Roxanne (film)

Last updated

Roxanne
Roxanne1987.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Fred Schepisi
Screenplay by Steve Martin
Based on Cyrano de Bergerac
by Edmond Rostand
Produced byMichael I. Rachmil
Daniel Melnick
Starring
Cinematography Ian Baker
Edited byJohn Scott
Music by Bruce Smeaton
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • June 19, 1987 (1987-06-19)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12 million (est.) [1]
Box office$40.1 million (domestic) [2]

Roxanne is a 1987 American romantic comedy film directed by Fred Schepisi and starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah. It is a modern retelling of Edmond Rostand's 1897 verse play Cyrano de Bergerac , adapted by Steve Martin. Rostand is mentioned in the opening credits.

Contents

Plot

Charlie "C.D." Bales is the intelligent, witty, charismatic and athletic fire chief of the small town of Nelson where he is well liked by the town residents. Nevertheless, he is sensitive about his abnormally large nose, which most of the town knows not to mention in front of him. When the beautiful Roxanne Kowalski, an astronomy PhD student, arrives to stay in town over the Summer while searching for a passing comet, he, and many others, are drawn to her. However, he believes she would never be attracted to him because of his nose. Though Roxanne adores him as a friend, she is physically attracted to Chris McConnell, a handsome but dimwitted fireman newly recruited into C.D.'s bumbling and slow-learning team.

After seeing Chris buy a book by Sartre for a friend, she assumes he is deeply intelligent and asks C.D. to approach him on her behalf. 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 successfully woos Roxanne. When told Roxanne wants to meet up, a nerve-wracked Chris insists C.D. help him seem equally brilliant in person. He arrives at Roxanne's wearing concealed earphones that relay C.D.'s words. When the equipment fails, Chris bungles it by objectifying Roxanne and she furiously ends their date. He begs C.D. for help and, as Chris is unable to relay what C.D. prompts, C.D. obscures himself behind a tree and confesses his true feelings of love for Roxanne while pretending to be Chris. His words touch Roxanne and she invites Chris inside her home to make love, much to C.D.'s chagrin.

Roxanne goes out of town for a week and leaves her hotel address with C.D. so Chris can write to her. Instead of telling Chris, C D. writes her three times a day, each letter more impactfully romantic than the last. Meanwhile, Chris and local bartender Sandy begin flirting. While writing a new letter, C.D.'s god sister and close friend Dixie encourages him to tell Roxanne he loves her. Upon learning that Roxanne has returned early, C.D. rushes to warn Chris that she may mention the letters, leaving behind his new letter which Dixie reads. Roxanne tries to get Chris to be the man in the letters, revealing his looks are only secondary for her. Feeling ill, and believing his looks are all he has, he runs out, leaving her confused. Chris leaves town with Sandy for Tahoe, writing Roxanne a breakup letter.

C.D. visits Roxanne who reveals she knows the truth: Dixie delivered C.D.'s final letter with a note revealing him as the author and Roxanne compared the handwriting with Chris's poorly-written letter. Furious that C.D. misled and tricked her, she punches him in the nose and throws him out. Before he can say more, he is distracted by his extra-keen sense of smell detecting a fire. He alerts his team and leads them to a large fire which they successfully extinguish.

While resting on his roof, C.D. hears Roxanne reciting his words to him. She tells C.D. that it was his words that she fell in love with, which made her feel romantic, intelligent, and feminine, and it is C.D. she truly loves. C.D. stylishly descends from the roof, and they kiss before retiring inside his home. To C.D.'s delight she tells him she named the comet Charlie, but reveals it is named after her father.

Cast

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. [1]

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. [1] The film was greenlit at Columbia by then-production chief Guy McElwaine. He was replaced by David Puttnam who liked the script, continued the studio's support and suggested the casting of Daryl Hannah. It was the first film released under Puttnam's auspices at Columbia. [3]

Roxanne was filmed in the summer of 1986 in the town of Nelson, British Columbia. [4] 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 blue, not Canada Post red. In the bar scenes, neon signs for Miller 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. 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. [1]

Reception

Critical response

Roxanne received an 88% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 43 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". [5] Metacritic gave film a score of 73 based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [6] Roger Ebert 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". [7] 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: [8]

References to 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."

