Review of Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) by Shyam K — 14 Oct 2014

I never would have expected this. I'm fairly confident I watched at least parts of Joe Versus the Volcano decades ago and hated it. Naturally I expected to have a similar experience as an adult, but lo and behold I found it to be a really good film. Perhaps I was too young to understand the humor and to connect to the drudgery of Joe's job. This time it was like a breath of fresh air. I totally connected to the frustrations Joe had at his job, and how he felt like he was losing his soul in the daily grind. Those opening scenes in the office with the amazing Dan Hedaya were easily the best part of the movie. This is even more impacting when we find out later that Joe once had a more noble job as a fireman, and his life had declined to this mundane work. So from this exaggerated symbol of hell on earth the fairy tale really begins when Joe gets the sad news that he will die. Another great performance from Robert Stack adds an "Airplane" style of humor to this scene as he delivers comical lines with the most serious tone you can imagine. And speaking of Airplane, how great is Lloyd Bridges?! His single scene in this movie is absolutely perfect, and made me laugh out loud repeatedly.

One of the more interesting choices in the movie is the fact that Meg Ryan plays almost all the women Joe meets. Meg Ryan shows some serious range, not just with accents, but with her entire posture and personality in the 3 roles. I will say that the movie does slow down a bit when they reach the island. There are some scenes in there that don't match the same kind of comedic, fairy tale tone used in the rest of the movie. But I'm willing to forgive those. Seeing Joe Versus the Volcano now made me wonder what exactly caused this movie to be such a colossal flop back in 1990. Was it an expectation of a more traditional romantic comedy? Do people just fail to connect to the style of humor that John Patrick Shanley used? Was the world just not ready for this movie? All I know is that I certainly was not ready for it as a teenager in 1990, but now as an adult I found it to be a delightfully entertaining film. If you remember hating this movie 24 years ago perhaps it's time for you to give it one more chance as well.

Finally, I'll throw out one quick spoiler-laden theory that kept popping into my head. If this movie wasn't already set up as a fairy tale, I would wonder if the whole thing was taking place as a fantasy in Joe's mind. First of all, he clearly has a big crush on DeDe in the office scenes, and so it would make sense that in a daydream all the women he is attracted to would have her face. Likewise, the climax on the island is shown in full detail on the lamp he wants to put on his desk, which could start to form the story in his mind. Even the books he's reading (The Odyssey, Robinson Crusoe, and Romeo & Juliet) contain a general synopsis of what happens to him in the movie. The fact that John Patrick Shanley put in all these little details is excellent and adds some depth to Joe Versus the Volcano that you'd never expect.