Considering the slump Steve Martin's career has been in, you sometimes have to revisit his earlier efforts to remind yourself of what a fine comedian he can be. As well as fine actor.
I don't always like Steve Martin in everything. His manic energy can be perfectly employed when given the proper material to work from. But sometimes his antics do feel ever so over the top you wish you had a muzzle for the man. His best performances tend to be the ones he personally identifies with. He was wonderful in Planes, Trains & Automobiles and LA Story. And he's just as wonderful in Roxanne.
In a script written by Martin, and adapted from Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, Martin plays C.D. Bales, the fire chief of picture postcard smalltown USA.
C.D. is an affable chap. He's got a refreshing wit, sharp insights and a poetic use of the English language. He's quite a popular figure in town, but there's one thing about himself he really dislikes. He has an enormous nose.
Its so big he often looks like Pinocchio after telling a few white lies. C.D. has learnt to live with his nose (not that he has much choice!). He can even make jokes about it. But he's never learnt to like it.
When pretty astronomer Roxanne Kowalski (Daryl Hannah) moves into town, she captures his heart right from the start. And while Roxanne can see past the nose on his face, she can't see into C.D's soul, even if its plain as the...well you know the rest!
Roxanne is a film of simple pleasures. And there are many. But thanks to Steve Martin's wonderfully embodied performance, the film really shines. I've never actually seen Cyrano de Bergerac, but Martin quite excels in the role he's rewritten for himself.
As much as Martin's skills as a comic performer are praised, he does tend to get overlooked when it comes to his writing ability. He composed a quite lyrical ode to the city of Los Angeles in LA Story. One of the richest and accessible films he's ever had the pleasure of starring in. And I can say very much the same thing of Roxanne.
Martin has tailored the screenplay to his own specifications. He's written it to showcase his talents and play to his skills as best as possible. He is the undoubted heart and soul of the entire picture. And whether he be funny, moving or downright poetic, he is superb on all counts.
To list the film's highlights is an impossible task. There are just so many. I suppose any scene with Martin would qualify. But one scene that stands head and shoulders above the rest is the scene with C.D. in a bar.
Allow me to set the scene for you. C.D. is having a night out with Roxanne and his sister Dixie (sweetly played by Shelley Duvall). A rude man comes over and comments on C.D's "big nose." Instead of feeling offended, C.D. comes up with 25 nose-related puns. One each funnier than the last. All capped by the final superb joke, "You're name wouldn't be Dick would it?!"
What a scene! It's one of the best sustained four minutes of comedy you'll ever see. And I'll bet it was all improvised too. Steve Martin likes to set challenges for himself. And he rises to this one admirably. His gift of improvisation is the hallmark of a true comedian. And this film (but especially this scene) has Martin at the top of his peak.
But its not just Steve Martin that provides the fun. Daryl Hannah is quite perfect in the role of Roxanne. She's always been an actress looking out for since her breakout role in Splash! And as Roxanne, she is positively luminous.
Although her scenes with Martin don't sizzle, they do enjoy an earnest, comfortable sort of chemistry. The scene where it looks like she's about to return C'D's feelings is poignant, because she keeps building up his hopes over this man she's grown attracted to, until it turns out she was talking about one of C'D's coworkers at the fire station. You feel just as crushed as C.D.
I hate to keep carping on and on about Steve Martin, but he is just so wonderful in this film I can't help it. He gets to play to the hilt without ever going over the top. He not only gets to show off his talent for physical comedy, but the smart screenplay allows him to adopt a more intelligent stride too.
The scene where he tries on different noses for size is fun but surprisingly disturbing too. Although C.D. looks normal with a button nose, he also looks unremarkable. Without his most defining characteristic, he's just another face in the crowd. He wouldn't be C.D. anymore.
And Roxanne wouldn't eventually fall in love with C.D. I suppose we saw that coming from the offset. But who cares. C.D. Bales is one of Steve Martin's truest and most well defined characters. He deserves his happy ending. Roxanne is an absolute pleasure. A film so light in its step it practically flies.
