Fred Schepisi

Comic genius Steve Martin delivers an incredible performance as an engaging small-town fire chief who has only one tiny flaw - no, make that one HUGE flaw - his astonishingly long nose. Although he considers it no laughing matter, the hilarity never stops as C.D. Bales (Martin) contends with jerky nose jokes, a bumbling crew of firemen and his secret love for gorgeous astronomy student Roxanne (Hannah). Unfortunately, she is attracted to fireman Chris (Rossovich), who's tall on looks and short on conversation. And when C.D.

Emmy Award winner Tom Selleck stars as a major league ballplayer who is reluctantly traded to the Chunichi Dragons in Nagoya, Japan, in this fish-out-of-water sports comedy. Replaced by a rookie, the resentful Jack Eliot (Selleck) feels superior to the other Dragons, but he has a lot to learn about Japanese baseball, which is more about teamwork than about being an arrogant hotshot. Japanese superstar Ken Takahura is their hard-headed manager, Uchimaya, whom Jack treats with disrespect, while the beautiful Hiroko (Takanashi) helps him learn to live in - and love - his new home.

I.Q. has all the elements of a classic romantic comedy. Certainly Meg Ryan has demonstrated she has the stuff for funny love with films such as When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in Seattle, and director Fred Schepisi's Roxanne ranks among top contemporary romantic comedies. Even though Tim Robbins received acclaim for dramatic work in Jacob's Ladder and The Shawshank Redemption, his early comedic work shouldn't be forgotten (well, maybe Howard the Duck, but not the hilarious Sure Thing). And Walter Matthau? No explanation needed.