Roxanne (1987)

“I have a dream. It’s not a big dream, it’s just a little dream. My dream – and I hope you don’t find this too crazy – is that I would like the people of this community to feel that if, God forbid, there were a fire, calling the fire department would actually be a wise thing to do. You can’t have people, if their houses are burning down, saying, “Whatever you do, don’t call the fire department!” That would be bad.” – C.D. Bales

Number of Times Seen – too many to count (6 Nov 2013)

Brief Synopsis – A modern day adaptation of the love story of Cyrano de Bergerac and Roxanne which finds a small town fireman with a long nose falling in love with a female visitor to the town

My Take on it – It seems that 1987 was the year that Steve Martin decided to start accepting serious roles instead of the zany comedies he was known for prior to that year.  After this movie and Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) came out during that year, no one would ever mistake Martin for the crazy comedian anymore.

He wrote this movie which helped propel him into the atmosphere where he could be taken more seriously as an actor and as a writer. Based on what I have read about Cyrano, this adaptation works very well and besides being someone who feels ugly on the outside, his character shows his wit, humor, romantic side and also his ability to take control of situations which shows how beautiful he can be on the inside.

The chemistry between Martin’s C.D. and Daryl Hannah’s Roxanne is clear throughout the movie and that chemistry truly helps the belief in the storyline.

The idea of not judging a book by it’s cover resonates throughout in this movie and it truly was written quite well.

The best scene is obviously the one where Martin (in order to win a bet) must think of 25 appropriate insults for someone with a long nose like his.  Truly hilarious!!

Bottom Line – Great romantic comedy, you can see the chemistry between Martin and Hannah throughout. Lot’s of funny lines in a serious romantic comedy. Highly recommended!!

Rating – Oscar Worthy