Review:
I always had a sense that this movie existed, sort of in the same way I know there are other islands in the Pacific Ocean that aren't Hawaii. But with those islands, I still like to lump 'em with Hawaii. In my mind, "Joe Versus the Volcano" has been lumped with Turner and Hooch" (1989) and "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993);pretty much the Tom Hanks movies that bridge his mainly comedic work of the '80s to his more serious roles of the '90s.
And so, what do I think about a unique film like "Joe Versus the Volcano." Well, I'll start by saying it is a pretty unique film, a rare example of early '90s American expressionism. It looks like no other Tom Hanks film I have ever seen, including "Forest Gump" (1994) and "Cast Away" (2000) and its plot is also singularly odd in the Tom Hanks filmography, including "Splash" (1984) and "The Man with One Red Shoe" (1985).
Joe (Tom Hanks) is an Advertising Librarian for a medical supplies company in New York. His office is a hellish place that makes the bathroom setting in "Saw" (2004) look like a spa at club med. It is an office filled with flickering florescent lights and a man who endlessly repeats the same phrases again and again. One day Joe feels sickly and decides to go to the doctor who promptly informs him he has a brain cloud. As to what a brain cloud is exactly, we never find out, but we are informed it will kill Joe within six months.
The next morning a spastic businessman, Samuel Graynamore (played hilariously by Lloyd Bridges) comes knocking at Joe's door. He has a proposition for Joe. There's a little known volcanic island in the pacific that has a special element Graynamore needs to make superconductors. The tribe on the island will allow Graynamore to take as much of the element as he pleases if he can find them a willing participant to jump into the island's volcano to appease the volcano gods. Graynamore believes Joe is his man and Joe, seeing he has nothing to lose, agrees to do it.
The majority of the film follows Joe as he travels to the island. He buys a new wardrobe of clothes, hires limousines and travels luxuriously by air and by sea, all on Graynamore's dime. Along the way Joe meets Graynamore's daughters Angelica and Patricia (both played by Meg Ryan) and learns the value of truly living.
I appreciated some parts of this movie very much. For instance, a scene in which Joe beholds a giant moon at sea and begins to pray is very powerful. But on the whole, "Joe Versus the Volcano" is uneven. If writer-director John Patrick Shanley had presented a more consistent vision I would have liked this film a better. The surrealistic edge to "Joe" is great, but too often it flips over into scenes that look realistic and lack stylization. It makes for a choppy film going experience.
I also wasn't impressed by the romance between Joe and Patricia. It seems to me the sister Angelica was frivolous to the plot and Patricia, who becomes Joe's love interest, could have easily subsumed her role. When Patricia confesses her love to Joe it seems rushed and undeveloped. I didn't buy it.
"Joes Versus the Volcano" is ultimately an oddity and if you're a Tom Hanks fan its worth checking out. But when I consider what this film is versus what it could have been, I wish what it could have been had won.
Rating:
On a scale of one to Casablanca, this film is a "Superman Returns" (2006)
Rationalization:
What it is versus what it could have been says it all. I really wanted "Superman Returns" to be awesome, but let's face it, "Superman Returns" is a disappointment. If you give Lois Lane a husband and a kid, you really can't root for Superman to get the girl in the end without also making him into a super-dick. And no hand to hand face-off with Lex Luthor? That's just a shame. There's one scene where Luthor's goons kick the crap out of Superman and that sets up tension that should have been released by Superman's vengeance. But no. No vengeance. Apparently it didn't get personal for Superman even though it was clearly personal. Some people would say superman is not a vengeful creature, but he is. Remember in the Max Fleischer cartoons how Superman could just pick up a villain and throw him in jail without due process? In my mind, that is real vengeance and real power. But no. In "Superman Returns" he just chose to be boring.
I always had a sense that this movie existed, sort of in the same way I know there are other islands in the Pacific Ocean that aren't Hawaii. But with those islands, I still like to lump 'em with Hawaii. In my mind, "Joe Versus the Volcano" has been lumped with Turner and Hooch" (1989) and "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993);pretty much the Tom Hanks movies that bridge his mainly comedic work of the '80s to his more serious roles of the '90s.
And so, what do I think about a unique film like "Joe Versus the Volcano." Well, I'll start by saying it is a pretty unique film, a rare example of early '90s American expressionism. It looks like no other Tom Hanks film I have ever seen, including "Forest Gump" (1994) and "Cast Away" (2000) and its plot is also singularly odd in the Tom Hanks filmography, including "Splash" (1984) and "The Man with One Red Shoe" (1985).
Joe (Tom Hanks) is an Advertising Librarian for a medical supplies company in New York. His office is a hellish place that makes the bathroom setting in "Saw" (2004) look like a spa at club med. It is an office filled with flickering florescent lights and a man who endlessly repeats the same phrases again and again. One day Joe feels sickly and decides to go to the doctor who promptly informs him he has a brain cloud. As to what a brain cloud is exactly, we never find out, but we are informed it will kill Joe within six months.
The next morning a spastic businessman, Samuel Graynamore (played hilariously by Lloyd Bridges) comes knocking at Joe's door. He has a proposition for Joe. There's a little known volcanic island in the pacific that has a special element Graynamore needs to make superconductors. The tribe on the island will allow Graynamore to take as much of the element as he pleases if he can find them a willing participant to jump into the island's volcano to appease the volcano gods. Graynamore believes Joe is his man and Joe, seeing he has nothing to lose, agrees to do it.
The majority of the film follows Joe as he travels to the island. He buys a new wardrobe of clothes, hires limousines and travels luxuriously by air and by sea, all on Graynamore's dime. Along the way Joe meets Graynamore's daughters Angelica and Patricia (both played by Meg Ryan) and learns the value of truly living.
I appreciated some parts of this movie very much. For instance, a scene in which Joe beholds a giant moon at sea and begins to pray is very powerful. But on the whole, "Joe Versus the Volcano" is uneven. If writer-director John Patrick Shanley had presented a more consistent vision I would have liked this film a better. The surrealistic edge to "Joe" is great, but too often it flips over into scenes that look realistic and lack stylization. It makes for a choppy film going experience.
I also wasn't impressed by the romance between Joe and Patricia. It seems to me the sister Angelica was frivolous to the plot and Patricia, who becomes Joe's love interest, could have easily subsumed her role. When Patricia confesses her love to Joe it seems rushed and undeveloped. I didn't buy it.
"Joes Versus the Volcano" is ultimately an oddity and if you're a Tom Hanks fan its worth checking out. But when I consider what this film is versus what it could have been, I wish what it could have been had won.
Rating:
On a scale of one to Casablanca, this film is a "Superman Returns" (2006)
Rationalization:
What it is versus what it could have been says it all. I really wanted "Superman Returns" to be awesome, but let's face it, "Superman Returns" is a disappointment. If you give Lois Lane a husband and a kid, you really can't root for Superman to get the girl in the end without also making him into a super-dick. And no hand to hand face-off with Lex Luthor? That's just a shame. There's one scene where Luthor's goons kick the crap out of Superman and that sets up tension that should have been released by Superman's vengeance. But no. No vengeance. Apparently it didn't get personal for Superman even though it was clearly personal. Some people would say superman is not a vengeful creature, but he is. Remember in the Max Fleischer cartoons how Superman could just pick up a villain and throw him in jail without due process? In my mind, that is real vengeance and real power. But no. In "Superman Returns" he just chose to be boring.