I don't know why my family decided to watch this movie when it first came out on video, but it immediately became one of my favorite comedies. It's a film that I can watch time and again without wearying of it. I know that I replayed the "twenty something betters" scene over and over until I committed each joke to memory. As I was sensitive about comments people made about my own nose, C.D. Bales' (played by the multi-talented Steve Martin) retorts became a kind of armor for me.
I remember being told that it was a modern version of a much older play, but I had not actually read Cyrano de Bergerac until just this week. I was amazed at how Steve Martin (who also wrote the script as well as played the main character) managed to capture the essence of the French melodrama and yet still modernize it. The "twenty something betters" scene in Roxanne is right out of the play in style, but shares only one: "Gracious: What a kind man you are! You love birds so much that you've given them a perch to roost on" in Cyrano de Bergerac becomes "Gracious: You must love the little birdies to give them this to perch on" in Roxanne ... a line that C.D. later repeats to himself when actually letting a bird perch on his nose.
As I live in modern times and do not particularly care for melodrama, I enjoyed the modern version quite a bit more. However, I'm quite glad that I read the play as, not only is it entertaining on its own, but it made me appreciate the craftsmanship in Roxanne all the more. Martin even kept in small gems such as having the main character fall out of a tree with a wild story to tell. In the play, he was distracting a rival from interrupting the marriage of Roxane and Christian by talking about a trip to the moon; in the movie, he tells some old ladies about being abducted by aliens in the hope that they will interrupt the romantic evening of Roxanne and Chris.
Thankfully, the Hollywood ending of the movie is nothing like melodramatic ending to the play. In fact, I particularly appreciate that the firefighters in the movie become town heroes without having to die like the Cadets in the play. However, Chris is not nearly as nice (or even as intelligent) as Christian is. I certainly appreciate how Martin managed to make the main character read aloud his own letter to a much better effect at the climax of the movie.
Wow. I really want to watch that movie again now.
I remember being told that it was a modern version of a much older play, but I had not actually read Cyrano de Bergerac until just this week. I was amazed at how Steve Martin (who also wrote the script as well as played the main character) managed to capture the essence of the French melodrama and yet still modernize it. The "twenty something betters" scene in Roxanne is right out of the play in style, but shares only one: "Gracious: What a kind man you are! You love birds so much that you've given them a perch to roost on" in Cyrano de Bergerac becomes "Gracious: You must love the little birdies to give them this to perch on" in Roxanne ... a line that C.D. later repeats to himself when actually letting a bird perch on his nose.
As I live in modern times and do not particularly care for melodrama, I enjoyed the modern version quite a bit more. However, I'm quite glad that I read the play as, not only is it entertaining on its own, but it made me appreciate the craftsmanship in Roxanne all the more. Martin even kept in small gems such as having the main character fall out of a tree with a wild story to tell. In the play, he was distracting a rival from interrupting the marriage of Roxane and Christian by talking about a trip to the moon; in the movie, he tells some old ladies about being abducted by aliens in the hope that they will interrupt the romantic evening of Roxanne and Chris.
Thankfully, the Hollywood ending of the movie is nothing like melodramatic ending to the play. In fact, I particularly appreciate that the firefighters in the movie become town heroes without having to die like the Cadets in the play. However, Chris is not nearly as nice (or even as intelligent) as Christian is. I certainly appreciate how Martin managed to make the main character read aloud his own letter to a much better effect at the climax of the movie.
Wow. I really want to watch that movie again now.
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