The idea Steve Martin updating the story of Cyrano de Bergerac may seem a little like stretching a round hole to accept a square peg, but the result was actually one of the brighter romantic comedies of recent summers, thanks in large part to the ideal balance of talents between Martin's typically absurd sense of humor and some level-headed direction by veteran Fred Schepisi. Martin himself stars as C.D., a plucky and resourceful small town fire chief whose charm is surpassed only by the length of his nose. He loves the fair Roxanne (a young astronomer) from afar, while she only has eyes for the tall, dark and hopeless hunk from Martin's inept fire department. C.D. is soon persuaded to write his rival's love letters, into which he pours all his own frustrated romantic longings, and the subsequent complications give Martin a chance to display the keen timing and playful sense of humor too often lacking in his other films. Even more surprising is producer Martin's generosity as a writer: some of his best lines are given to the supporting players. It isn't art, but the film has enough sunny humor and bittersweet irony to make it more than just another routine romantic distraction.
