Thompson as Kate.

The Tall Guy is a 1989 romantic comedy written by Richard Curtis, directed by Mel Smith and produced by London Weekend Television for theatrical release. The farcical yet tender-hearted film stars Jeff Goldblum and Emma Thompson, with costars Rowan Atkinson and Geraldine James. This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... Mel Smith Mel Smith is an English actor, film director, writer, producer born in London on December 3, 1952) He attended New College, Oxford. ... Richard Curtis (born November 8, 1956), a New Zealand-born British comedy scriptwriter, is best known for the TV series Blackadder and The Vicar of Dibley and the movies Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill. ... Jeff Goldblum Jeffrey Lynn Jeff Goldblum (born October 22, 1952 in the Pittsburgh suburb of Whitaker, Pennsylvania) is a Jewish-American film actor. ... Emma Thompson (born April 15, 1959 in Paddington, London, England) is an Oscar-winning British actress. ... Now known as ITV London (Weekends) London Weekend Television logo, 1978-1996 London Weekend Television logo, 1996-2004 London Weekend Television Limited (LWT) is the ITV contractor for London, Friday 5:15pm to Monday, 5:59am. ... Working Title Films is a British film production company, based in London, England. ... The Virgin Group is the group of companies using the Virgin brand of British celebrity business tycoon Sir Richard Branson. ... Miramax is a Big Ten film distribution and production company. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... This is a list of film-related events in 1990. ... This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... See also: 1988 in film, other events of 1989, 1990 in film, list of years in film. // Events Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia for $20 million. ... Romantic comedy films are a sub-genre of comedy films as well as of romance films. ... A screenplay or script is a blueprint for producing a motion picture. ... Richard Curtis (born November 8, 1956), a New Zealand-born British comedy scriptwriter, is best known for the TV series Blackadder and The Vicar of Dibley and the movies Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill. ... Mel Smith Mel Smith is an English actor, film director, writer, producer born in London on December 3, 1952) He attended New College, Oxford. ... Now known as ITV London (Weekends) London Weekend Television logo, 1978-1996 London Weekend Television logo, 1996-2004 London Weekend Television Limited (LWT) is the ITV contractor for London, Friday 5:15pm to Monday, 5:59am. ... // Definition A farce is a comedy written for the stage, or a film, which aims to entertain the audience by means of unlikely and extravagant - yet often possible - situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include puns and sexual innuendo, and a fast... Jeff Goldblum Jeffrey Lynn Jeff Goldblum (born October 22, 1952 in the Pittsburgh suburb of Whitaker, Pennsylvania) is a Jewish-American film actor. ... Emma Thompson (born April 15, 1959 in Paddington, London, England) is an Oscar-winning British actress. ... Rowan Atkinson as Edmund Blackadder. ... Geraldine James is a British actor who lives in London. ...

The title character and narrator is Dexter King (Goldblum), an American actor living and working in London. He is stuck in a career rut as a straight man in a two-man, long-running revue starring (and dominated by) Ron Anderson. Anderson is played by Atkinson, in an egotistic and nasty version of Atkinson's own persona. The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, which contains Big Ben London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... A straight man is a role in a comedy double act where a performer works with a comedian by setting up the situations or feeding the lines that allow their partner to make a joke. ... A revue is a theatrical entertainment based around music with dancing and sketches or skits on contemporary news either at the venue or at the base of the theatre company concerned, such as college or medical school. ... A persona is a social role, or a character played by an actor. ...

Dexter's love life as he approaches his 40th birthday has been mostly a disaster. Chronic allergies prompt him to see a doctor, where he meets and falls quickly in love with Kate (played by Thompson), who works there as a nurse. A nurse is a health care professional who is engaged in the practice of nursing. ...

Soon after meeting Kate, Dexter is fired by Ron. After growing somewhat desperate for employment, Dexter is given what becomes the title role in a new Royal Shakespeare Company musical about Joseph Merrick the Elephant Man, called Elephant! (an over-the-top production featuring a song called “He’s Packing His Trunk” and ending with the lyric "Somewhere in heaven there's an angel with big ears!"). The couple, who are already living together, are happy that the tough times are over. The Royal Shakespeare Company is a British theatre company, one of the most influential in the country. ... The art of singing and dancing in a prepared fictional play has been a time-honored tradition ranging to the early days of civilization. ... Joseph Carey Merrick (August 5, 1862 - April 11, 1890), known as The Elephant Man, gained the sympathy of Victorian Britain because of his extreme deformity. ...

Complications ensue as Dexter fails to resist the advances of a married co-star, Cheryl (Kim Thomson). Kate picks up on subtle clues of the affair, and leaves Dexter without further ado. Kim Thomson is a well-known English actress who has worked since the mid 1980s in television, movies and theatre on both sides of the Atlantic. ...

After seeing a scene in a televised award show that suggests Ron is now dating Kate, Dexter gives up his role in Elephant! to make an impassioned plea to Kate to take him back, and in the end, she does.

Trivia

• Curtis and Atkinson toured in 1980 in a revue featuring Curtis as Atkinson's straight man.
• The most prominent song, Labi Siffre's "It Must Be Love", is performed by Madness.
• The film includes cameo appearances from Melvyn Bragg and Jonathan Ross.

1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Labi Siffre (born June 25, 1945) is a British poet, pop singer, and songwriter. ... Album cover of One Step Beyond Madness were a British ska band of the 1980s. ... Since its first use in 1851, a cameo role or cameo appearance has been a brief appearance in a play (or later, a movie) that stands out against the general context for its éclat or dramatic punch. ... Melvyn Bragg Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg (born 6 October 1939, in Wigton, Cumbria) is a British author, screenwriter and television and radio host and journalist. ... Jonathan Ross OBE (born November 17, 1960, Leytonstone, United Kingdom) is a British television presenter and film critic. ...

See also

A few years later, Curtis wrote two other romantic comedies which were bigger successes: Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill. Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. ... Notting Hill is a 1999 romantic comedy film set in the Notting Hill district of London, England, UK. The screenplay was written by Richard Curtis who had previously written Four Weddings and a Funeral. ...