Plot: This is a remake of Cyrano de Bergerac, one of the most celebrated plays of the French theater, written by Edmond Rostand. Instead of being set in 17th century France, "Cyrano" has been changed to "Charlie", a fire chief in a small town in Washington. Roxanne rents a house for the summer to look at comets and Charlie quickly falls for her. Charlie is intelligent, funny, and sensitive, but all his fine qualities are unfortunately overshadowed by his very large nose ("Excuse me, it that your nose or did a bus park on your face?"). Charlie's friend, Chris, on the other hand, is quite attractive, but superficial and awkward with words, especially around women (he has a tendency to throw up a lot). Both men are enthralled with Roxanne, but she, in a shallow but predictable move, shows interest in the handsome Chris. Chris is tongue-tied around her -- everything that comes out of his mouth is either vulgar or indecipherable. So he asks Charlie for help. Charlie, inspired, writes 3 love letters a day to Roxanne, unbeknownst to Chris. Charlie's eloquent letters work, because Roxanne falls in love with Chris. But Chris can't meet Roxanne's expectations in person and he soon runs off with a waitress who is "pretty cute, too".
Alternative Plot: In this modern take on Edmond Rostand's classic play "Cyrano de Bergerac," C. D. Bales (Steve Martin) is the witty, intelligent and brave fire chief of a small Pacific Northwest town who, due to the size of his enormous nose, declines to pursue the girl of his dreams, lovely Roxanne Kowalski (Daryl Hannah). Instead, when his shy underling Chris McConnell (Rick Rossovich) becomes smitten with Roxanne, Bales feeds the handsome young man the words of love to win her heart.
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