This modernization of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac casts Steve Martin as C. D. Bates, the fearless, quick-witted fire chief of a Washington State resort town. Bates' most trusted fireman is the handsome but tongue-tied Chris McDonell (Rick Rossovich). Both men are in love with the beautiful Roxanne Kowalski (Darryl Hannah), but Bates, adorned with a huge nose that makes Bob Hope look like Nanette Fabray, is convinced that he's too homely to win Roxanne's heart. Thus, in the
self-sacrificing tradition of Cyrano de Bergerac, Bates courts Roxanne vicariously by feeding his rival Chris the proper romantic words and phrases. The inherent pathos in Roxanne is offset by moments of slapstick, notably the scene wherein C. D. Bates vanquishes a pair of hooligans with a tennis racket. Steve Martin himself is credited with the screenplay for Roxanne, though he generously cites Edmond Rostand as his inspiration. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The nose itself is a perfect prop for a man who began his career with a fake arrow through his head, a man who has since evolved from a coolly absurdist stand-up comic to a fully formed, amazingly nimble comic actor.
Martin claims to have written 25 script drafts for this film, which indicates the uphill trudge he faced...what he has produced is Steve Martin playing a nice 'n' wacky guy in a sappy story.
Mostly you have to credit the two stars, who make for a nice fit and know how to hold the audience's attention every time the camera is trained on them, with a look here, or a perfectly delivered line there.
The film's success rests firmly with Martin. He wrote the warm-hearted script and delivers a sparkling performance of physical and verbal gymnastics that he hasn't been able to match since.
Somehow I'd never gotten around to seeing this movie until now, but I guess I wasn't missing much. Rossovich is too over-the-top stupid to fit the tone of the rest of the film, the dialogue and directing are sloppy, the acting is pretty mediocre all around, and Daryl Hannah?? How she is cast as this gorgeous object
of affection baffles me. Slim pickings in that town, I guess.
The acrobatics, the sniffing out fires with his nose.... it's all just trying too hard.
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