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!

TxMike I am almost the nerd guy in his movie. Even though I am a scientist, while in graduate school in the 1960s virtually fell into a student stage production, all 28 performances that ran for 4 weeks. Later, as a young parent, I watched my children in summer community theater productions of such musicals as Wizard of Oz and Sound of Music, while I played trumpet with the stage band in the pit. Community theater in many ways changed my life, opened up a new way of looking at the world. It does that to you.Marcus Thomas, from Belgium, plays Peter Rooker, living and working in Portland, Oregon. By appearances a very boring life. He is a type of 'mister cellophane'. But he notices a poster on his way to work, tryouts for "Cyrano". On a whim he goes, with absolutely no concept of what he was doing (I remember my own such first tryout experience!). He predictably does very poorly, he knows it, everyone else there knows it, but the director saw something, and unreasonably casts him as Cyrano! This sets the stage for all the developments that follow. Any person with a community theater interest surely will enjoy this movie, as will many others who don't share that interest.Others include John Corbett as Michael Degan, experienced actor who gets the part of Christian. Amy Smart as Grace Hargrove, who gets the part of Roxanne. Sean Astin who plays demanding actor Ken Zorbell. And his real life mother Patty Duke who plays dual role of twins, Mrs. Keene and Earlene.SPOILERS FOLLOW. Peter continues to be bad, even though everyone works with him. He just cannot get "into" the role. As opening night nears, reluctantly the director asks Zorbell to be Cyrano, it is the key role in the play. But, in a humorous turn of events Zorbell, having been very difficult, is locked out, Peter makes a last minute entrance as Cyrano, and in full costume transforms himself, he does a great job, and gets many cheers at the curtain call. As the DVD container says, "There are moments in your life that are bigger than you think." Perhaps bigger than the sky.

Amy Adler Peter (Marcus Thomas) has just received a letter from this girlfriend, explaining why she has fled the relationship. It hurts. Although Peter has a successful job as an art director for a thriving company, he knows he needs to broaden his horizons. Therefore, when he spots an ad for community theater auditions, he signs up, hoping for a small role. But, no, he gets chosen to play the lead in Cyrano de Bergerac! Can he do it? The other theater people, including Michael (John Corbett) and Grace (Amy Smart), are so talented, how can Peter measure up?Thomas does a fine job as the newcomer to theater, and really, to life. Patty Duke is also quite engaging as a grumpy theater support staffer. But, ah, Corbett and Smart. John Corbett has never been more attractive or seductive as in this role and Smart is beautiful and bubbly. They are, in this viewer's opinion, the main reasons this film works so well. Costumes, plot, and the Portland scenery are fulfilling, also. For those who love ensemble movies with engaging dialogue, romance, and lessons in life, this one is your cup of tea. Drink it slowly, with savor.