Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1980s
    Movies - 1980s Movies - R 2 Mins Read

    Roxanne (1987)

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    A sensitive fireman believes he has no chance of ever winning the heart of a lovely astronomer owing to his large nose and instead agrees to help a handsome colleague woo her, causing himself no end of heartache.

    Nimbly adapted by Martin himself (for which he won the American Writers’ Guild prize) from the celebrated Edmond Rostand play Cyrano de Bergerac, this is romantic comedy as it used to be, with Martin playing CD Bales, the nasally gifted fire chief who falls for heavenly stargazer Daryl Hannah.

    Directed by Fred Schepisi, it’s remarkably faithful to Rostand’s original work, cleverly transplanting the action from 17th-century Paris to present-day, small-town America, and imbuing the sensitive CD Bales with considerable duelling skills.

    From the moment he swashbuckles with a tennis racket, it’s clear Martin is on peak form, particularly during the hilarious nose-jokes sequence.

    The respected American critic Pauline Kael detected in Martin’s portrayal a touch of Buster Keaton and WC Fields, with just a dash of the graceful Fred Astaire added for good measure. Indeed, Martin’s firefighters also recall some past movie greats, the Keystone Kops, although the general air of incompetent shirking also puts you in mind of Will Hay and his inimitable sidekicks Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott.

    Schepisi keeps the action as buoyant as Martin’s performance, while also coaxing a deliciously doltish turn from Rick Rossovich, who woos Hannah using Martin’s eloquence.

    roxanne

    CD Bales
    Steve Martin
    Roxanne Kowalski
    Daryl Hannah
    Chris
    Rick Rossovich
    Dixie
    Shelley Duvall
    Chuck
    John Kapelos
    Mayor Deebs
    Fred Willard
    Dean
    Max Alexander
    Andy
    Michael J Pollard
    Ralston
    Steve Mittleman

    Director
    Fred Schepisi

    Video

    Related Posts

    • Untouchables, The (1987)
      Untouchables, The (1987)
      One of the hits of 1987, The Untouchables took the true story of Eliot Ness, examined the facts in his autobiography, and…
    • Rocky (1976)
      Rocky (1976)
      This Academy Award-winning gritty Cinderella story of a luckless amateur Philadelphia boxer who gets a chance at the world heavyweight…
    • Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
      Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
      Steve Martin plays Neal Page, a put-upon businessman determined to make it home for Thanksgiving, but hampered at every turn…
    • Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
      Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
      Chauffeur Hoke Colburn (Morgan Freeman) sits in the front seat of the car with his hands on the steering wheel,…
    • Shag (1989)
      Shag (1989)
      This coming-of-age comedy set in South Carolina in 1963 has a seductive charm that sneaks up on you. The slender…
    • Extremities (1986)
      Extremities (1986)
      Is Extremities controversial or exploitative? There's a large helping of both as Marjorie Easton (Farrah Fawcett) escapes would-be rapist, Joe…
    • Midnight Run (1988)
      Midnight Run (1988)
      Although Director Martin Brest, whose big claim to fame is Beverly Hills Cop (1984), never really manages to do justice to their talents, one…
    • Pet Sematary (1989)
      Pet Sematary (1989)
      In this morbid but compulsive horror, adapted by Stephen King from his own novel, the Creed family move to a…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleRound Midnight (1986)
    Next Article Rude Boy (1980)

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Wild Rebels, The (1967)
      Rod, Banjo and Jeeter are a trio of brutal Satan’s Angels […]
    • Officer and a Gentleman, An (1982)
      Street tough Navy brat Zack Mayo (Richard Gere) has been on his […]
    • Gloria
      1 9 8 2 – 1 9 8 3 (USA) 1 x 60 minute episode 21 x 30 […]
    • Round at the Redways
      1 9 5 5 (UK) Bill Redway (Howard Greene) and his wife, Ruth […]
    • Eddy Grant
      Born in Guyana in 1948, Eddy Grant was the former singer with […]
    • Pong
      The first successful computer game was a video version of […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.