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Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

post #1 of 23
10/30/08 at 2:01pm
Thread Starter 
I love, love, love this movie.

There are so many ways to explain away why it was so unsuccessful upon release, whether it was an unusual (at the time) lack of cheer in Hanks' role (he'd done a couple of dramatic parts before, but this in many ways was his CABLE GUY), or the garishness of the storybook elements, but I think it's sort of fascinatingly uncommercial.

Hanks is great as always, but especially good in that long middle sequence when he's adrift on the ocean, essentially by himself. Cast Away jokes aside, he's so good at staying compelling without playing off another actor.

I do think the movie struggles a bit tonally when it comes time to actually introduce the Waponi Woo, particularly with Shanley casting Abe Vigoda as the chief. It's a cheap comedic choice that I think scuttles any whimsy Shanley was trying for. Although the payoff to the "losing my sole" bit from earlier in the film is wonderful.

But in the grand scheme that's a nit to pick. It's a wonderful mix of optimism and melancholy, with brilliant art direction, a great lead performance by Hanks, and a classic, wistful score by Delerue.
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post #2 of 23
10/30/08 at 2:06pm
The whole bit about the luggage is great.

I always felt that 'Office Space' really ripped off the whole opening sequence of this film.
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post #3 of 23
10/30/08 at 2:12pm
Saw it for the first time this year. Love. The opening does feel like a precursor to not only Office Space, but American Beauty and Fight Club.

The middle and later sections are even better, though. Meg Ryan's ridiculous accent in the city cracks me up.
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post #4 of 23
10/30/08 at 2:51pm
If they hadn't made the Waponi Woo so damn ridiculous, I'd consider this an all-time classic. As it stands, I consider it a classic by my standards, but not something that i think everyone would want to take seriously.

It's also a fantastically quotable movie.

Oh, and Marooned Without You is one my my favorite songs from a score, ever.
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post #5 of 23
10/30/08 at 3:21pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by The LD View Post
If they hadn't made the Waponi Woo so damn ridiculous, I'd consider this an all-time classic.
Maybe in the end that's what sunk any mainstream appeal, particularly with the way the other stylish elements in the movie (Joe's workplace is great) are realized.
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post #6 of 23
10/30/08 at 9:04pm
I like the Waponi. They're meant to be the opposite of his office life in every way. The structured, static, dreary, humourless office is countered by the very loose, very lively and very funny Waponis. Yeah, maybe Shanley takes it a little far with the gong bit but I think until that point he nails it perfectly. The song while they are cleaning Joe and Patricia is about as perfectly meshed as a scene and song get.
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post #7 of 23
10/30/08 at 9:07pm
My friends and I still say "I'm not arguing that with you!" constantly because of this movie. When watching Castaway years later, I was waiting for Nathan Lane and Abe Vigoda to show up. Still think it would be a great idea. At least have the volleyball ask if he was Joe.
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post #8 of 23
10/30/08 at 9:25pm
I am just wondering why nobody's mentioned Meg Ryan yet.
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post #9 of 23
10/30/08 at 11:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by felix natalya View Post
I am just wondering why nobody's mentioned Meg Ryan yet.
Her reading of Angelica's poem makes up for a lot of her career after this movie. I think she's wonderful in all three performances and always hoped we'd see more of her acting ability after this. Guess not.

JB mentions the sets in the OP for good reason. Bo Welch did a great job with the fairytale look of the piece but he also did a great job with repetition of motifs. The bolt is the obvious one but the ducks, the dogs and the ships are all recurring throughout as well.

(BTW, in case you haven't guessed, it's likely my favourite movie ever)
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post #10 of 23
10/31/08 at 10:26am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan S~ View Post
JB mentions the sets in the OP for good reason. Bo Welch did a great job with the fairytale look of the piece but he also did a great job with repetition of motifs. The bolt is the obvious one but the ducks, the dogs and the ships are all recurring throughout as well.
Don't volcanoes appear as well?
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post #11 of 23
10/31/08 at 11:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonathan Banks is my hero View Post
Don't volcanoes appear as well?
On the lamp and outside the restaurant, yeah.
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post #12 of 23
10/31/08 at 8:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonathan Banks is my hero View Post
Hanks is great as always, but especially good in that long middle sequence when he's adrift on the ocean, essentially by himself. Cast Away jokes aside, he's so good at staying compelling without playing off another actor.
There'd been hints of it prior to this movie, but that sequence was the first time I thought "Man, Hanks can fuckin' act." Joe saying "Thank you...thank you for my life" is beautiful.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonathan Banks is my hero View Post
...a classic, wistful score by Delerue.
For some unknown reason, the way his music swells up when Joe throws his 'Jungle Jim' hat away as the boat leaves the dock gets me misty-eyed every time. And don't even get me started on Joe emerging from the doctor's office after getting the 'brain cloud' news, patting and then embracing the Great Dane and its owner as Ray Charles's 'Old Man River' plays on the soundtrack.

