"Something funny happened on our journey toward sexual liberation," psychiatrist Willard Gaylin has noted. "We left romance behind and in so doing managed to lose much of the joy." Feeling the loss of that element in their relationships, men and women today are rediscovering the playflul side of intimacy, and some movies are showing them how. Roxanne taps into this phenomenon. It is a delightful reworking and updating of Edmond Rostand's seventeenth century drama Cyrano de Bergerac.
Steve Martin palys C. D. Bales, the fire chief in a small ski resort town. He is a man of singular charm, wit, athletic grace, and intellectual curiosity — but he is extremely sensitive about his gigantic nose. When Roxanne (Daryle Hannah), an astronomer, arrives in town to study the skies, he is swept off his feet. But she is attracted to Chris, a handsome hunk who works at the fire station. His problem is shyness. Soon C.D. agrees to serve as their go-between. The love letters he composes for Chris send Roxanne into a swoon. Will she discover the true romantic or be seduced by appearances? This movie is filled with delicious comic moments and tart observations on the nature of beauty and the complexity of sexual politics. Best of all, Roxanne shows how lovers can enrich their relationship by paying attention to the joys of romance.