Film

Roxanne

Name: Roxanne
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Released: 1987
Cast: Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah, Rick Rossovich, Shelley Duvall, John Kapelos

Steve Martin wrote this one himself, adapting Cyrano de Bergerac into a warm, wordy rom-com set in a snowbound Pacific Northwest fire station. It trades duels for one-liners — the famous nose-insult scene is a script masterclass — but keeps the ache underneath the wit. Gentle, funny, unfashionably sincere about longing, and a genuinely lovely showcase for Martin as both writer and actor.

TMDb rating

3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love a romantic comedy built on verbal wit, where a lovesick man's sharp tongue does the heavy lifting and the sentiment sneaks up on you.

Skip it if you want a sharp, fast plot or big physical farce; this one is gentle, talky and leans on its small-town charm.

What it asks of you: Roughly an hour and three-quarters at a relaxed, talky pace, with long conversational scenes, rewarding patience more than attention.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Truth About Cats & Dogs1996

The same Cyrano bones, gender-flipped: a witty radio host feeds lines to her gorgeous neighbour so she can win the man she loves without showing her face. Funny, tender, and unfairly overlooked.

But Janeane Garofalo and Uma Thurman are both terrific, but the '90s rom-com sheen and tidy resolution won't surprise anyone.

Notting Hill1999

Hugh Grant does his own version of self-deprecating charm-as-armour, and the film has the same generous, crowd-pleasing warmth as Roxanne, just with more London rain than mountain air.

But It's a much bigger, glossier machine — movie stardom as plot device — with less interest in the mechanics of wit itself.

L.A. Story1991

Steve Martin again, four years later, still obsessed with language and longing, this time filtering LA absurdity through a talking freeway sign instead of a fire station.

But It's stranger and more surreal — less a rom-com than a whimsical satire that happens to have a love story in it.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Roxanne

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Cyrano de Bergerac1990

Roxanne is the comedy version of exactly this story. Watching the source material played as tragedy, in the original language, shows how much of the warmth in Martin's version is a deliberate, generous choice rather than an accident of the plot.

This is the real thing Roxanne is riffing on — Gérard Depardieu, in French, delivering Rostand's actual verse. Same nose, same balcony trick, but played entirely straight, and it's devastating.

But Nearly two and a half hours of subtitled 17th-century poetry with a tragic ending — none of Roxanne's lightness or comfort.