Meg Ryan gets a lifetime pass from me for his three performances here - Angelica Graynamore is a magnificent creation. But Dan Hedaya is unforgettable (he's not arguing that with you!), and Barry McGovern nails his one scene as the luggage salesman: "May you live to be a thousand years old, sir."

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonathan Banks is my hero View Post
I love, love, love this movie.
Ain't just you, man.
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post #13 of 23
10/31/08 at 11:53pm
If I remember one thing from the film, it's that scene. I saw it in a drive-in, and for some reason, that particular visual of the moonrise stuck with me all these years.

I saw it again last year, and LOVED it. Very goofy and very charming, and a giant thanks from one JB to another for passing along the good work of Mr. Delerue.
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post #14 of 23
11/1/08 at 7:30pm
Another great thing about this movie: it's rated PG.
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post #15 of 23
11/2/08 at 12:13am
The Joe quits scene. Possibly my favourite scene in the whole movie.

And a very nice tribute to the score.
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post #16 of 23
11/2/08 at 6:22pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan S~ View Post
The Joe quits scene. Possibly my favourite scene in the whole movie.
It would be really interesting to see how that scene plays with the music Delerue wrote for it, which is gorgeous and moving (one of my favorite cues of his, really), but with a slightly different feel than "Old Man River." If you listen to this suite you'll hear the cue (called "Brain Cloud") starting at the 2:56 minute mark.
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post #17 of 23
11/2/08 at 7:35pm
His quote about how he can taste/small Meg Ryan in that scene blow me away. They're simple sentiments, bordering on cliche, but Hank's delivery just sells the hell out of it.
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post #18 of 23
11/2/08 at 9:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by The LD View Post
His quote about how he can taste/small Meg Ryan in that scene blow me away. They're simple sentiments, bordering on cliche, but Hank's delivery just sells the hell out of it.
Agreed. I love the way he delivers "...like honey on my tongue." Cliche to real emotion in one little twist of the tongue.
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post #19 of 23
11/8/08 at 2:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Barg View Post
If I remember one thing from the film, it's that scene. I saw it in a drive-in, and for some reason, that particular visual of the moonrise stuck with me all these years.

I saw it again last year, and LOVED it. Very goofy and very charming, and a giant thanks from one JB to another for passing along the good work of Mr. Delerue.
I remember that scene, because I saw it at Big Newport, which has a cinemascope screen, and I think they film it in 70 MM

PS I think I have a Brain Cloud
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post #20 of 23
11/21/08 at 6:23pm
Love this film as well. I saw it twice in the theater when it first came out.

Quote:
"Would you like to hear one of my poems?"
"Sure."
"Long ago, the delicate tangles of his hair, covered the emptiness of my hand... Would you like to hear it again?"
"Ok."
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post #21 of 23
2/8/11 at 12:49pm

Revisited this one last night for the first time in 20 years (and long after having becoming an adult with my own regrets). It's lovely. Hits all the tones it's going for. Existential, silly, romantic, etc. Feels a little like a long-lost Coens flick they never made.

 

Would make a great entry in a "man discovers self fable" triple feature with THE HUDSUCKER PROXY and THE TRUMAN SHOW (or THE MAJESTIC or STRANGER THAN FICTION or PLEASANTVILLE if you prefer).

 

More comedies need this attention to detail, directorial flourish, and range.

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post #22 of 23
2/8/11 at 6:56pm

I saw this on VHS a long time ago.  I don't think I got just how kooky the movie was back then.  I certainly appreciate it now. 

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post #23 of 23
2/8/11 at 7:50pm

Just wanted to echo the love for this gem. For me, it slightly surpasses Groundhog Day for the title of Best High Concept Comedy With A Surprisingly Spiritual Message. Also, it turned me on to John Patrick Shanley. When his play Doubt won the Pulitzer in 2005, I remember mentioning that to all my friends who don't "get" Joe vs. The Volcano as validation of my love for the movie. Didn't actually prove a thing, but fuck it.

 

As for triple features, I'd go with this, Groundhog Day and Fearless.

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