conclude with the right note.1987 was quite a year for Steve Martin, and I love how the ending of "Roxanne" echoes "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" where many pieces of a puzzle are reassembled and then the epiphany hits the character.
Edmond Rostand's play 'Cyrano de Bergerac', about a man with an abnormally large nasal appendage, is re-imagined as a contemporary romantic comedy in this motion picture written by and starring Steve Martin.
At the best of times, the film is very funny too with Martin coming up with several impromptu insults for himself at one point, cheered on by a crowd, and a part where his attempts to help young Rick Rossovich woo Darryl Hannah's title character undone by the interfering police radio signals.
"Roxanne" actually tells the story of the French Renaissance-hero Cyrano De Bergerac, but brilliantly turned into a modern romantic comedy.
Modernized "Cyrano de Bergerac" has long-nosed fireman in picturesque town playing matchmaker for a shy co-worker and the new girl on the block (a beautiful but curiously single astronomer...she's such a romantic she literally studies the stars!).
Steve Martin is handed one of the best roles of his career in this good-natured modernisation of Cyrano De Bergerac.
A new twist to the old story of "Cyrano de Bergerac" gives us this light-hearted romantic comedy "Roxanne".This a wonderful film that many of us can identify with.
Maybe you are the one with the great personality but lacks good-looks.I'm not a big fan of romantic-comedies but this movie is one of the best in its genre (IMO).8.5/10.
A little uncomfortable actually.Nonetheless, this is Steve Martin's career all time best movie and a unforgettable gem of the rom com genre.'Roxanne' is yet another retelling of 'Cyrano de Bergerac', written in the 1890's.
Roxanne is a romantic comedy, a genre that is often not taken seriously by critics.But personally, I'm of the opinion that comedies are the hardest genre of movie to do well and the good ones deserve more credit and Roxanne is definitely a good one.Steve Martin rewrote the classic tale Cyrano De Bergerac for the 20th century and did a fantastic job.
As Roxanne, Daryl Hannah seems a little out of her depth, but she copes pretty well, and her scenes with Martin are wonderful ("It's great that he's all those things").
For anyone that likes a well written scene, see the part where Steve Martin begins actually talking to Roxanne under her balcony.
A modern story lifted somewhat from Cyrano de Bergerac (hope that's spelled right) features Fire chief C.D. Bayles (Martin) who's hopelessly in love with Roxanne (Hannah), the small town's newcomer.
Cinematically his self-written "Roxanne" and "L.A. Story" capture his sense of humor the most prominently - Martin's always good in any role but these two films in particular best represent his sense of humor."L.A. Story" is more of a satire than "Roxanne" (a remake of a classic French film about a man with a large nose) but it still has its moments of intellectual humor Martin is known for - such as when he talks about astrology to Roxanne (Daryll Hannah) in her home.The movie is about a sweet-natured guy with a huge nose who lives in a small northern American town.
Basically Roxanne falls in love with Martin's character, but she thinks it's the hunk who's doing everything on his own accord, so she has no clue.It's an odd little film and a bit too whimsical at times for my liking.
I found Martin's character a bit odd and the whole approach to his love for Roxanne - it's not really that well-expanded in the film and he's a very strange, almost creepy guy because he's SO consistently happy that he seems more like an alien than a human being.That said, the movie has some classic scenes - like the verbal bar fight of 20 insults (which is sooo Steve Martin) - and overall is an entertaining, if not particularly memorable, romantic comedy that is nevertheless much better than other films in its genre.
As usual Steve Martin pulls off a good performance;  he plays a large-nosed fire chief who falls in love with a the lovely Roxanne (Daryl Hannah).
This isn't a knock on the American people, but for those who may know the actual Cyrano de Bergerac story (the one this is solely based on), with all the effort in the world to give into it this film can only come across as forced, and a hollow reinterpretation of the myth as a mainstream American disposable comedy.Steve Martin does well at times with the dialog (like the famous 'big nose' tirade, in the bar here), but it's just too obvious what he's trying to do, and the entire narrative is too obvious; and although Steve Martin is certainly very pure at heart as a man, and this is another one of his outlets of how much romanticism and sensitivity he has in him, it just falls way short really in the end.
It just has that typical wit and humor that Steve Martin brings to all his movies.This is a romantic comedy about a fire chief (played by Steve Martin) with an exceptionally long nose who falls in love with a beautiful woman (played by Daryl Hannah) in town.
Oh, it does pay a decent tribute to the classic story, from the famous scene in which our hero, C.D. Bales (Martin) finds 20 ways to insult his own nose, the balcony scene where he woos his beloved Roxanne (played here by Daryl Hannah) through the more handsome but less verbally inclined Chris (Rick Rossovich), and even a duel of sorts (with a tennis racket and a golf club in place of swords).Yet "Roxanne" falls short, mainly due to the fact that it's a touch overlong and too lighthearted for its own good.
Unfortunately, CD has a problem; his nose is kinda large, and most folks have a hard time seeing past - or indeed over - it.This is a charming, romantic, playful modern-day variation of Edmond Rostand's 1897 play Cyrano De Bergerac - the old story about the witty but ugly guy whose poetry romances a woman's heart into the arms of another man.
"Roxanne" is a shining example of that."Roxanne," a modernized romantic comedy centered around a modern-day Cyrano de Bergerac starring Steve Martin, Darryl Hannah, and Shellye Duvall, breathes new life into this old beloved tale.The performances are purely professional, the scenes and setting all lend to the believability of the production and the final product is amazingly intelligent, witty and sweet.Martin's character has an edge that he normally just does not attempt to attain.
The movie works because Steve Martin is such a good actor.