Harockerce What a beautiful movie!

Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

azcindylou What do you do when the color suddenly leaves your already beige life? When your girlfriend dumps you because you are dull and boring? When your boss offers a promotion to Art Director because you are a Team Player and work By The Book and, as there is no "I" in Team, there is also no "I" in Peter Rooker? When the only friend you have to hear your tale of woe is your sister?If you are Peter Rooker (Marcus Thomas) you audition (awfully) for a part in the local Community Theater's production of Cyrano.And, against all odds, land the lead!As Peter embarks on his Quest for self-improvement he picks up a cast of quirky actors, directors, techies and fans who ignore his whining, push him to overcome his horrible acting skills, teach him about life, friendship, fun, betrayal, loyalty.....They help him find the "I in Me".The cast features an Indie-quality smorgasboard of wonderfully talented actors, including John Corbett, Amy Smart, Patty Duke, Sean Astin, Clare Higgins, Allan Cordliner; hilariously painful and heartwarming direction both on-screen and off; a powerful soundtrack....A truly intellectual romantic comedy, refreshingly unique, heartwarmingly painful at times....this movie held my attention from the first scene to the ending credits. All 23 times I've watched it. Definitely a "10" all the way around.

shido-san Okay, I was surprised, and surprised. This movie was a bargain basement DVD for me purchased together with a number of formerly unknown titles by moi.I had zero expectations having only purchased the title based on curiosity of John Corbett's career having seen Joel Zwick's 'Big, Fat' and 'Elvis Has' movies - both of which had an Indies feel, and John Corbett was pretty much John Corbett. He seems to be good at anything and brings confidence to his role and a certain charm that his audience enjoys. The first surprise for me was that the actors and the characters fit the story seamlessly, the plot actually worked, the editing must have worked because I felt a constant flow to the plot from beginning to end. That was nice.The second surprise was the storyline itself. I don't think this is a spoiler, I'm not going to reveal the plot here but rather the idea, which I liked very much: This story is driven by the word panache (you can look it up) and panache is symbolized and referred to at various points in the storyline - but the story is Cyrano. The cut-and-dried casual first-timer (Marcus) is actually Cyrano metaphorically. The characters played by John and Amy actually are Christian and Roxanne. But, we don't know this as we are introduced to seasoned actors in community theater. We see instead the acting process in brief play-by-plays from introduction to opening night. We are given a hint by the 'director' of this 'stage production' that the nose itself is only a metaphor for the social limits of the man, and finally, we see the courage of the man himself as he leaves his misunderstood cocoon to be a Peter Rucker that he really was inside, just as we are treated to Cyrano's death scene and implied metamorphosis. And, I think that was brilliant.Full points for the cast, full points for the director, and full points for who ever developed that story!

rayovac I am shocked that *anyone* is praising this film. This is a classic example of what happens when actors with real potential (proved or otherwise) work with an obviously terrible director and editor.On watching this film (can we actually call it that?) I got the distinct impression that somehow all of the "good takes" of scenes intended to go into the final cut got lost in a fire... so the editor and director tried to make a movie out of the takes originally destined for the trash (not even the cutting room floor).For a while, I actually thought that (perhaps) there was a method to the madness. I thought that somehow the director was trying to create a metaphor using the bad acting (on screen) to correlate to the acting struggles with the main character.No such luck.The cast reads like a "who's who" of strong younger actors who have proved their meddle in other films. I can't imagine any of them viewing this movie and thinking that their work has been done justice in post - production.What's terrible about all of this is that the screenplay appears to have had potential. Further, many of the production elements are very good (the DP was clearly a pro...music and sound all well - done...and, as I've mentioned, the actors clearly weren't to blame).For anyone contemplating a career in film, this is an excellent study... of what *doesn't* work. For aspiring directors, watch each and every scene and ask yourself "If I could shoot that, how would I try to coach the actors into creating a better scene". For aspiring editors, this is an opportunity to see how proper cutaways (for example) can save a "1/2 good" scene from becoming "all bad"...and so on.I honestly wish that someone (else) would shoot this screenplay. Heck, even use the same cast... just get someone who knows how to make performances look (somewhat) real and someone who knows how to cut images together so that we believe what we are watching.It's usually true that a good story can overcome bad photography (not a problem here), dialog, and even acting (with good editing). This is a classic example of a case where obviously poor directing can kill this apparent truth.

dls30 I saw this film today with my friend, and although neither of us have any experience with community theatre (little of that here in NYC), we found this film to be quite charming and enjoyable. Yeah, sure, it could have used a little editing, but the actors are engaging, the dialog is humorous, and the relationships of the characters, though sometimes a little clichéd, have an underlying authenticity. Community theatre is portrayed not as the graveyard of failed actors, but as a community where talent and friendships are nurtured without regard for money and advancement. And, unlike the first reviewer, I thought the acting was quite good. My friend and I especially enjoyed the twin parts played by Patty Duke, since we're both old enough to remember her dual role on her TV show. See this movie if you're tired of blockbuster, sequels, and star vehicles.