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmond Rostand</span> French poet and dramatist (1868–1918)

Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand 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 the naturalistic theatre popular during the late nineteenth century. Another of Rostand's works, Les Romanesques (1894), was adapted to the 1960 musical comedy The Fantasticks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daryl Hannah</span> American actress and environmental activist (born 1960)

Daryl Hannah is an American actress. She made her film debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film The Fury (1978). She has starred in various films across the years, including as Pris Stratton in Ridley Scott's science fiction thriller Blade Runner (1982) and as Cathy Featherstone in Randal Kleiser's romantic comedy Summer Lovers (1982), as the mermaid Madison in Ron Howard's fantasy-romantic comedy Splash (1984), Roxanne Kowalski in the romantic comedy Roxanne (1987), Darien Taylor in Oliver Stone's drama Wall Street (1987), and Annelle Dupuy Desoto in the comedy-drama Steel Magnolias (1989). In 2005, Hannah won a Saturn Award for her role as one-eyed assassin Elle Driver in Quentin Tarantino's martial arts action film Kill Bill: Vol. 2. In 2015, she appeared in the Netflix series Sense8 as Angelica Turing.

Roxanne may refer to:

<i>The Truth About Cats & Dogs</i> 1996 film by Michael Lehmann

The Truth About Cats & Dogs is a 1996 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann and written by Audrey Wells. It stars Janeane Garofalo, Uma Thurman, Ben Chaplin and Jamie Foxx. The story is a modern reinterpretation of the 1897 Cyrano de Bergerac story and follows Abby, a veterinarian and radio talk show host who asks her model friend Noelle to impersonate her when a handsome man shows interest in her. The original music score was composed by Howard Shore. Upon its release, the film garnered positive reviews and was met with considerable box office success.

<i>Electric Dreams</i> (film) 1984 American-British science fiction romantic comedy film

Electric Dreams is a 1984 science fiction romantic comedy film directed by Steve Barron and written by Rusty Lemorande. The film is set in San Francisco and depicts a love triangle among a man, a woman, and a personal computer. It stars Lenny Von Dohlen, Virginia Madsen, Maxwell Caulfield, and the voice of Bud Cort.

<i>Cyrano de Bergerac</i> (play) Play by Edmond Rostand

Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. The play is a fictionalisation following the broad outlines of Cyrano de Bergerac's life.

<i>Cyrano de Bergerac</i> (1990 film) 1990 film by Jean-Paul Rappeneau

Cyrano de Bergerac is a 1990 French period comedy-drama film directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau and based on the 1897 play of the same name by Edmond Rostand, adapted by Jean-Claude Carrière and Rappeneau. It stars Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet and Vincent Perez. The film was a co-production between companies in France and Hungary.

Frederic Enrico Rossovich is an American actor. Rossovich began acting in the early 1980s, first gaining recognition for portraying Ron "Slider" Kerner in the 1986 film Top Gun. Rossovich's other movies include the thriller-drama The Lords of Discipline (1983), the sex comedy Losin' It (1983), the science fiction film The Terminator (1984), the romantic comedy Roxanne (1987), the witchcraft-themed thriller Spellbinder (1988), the thriller Paint It Black (1989), the military action film Navy SEALs (1990), and the Disney Channel Original Movie Miracle in Lane 2 (2002). Rossovich is also recognized for his lead role in the TV-series Pacific Blue, often described as a "Baywatch on bikes," which ran on the USA Network for five seasons between March 1996 and April 2000, and also gained popularity abroad. He also portrayed Dr. John Taglieri in the first season of E.R., and Spud Lincoln in the CBS series Sons and Daughters (1991).

<i>Cyrano de Bergerac</i> (1950 film) 1950 film by Michael Gordon

Cyrano de Bergerac is a 1950 American adventure comedy film based on the 1897 French Alexandrin verse drama Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. It uses poet Brian Hooker's 1923 English blank verse translation as the basis for its screenplay. The film was the first motion picture version in English of Rostand's play, though there were several earlier adaptations in different languages.