I don't always like Steve Martin in everything. His manic energy can be perfectly employed when given the proper material to work from. But sometimes his antics do feel ever so over the top you wish you had a muzzle for the man. His best performances tend to be the ones he personally identifies with. He was wonderful in Planes, Trains & Automobiles and LA Story. And he's just as wonderful in Roxanne.
In a script written by Martin, and adapted from Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, Martin plays C.D. Bales, the fire chief of picture postcard smalltown USA.
C.D. is an affable chap. He's got a refreshing wit, sharp insights and a poetic use of the English language. He's quite a popular figure in town, but there's one thing about himself he really dislikes. He has an enormous nose.
Its so big he often looks like Pinocchio after telling a few white lies. C.D. has learnt to live with his nose (not that he has much choice!). He can even make jokes about it. But he's never learnt to like it.
When pretty astronomer Roxanne Kowalski (Daryl Hannah) moves into town, she captures his heart right from the start. And while Roxanne can see past the nose on his face, she can't see into C.D's soul, even if its plain as the...well you know the rest!
Roxanne is a film of simple pleasures. And there are many. But thanks to Steve Martin's wonderfully embodied performance, the film really shines. I've never actually seen Cyrano de Bergerac, but Martin quite excels in the role he's rewritten for himself.
As much as Martin's skills as a comic performer are praised, he does tend to get overlooked when it comes to his writing ability. He composed a quite lyrical ode to the city of Los Angeles in LA Story. One of the richest and accessible films he's ever had the pleasure of starring in. And I can say very much the same thing of Roxanne.
Martin has tailored the screenplay to his own specifications. He's written it to showcase his talents and play to his skills as best as possible. He is the undoubted heart and soul of the entire picture. And whether he be funny, moving or downright poetic, he is superb on all counts.
To list the film's highlights is an impossible task. There are just so many. I suppose any scene with Martin would qualify. But one scene that stands head and shoulders above the rest is the scene with C.D. in a bar.
Allow me to set the scene for you. C.D. is having a night out with Roxanne and his sister Dixie (sweetly played by Shelley Duvall). A rude man comes over and comments on C.D's "big nose." Instead of feeling offended, C.D. comes up with 25 nose-related puns. One each funnier than the last. All capped by the final superb joke, "You're name wouldn't be Dick would it?!"
What a scene! It's one of the best sustained four minutes of comedy you'll ever see. And I'll bet it was all improvised too. Steve Martin likes to set challenges for himself. And he rises to this one admirably. His gift of improvisation is the hallmark of a true comedian. And this film (but especially this scene) has Martin at the top of his peak.
But its not just Steve Martin that provides the fun. Daryl Hannah is quite perfect in the role of Roxanne. She's always been an actress looking out for since her breakout role in Splash! And as Roxanne, she is positively luminous.
Although her scenes with Martin don't sizzle, they do enjoy an earnest, comfortable sort of chemistry. The scene where it looks like she's about to return C'D's feelings is poignant, because she keeps building up his hopes over this man she's grown attracted to, until it turns out she was talking about one of C'D's coworkers at the fire station. You feel just as crushed as C.D.
I hate to keep carping on and on about Steve Martin, but he is just so wonderful in this film I can't help it. He gets to play to the hilt without ever going over the top. He not only gets to show off his talent for physical comedy, but the smart screenplay allows him to adopt a more intelligent stride too.
The scene where he tries on different noses for size is fun but surprisingly disturbing too. Although C.D. looks normal with a button nose, he also looks unremarkable. Without his most defining characteristic, he's just another face in the crowd. He wouldn't be C.D. anymore.
And Roxanne wouldn't eventually fall in love with C.D. I suppose we saw that coming from the offset. But who cares. C.D. Bales is one of Steve Martin's truest and most well defined characters. He deserves his happy ending. Roxanne is an absolute pleasure. A film so light in its step it practically flies.