Roxanne (1987)
Directed by Fred Schepisi
In this modern take on Edmond Rostand's classic play "Cyrano de Bergerac," C. D. Bales is the witty, intelligent, and brave fire chief of a small Pacific Northwest town who, due to the size of his enormous nose, declines to pursue the girl of his dreams, lovely Roxanne Kowalski. Instead, when his shy underling Chris McConnell becomes smitten with Roxanne, C.D. feeds the handsome young man the words of love to win her heart.
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What critics compared Roxanne to
But Wu has no pretensions of an adaptation or even update (the best of which remains Steve Martin’s “Roxanne”).
The premise isn’t terribly original — yet another comic takeoff on the Cyrano de Bergerac formula mined by so many others including Steve Martin’s brilliant Roxanne.
Every generation gets its own “Cyrano de Bergerac,” from the Steve Martin comedy “Roxanne” to Netflix’s “Sierra Burgess Is a Loser.”
And, in a diversion from the accepted Bergerac plot (also updated in pics like 1987 Steve Martin vehicle Roxanne ), Paul is a more sympathetic, less cruel character than expected, and he naturally falls for Ellie himself, in the most awkward and human of fashions.
In a lovely update on Edmond Rostand’s late 19th-century play “Cyrano de Bergerac” (arguably best known for Steve Martin’s 1987 film version, “Roxanne” – although this version ditches the big nose), Ellie sends poignant letters and text messages to beautiful Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire) on behalf of hapless but sweet-natured Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer).
And the movie is basically a romantic comedy in the mold of Steve Martin’s “Roxanne,” itself a modern translation of the “Cyrano” formula.
It's one of those great comedy performances (think Steve Martin in "Roxanne" or Eddie Murphy in "The Nutty Professor") that you hope people remember come awards time.