<i>Who Am I This Time?</i> (film) 1982 American TV series or program

Who Am I This Time? is a 1982 American made-for-television comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Demme and based on the 1961 short story of the same name by Kurt Vonnegut. It is the fourth episode of the first season of PBS' American Playhouse series which aired on February 2, 1982.

<i>Cyrano</i> (musical) Musical

Cyrano is a musical with a book and lyrics by Anthony Burgess and music by Michael J. Lewis.

Cyrano is an opera in three acts by David DiChiera, with orchestration by Mark Flint, to a libretto in French by Bernard Uzan, based on the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. It premiered on 13 October 2007 at the Michigan Opera Theatre, and was then presented on February 8 to 17, 2008 at the Opera Company of Philadelphia. Florida Grand Opera presented it in April 2011. It was revived November 4, 2017 by Opera Carolina.

Cyrano de Bergerac is a musical with a book and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and music by Frank Wildhorn. It is based on the 1897 play of the same title by Edmond Rostand.

<i>Cyrano</i> (Damrosch) Opera by Walter Damrosch, 1976

Cyrano is an opera in four acts composed by Walter Damrosch to an English language libretto by William James Henderson based on Edmond Rostand's 1897 play, Cyrano de Bergerac. It premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City on February 27, 1913, with Pasquale Amato in the title role and Frances Alda as Roxane.

Black Tights is a 1961 French anthology film featuring four ballet segments shot in Technirama and directed by Terence Young.

<i>Cyrano de Bergerac</i> (1925 film) 1925 film

Cyrano de Bergerac is a Franco-Italian silent romantic drama film directed by Augusto Genina in 1922 based on the 1897 play of the same name by Edmond Rostand. Genina began filming in 1922, at age 30, with the help of his cousin Mario Camerini, but its release was delayed by the colorization of the film.

<i>The Half of It</i> 2020 film by Alice Wu

The Half of It is a 2020 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Alice Wu. It stars Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, and Alexxis Lemire, with Enrique Murciano, Wolfgang Novogratz, Catherine Curtin, Becky Ann Baker, and Collin Chou in supporting roles. It is loosely inspired by Edmond Rostand's 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac, and follows a Chinese-American student helping the school jock woo a girl whom, secretly, they both desire.

<i>Roxy</i> (film) 2018 Canadian film

#Roxy is a 2018 Canadian teen romantic comedy film directed by Michael Kennedy and starring Jake Short, Sarah Fisher, Booboo Stewart, Pippa Mackie, Jake Smith, Carter Thicke, and Danny Trejo. Like the 1987 film Roxanne, #Roxy is also a modern retelling of Edmond Rostand's 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac. The film premiered exclusively in Landmark Cinemas at Edmonton City Centre in Edmonton, Canada, on October 29, 2018, and was released on digital platforms and through local cable providers on November 6, 2018, by Upstream Flix in association with Spesch.

<i>Cyrano</i> (film) 2021 film by Joe Wright

Cyrano is a 2021 romantic drama musical film directed by Joe Wright and with a screenplay by Erica Schmidt, based on Schmidt's 2018 stage musical of the same name, itself based on the 1897 Edmond Rostand play Cyrano de Bergerac. The film stars Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Ben Mendelsohn.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Shales, Tom (June 19, 1987). "Steve Martin, Taking It All In: His Setbacks Behind Him, He's Riding High With 'Roxanne' Steve Martin's Success". The Washington Post. p. D1.
  2. ↑ "Roxanne". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  3. ↑ Benson, Sheila (June 14, 1987). "THE DEATH OF ELIOT NESS WAS EXAGGERATED". Los Angeles Times.
  4. ↑ Cawley, Janet (October 5, 1986). "Film: Hollywood North Producers take advantage of Canada's variety". Chicago Tribune. p. L6.
  5. ↑ Rotten Tomatoes
  6. ↑ "Roxanne Reviews". Metacritic.
  7. ↑ Ebert, Roger (June 19, 1987). "Roxanne (1987)". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  8. ↑ IMDb Awards list
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.