Roxanne (1987)

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.

Director:

Fred Schepisi

Writers:

Edmond Rostand (play), Steve Martin (screenplay)

Stars:

Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah, Rick Rossovich

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Martin	...	C. D. Bales
Daryl Hannah	...	Roxanne
Rick Rossovich	...	Chris
Shelley Duvall	...	Dixie
John Kapelos	...	Chuck
Fred Willard	...	Mayor Deebs
Max Alexander	...	Dean
Michael J. Pollard	...	Andy
Steve Mittleman	...	Ralston
Damon Wayans	...	Jerry
Matt Lattanzi	...	Trent
Shandra Beri	...	Sandy
Blanche Rubin	...	Sophie
Jane Campbell	...	Dottie
Jean Sincere	...	Nina

Storyline

A modernisation of Edmond Rostands "Cyrano De Bergerac". C.D. Bales is a fire chief, who just happens to have an enormous nose. He hires a new fire-fighter, Chris, who is handsome, and knows his hoses, but is useless when it comes to women. Roxanne is an astronomer who has just arrived in town. She catches the eye of Chris, and he asks C.D. to help him woo her. Little does Chris know that C.D. is mad about Roxanne, but hasn't found the right way to tell her - yet.

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Plot Keywords:

love | fire chief | large nose | comet | love letter | 

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Taglines:

Roxanne dreamed of a handsome, intelligent, romantic man. C.D. Bales is two out of three... but looks aren't everything!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 June 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Roxani

Filming Locations:

Nelson, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Gross:

$40,050,884 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Industries, IndieProd Company Productions, L.A. Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the "20 Nasal Insult" scene, C.D. Barnes says, "Obscure: Whoa, I'd hate to see the grindstone." This is a reference to the 16th Century expression, "Keep your nose to the grindstone," which means, "Apply yourself conscientiously to your work."

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Goofs

When C.D. is sniffing out the fire at the end, he walks to the firehouse, arms down. From the front, his arms are up, from the back, arms down, front arms up, back arms down

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Quotes

[first lines]
C.D. Bales: Dixie! Hi, how you doing, girl? Yeah, I'm on my way. I'll be there in about five minutes. I'm bringing it! I've only had it a year and a half, I told you I'd return it. OK. So long. Talk to you later. All right. All right. Bye.

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Crazy Credits

Comet Kowalski/Charlie flies through the night sky as the credits roll.

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Connections

Version of Cyrano de Bergerac (1909)

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Soundtracks

"I'M WALKIN'"
(uncredited)
Written by David Bartholomew and Fats Domino

User Reviews

Martin shines in average rom com

Steve Martin (The man with two brains) stars as fire chief Charlie Bales, a man with a big nose. This unusual feature makes him believe he will be able to be with a girl he has just met, the beautiful Roxanne.

Martin gives a good performance as the insecure but happy fire chief. His best moment is the famous bar scene where he is challenged to think of 20 insults regarding his big nose, which is the most interesting point of the film.

The over sized nose is the big talking point of the town and the use of it was quite interesting as it brought out a touching subject regarding appearance and what other people though of it. As the film is a comedy it is the focus on pretty much all of the jokes and uses it well, with Martin's comedy experience proving vital to make the nose jokes work. His reactions are excellent, the bar scene and the opening sequence with the two men. The fact Martin did all of his own stunts was a fact I couldn't believe because there are some very difficult manoeuvres that he has to do but all are executed brilliantly.

The plot is consistent, with many good jokes and a sweet storyline regarding the fire chief and the woman he has fallen for. Sadly it follows up the conventional romantic story line. 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. They had pretty conventional roles and always seemed to give the film predictability rather than spontaneity. Though that is also down to some cheesy and poor dialogue.

Martin's performance however is enough to carry the film from start to finish and had the film been longer or varied from the usual romantic conventions, then this would be the perfect romantic comedy.