''Roxanne'' is a 1987 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film directed by Fred Schepisi and starring

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

and

Daryl Hannah Daryl Christine Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her screen debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film '' The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various movies across the years, i ...

. It is a modern retelling of

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play '' Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with ...

's 1897 verse play ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

'', adapted by Steve Martin. Rostand is mentioned in the opening credits.

Plot

Charlie "C.D." Bales, the fire chief of a small town, is intelligent, witty, charismatic and athletic. Regardless, he is sensitive about his abnormally large nose, which most know not to talk about; it cannot be surgically altered as he is allergic to

anesthesia Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), ...

. He is close to many residents, especially his god-sister, Dixie, who owns several rental homes and a diner. When the beautiful Roxanne Kowalski, an astronomy

PhD student A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

, comes to search for a comet over the summer, he, and many others in town, are drawn to her. She adores him as a friend, but is physically attracted to Chris McConnell, a handsome but dim-witted fireman. Roxanne asks C.D. for help with Chris. Seeing him buy a book by

Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lite ...

for a friend, she assumes he is deeply intelligent. When Chris hears of her interest, he feels ill as women intimidate him. He tries to write her a letter, but takes all day with little result. He then convinces C.D. to write it with prose that soon woos Roxanne. When told Roxanne wants to meet up, Chris again feels sick and insists C.D. help him seem equally brilliant in person. He arrives at Roxanne's wearing a hunter's cap, to hide the earphones that relay C.D.'s words. When the equipment fails, Chris bungles it by expressing himself poorly and she storms back inside, furious. He begs C.D. to fix things, but as Chris can't repeat what C.D. prompts, they switch jackets and hats so C.D. can speak as him. They are successful, and she invites Chris in to make love. Roxanne goes out of town for a week, and leaves her hotel address with C.D. so Chris can write. Instead of telling Chris, C D. writes her three times a day, each letter more incredible than the last. As he is writing a new letter to her in Dixie's, he is told Chris is on his way to see Roxanne as she returned early, so he leaves the letter behind to find Chris. C.D., at Roxanne's and after a game of ding dong ditch, warns Chris she may mention letters he supposedly wrote. She tries to get Chris to be the man in the letters, revealing his looks are only secondary for her. Feeling ill, knowing his looks are all he has, he runs out, leaving her confused. Dixie puts the last letter under Roxanne's door with a note revealing C.D. as the author. After reading it, Roxanne calls him over. Chris prepares to leave town with bartender Sandy, who he met while Roxanne was away. When she asks if he has told Roxanne (the women know each other), he replies that he will write her a letter. C.D. arrives, unaware that Roxanne knows the truth. She asks him to read one of the letters and then look at the back, which shows that Dixie revealed he's the author. She explodes in anger that he lied to her, punching him in the nose. He retorts that he simply wanted to tell her how he felt, but she was only interested in Chris's looks. When he reminds her that it only took a few nice words for Chris to get her into bed, she throws him out. Before he can say more, he stops and sniffs the air. Slowly walking back to the firehouse, he alerts his team, who then "follows his nose" until they find and extinguish a fire in a barn that if not contained, could burn down the entire town. During their celebration afterwards someone mentions his nose and although everyone expects C.D. will get upset, for once he doesn't. On his roof, C.D. hears someone speaking his words to him. It's Roxanne, declaring she realizes it is his personality that she loves, not Chris' looks. After she declares her love, C.D. stylishly descends from the roof and they reconcile. In the credits, she reveals she named the comet "Charlie" (C.D.'s first name), after her father.

Cast

as Charlie "C.D." Bales *

as Roxanne Kowalski * Rick Rossovich as Chris McConnell *

Shelley Duvall Shelley Alexis Duvall (born July 7, 1949) is an American actress and producer who is known for her portrayals of distinct, often eccentric characters. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award and a Peab ...

as Dixie * John Kapelos as Chuck *

Fred Willard Frederic Charles Willard (September 18, 1933 May 15, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, and writer. He was best known for his roles in the Rob Reiner mockumentary film ''This Is Spinal Tap'' (1984); the Christopher Guest mockumentaries ''Wa ...

as Mayor Deebs * Max Alexander as Dean *

Michael J. Pollard Michael J. Pollard (born Michael John Pollack Jr.; May 30, 1939 – November 20, 2019) was an American actor. He is best known for his role as C.W. Moss in the film ''Bonnie and Clyde'' (1967), which earned him critical acclaim along with nomi ...

as Andy *Steve Mittleman as Ralston *

Damon Wayans Damon Kyle Wayans Sr. (; born September 4, 1960) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. Wayans performed as a comedian and actor throughout the 1980s, including a year long stint on the sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live.' ...

as Jerry *

Matt Lattanzi Matthew Vincent Lattanzi (born February 1, 1959) is an American former actor and dancer. He is most commonly recognized as the first husband of singer and actress Dame Olivia Newton-John, and for his acting in films such as ''My Tutor'' and the s ...

as Trent *Shandra Beri as Sandy *

Jean Sincere Jean "Sinny" Sincere Zambello (August 16, 1919 – April 3, 2013) was an American film, television, theater and voice actress. Her credits included the films '' Roxanne'', ''The Incredibles'', and the musical television series, ''Glee''. Early ...

