#Roxy

Been there, seen that, nothing new. Wasn't a terrible movie if you could get past the cheesy part. It reminds me highly of those middle school aimed movies where everything is overdone.

But more than anything, why? Why does he have to have that nose? Takes it completely out of a teen movie into a painful to see parody. Its ridiculous for no reason.

There is almost nothing that makes this film stand out, that makes it one to recommend, that distinguishes it from dozens of other movies set in high school. It even ticks all the boxes, captures all the tropes, includes all the characters you expect to see and has them act just as you'd expect. Damningly it's predictable.

The acting doesn't astound, the soundtrack forgettable, the conversations rarely quotable, the set design mundane.

So go in with low expectations and.. let yourself be charmed. Enjoy a simple film, put together well, featuring likeable people. There are fun elements, the plot isn't entirely linear and there's certainly romance.

For all that it fails to wow the audience, this film never lets them down. Solid entertainment and worth your time.

So. If you view every film available on Sky Movies in alphabetical order, at the top you get "#Roxy". It was for no other reason that this that I spent an evening in the company of this pretty awful Canadian teen adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac.

Jake Short plays Cyrus, wise ass high schooler who has, for years been in unrequited love with Roxy (Sarah Fisher). When she tells him of her (frankly inexplicable) attraction to Christian (Bamboo Stewart) and Christian separately does the same, Cyrus sees and opportunity to say all the things to Roxy that he wants to, vicariously through the proxy of Christian

Let's get a few positives out of the way first, I actually ended up quite liking the principle cast, towards the end of the film. Ironically, Cyrano De Bergerac actually feels more timely again now, that it has in the last few decades as love letters fell away but now instant messaging and texting is both intimate but potentially anonymous.

But the film is very cheesy. Despite being made in 2018, some of the high school movie clichés are still prevalent. Jocks, Nerds, Goths.... Same as it ever was, as if the movie was made in the 1980's.. And the use of actors who have long since left high school is still happening, the principle bully in the film, I've just looked it up and he's 29 but if you told me he was 40, I'd have believed it. The prosthetic nose on Cyrus was not good, in fact I'm not sure why they stuck with it, I understand it's part of the original story but surely just a lack of confidence would be enough to explain why he refuses to tell Roxy how he feels.

I don't want to eviscerate it too much, but it's a story that you've seen before and more convincingly.

I'm not going to lie, I was originally attracted to this title because of the fact that it stars a couple of recognizable Disney stars. Despite them being Disney stars, I knew their talent. I consider Jake Short to be a great actor in his more recent films like "Supercool". I thought I'd give it a chance. This film doesn't feel like a film of its own. It feels like a Disney Channel movie. No, a Disney Channel movie has better acting. I don't think that this movie was a passion project for anyone, and that shines through clearly in its execution. I don't think that the message is horrible. Looks aren't the only thing that matters and it's better to be yourself then try to be someone else, but other than that i don't think that there's too much to this movie. Other than a few curse words thrown around here and there it does just feel like a poorly acted out Disney movie ( especially with the stars of it). I mean, if that appeals to you, if it's a watch, but don't complain when you find out that it was horrible.

This movie based on an old time classic was really updated with a diverse cast of great actors. Well done!