Roxanne (Blu-Ray Review)

Roxanne on Blu-Ray

Main Feature (1H 46M 50S)

This is one of those films from my childhood which I have fond memories of. I must have watched Roxanne a dozen times as a kid and loved it because of all of the slapstick comedy. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of seeing an idiot get hit in the face with a tennis racket. This is from the period in Steve Martin’s career when he was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and the appearance of his name in a film’s credits would guarantee a huge audience. Nowadays, he appears to be on a mission to destroy what remains of a once glittering career, which is a damn shame. This is by no means Steve’s funniest performance, nor does Daryl Hannah look her finest. Having said that, the combination of the funny and the looking great is not to be missed.

This the classic tale of guy meets girl with a slight twist. The guy named Charlie isn’t very attractive mostly due to his enormous nose but he is highly intelligent and cultured. The guys likes the girl named Roxanne a lot but another guy, Chris who is played by Rick Rossovich, appears on the scene who is more attractive though happens to be an idiot. The attractive idiot Chris asks the intelligent large-nosed Charlie to help him win over Roxanne’s heart so he can have sex with her. The intelligent large-nosed Charlie agrees to help the attractive idiot Chris because it’s an opportunity to let Roxanne know his true feelings even if it’s through another’s mouth. Roxanne likes how Chris looks but also, unbeknown to her, likes the intelligence and passion of Charlie. Hilarity ensues as many misunderstandings punctuate the fun and games along the way. I hope I made that clear enough for you.

This is a nice film. The complications surrounding love and sex are dumbed down enough so that it becomes more easily accessible for the average viewer. One thing which also struck me is the lack of evil characters. Charlie is taunted by two morons at the beginning and once more in a bar later in the film but those characters are too dumb to be true villains. This film offers up an equal measure of happiness and silliness. Daryl Hannah is pretty, Steve Martin is pretty funny, Rick Rossovich is pretty vacant, and overall the film is pretty good.

Extras

You won’t find any of that newfangled nonsense here.

Summary

The main feature is enjoyable but I am growing more and more frustrated with Blu-Ray releases of older films not having any extras at all. Pretty much every film in the Eighties and early Nineties had some sort of documentary made on them for publicity reasons and we ought to at least be treated to that.

Rating       ***