as Nina *Thom Curley as Jim (the darts player C.D. takes to task) *

Ritch Shydner Ritchie A. "Ritch" Shydner (born December 3, 1952) is an American stand-up comedian, comic writer, and actor. Early life Ritch Shydner was born in the small town of Pennsville, New Jersey. He studied business and sociology at Gettysburg Colle ...

and

Kevin Nealon Kevin Nealon (; born November 18, 1953) is an American comedian and actor. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1995, acted in several of the Happy Madison films, played Doug Wilson on the Showtime series '' Weeds'', and p ...

as Drunk #1 and #2 (C.D. fights them in the opening scene) * Brian George as cosmetic surgeon * Maureen Murphy as cosmetics clerk *

Heidi Sorenson __NOTOC__ The following is a list of Playboy Playmates of 1981. ''Playboy'' magazine names their Playmate of the Month each month throughout the year. January Karen Elaina Price (born July 17, 1960) is an American model, stunt woman and telev ...

as Trudy (Mayor's love interest)

Production

Steve Martin had always been a fan of the José Ferrer version of ''Cyrano de Bergerac'':

I remember just thinking it was the greatest thing I ever saw. I think it's because the character is so strong. He's like a very smart version of what, coincidentally, is popular in movies today. He's smarter than everybody else, quicker than everybody else, wittier than everybody else and tops everybody. That's what the original Cyrano is like. And this just sort of takes that vicious edge off it.

In the early 1980s Martin had the idea of updating the play, only with the difference that Cyrano would get the girl in the end. He decided to write the screenplay himself, writing 25 drafts over three years. The film was greenlit at Columbia by then-production chief Guy McElwaine. He was replaced by

David Puttnam David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, HonFRSA, HonFRPS, MRIA (born 25 February 1941) is a British film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. His productions include ''Chariots of Fire'', which w ...

who liked the script, continued the studio's support and suggested the casting of

. It was the first film released under Puttnam's auspices at Columbia. ''Roxanne'' was filmed in the summer of 1986 in the town of

Nelson, British Columbia Nelson is a city located in the Selkirk Mountains on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Known as "The Queen City", and acknowledged for its impressive collection of restored heritage buildings f ...

. Steve Martin chose to use the local fire hall on Ward Street as a primary set. Although the movie has references to the town's name being "Nelson", it is portrayed as being in the USA. The mailboxes which figure in the plot are

USPS The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

blue, not

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operat ...

red. In the bar scenes, neon signs for

Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalent ...

beer show the advertising slogan of the time: "Made the American Way", which was not used in Canada. There is also a scene which shows the fire truck to have a Washington license plate, which complements an earlier scene in which Martin's character makes a reference to Seattle. Steve Martin's nose makeup took 90 minutes to apply every day and two minutes to take off. "God how I hated that thing", he said.

Reception

Critical response

''Roxanne'' received an 88% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

based on 40 reviews, with the consensus being: "Though its sweetness borders on sappiness, ''Roxanne'' is an unabashedly romantic comedy that remains one of Steve Martin's funniest". Metacritic gave film a score of 73 based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

hailed the film as a "gentle, whimsical comedy", giving it a 3 and half stars of four, also stating: "What makes "Roxanne" so wonderful is not this fairly straightforward comedy, however, but the way the movie creates a certain ineffable spirit". It is number #71 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".

Accolades

It has also won and has been nominated for a number of awards, including:IMDb Awards list
/ref> *

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

: Nominated: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical: Steve Martin *

LAFCA Award The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is an American film critic organization founded in 1975. Background Its membership comprises film critics from Los Angeles-based print and electronic media. In December of each year, the organiza ...

: Won (Tied): Best Actor: Steve Martin (Tied with

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

for '' Ironweed'' (1987) and ''

The Witches of Eastwick ''The Witches of Eastwick'' is a 1984 novel by American writer John Updike. A sequel, '' The Widows of Eastwick'', was published in 2008. Plot The story, set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick in the early 1970s, follows the witc ...

'' (1987).) * NSFC Award: Won: Best Actor: Steve Martin * WGA Award (Screen): Won: Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium: Steve Martin

References to the play

* The historical

wrote of a journey to the Moon and to the Sun, and ''Roxanne'' alludes to this in a scene where Bales jokes about

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are ide ...

s and

alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

s. Additionally, that scene mirrors one in the play where Cyrano pretends to fall out of a tree to distract another wooer of Roxanne. * The names of all three main characters are based on their counterparts in the play. C.D. Bales has the same initials as Cyrano de Bergerac, Roxanne's name is a slight alteration of Roxane, and Chris is a shortened form of Christian. * The "20 Nose Insults" speech in the film mirrors a similar speech in the play. It even adapts a line from the play: :Cyrano: "Oh, how you must love the little birds so much that when they come and sing to you, you give them this to perch on." :C.D.: "You must love the little birdies to give them ''this'' to perch on." * C.D.'s position in the firefighters is similar to Cyrano's leadership of the Gascon Cadets.

References

External links

* * {{Cyrano de Bergerac 1987 films 1987 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Fred Schepisi Films scored by Bruce Smeaton Films with screenplays by Steve Martin Films about firefighting Films based on Cyrano de Bergerac (play) Films shot in British Columbia 1980s English-language films 1980s American films