He pours their remaining supply of clean water into her mouth, denying himself any so as to extend it. Trivia Shanley and Hanks land it deftly, which is no small feat. So, refusing to swallow Waturi's line that Life is supposed to be rotten, Joe looks for the end of his crooked road, only to find his true nature and happiness. Most Shaggy Dogs end up evading their own premises, or just ending with their issues 'meaningfully' unresolved, as in The Birds. New York as seen from the Staten Island Ferry is a fantasy wall of colored lights, and the glowing sunsets from the deck of the sailboat are equally artificial. No. If we're going to go there, let's just go there. There's this idea that we can earn our way out of the unpleasant, and that simply isn't true. Joe's boss, Mr. Waturi (Dan Hedaya), drones into the phone repeating the same two phrases. 2. Absolutely. The doctor says Joe is making up his other illnesses and in the same breath acknowledges that mental stresses can manifest in the body. Joe is a lost soul who fancies himself a helpless victim until he's liberated by a fatal diagnosis. This third reading merits Joe Versus the Volcano's inclusion in this week's Remote Rewind, which is focused on comedies about jobs during a time when our relationship to work is changing. Stop denying Death, and go out and live as if you aren't going to be around forever. Perhaps 1990 audiences thought it all irrelevant for a Tom Hanks movie, and expected him to solve his problems by kissing a mermaid or running down a hall in his underwear. They both banish Graynamore and Hindmick to the boat's dinghy in the middle of the ocean. Joe Versus the Volcano is a 1990 American romantic comedy film written and directed by John Patrick Shanley and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Joe, having stared into the mouth of a volcano, calmly swipes the gun from Hindmick, then announces to Graynamore that he and Patricia had gotten married by the Chief. With the logic of a fairy tale, it moves to other styles, staying off-balance all the while. Indeed, it's actually satisfying to pass through the off-kilter lens through which Shanley frames Joe Banks's story. He speaks to the moon, or to a higher power, or to something beyond the confines of his existence. Shanley smiles and answers the final question, 'Who Wins, Joe or the Volcano? Hanks plays a man who, after being told he is dying of a rare disease, accepts a financial offer to travel to a South Pacific island and throw himself into a volcano on behalf of the superstitious natives. Return, 2. You see, Joe is sick. Now, seeing that alternate ending would have been a thrill. The opening, with the giant doors of the American Panascope Company ("Home of the Rectal Probe") opening to admit a legion of workaday zombies, evokes Metropolis. Joe agrees, but on the boat ride to the island, Joe meets Patricia (Meg Ryan, who also plays Joe's two other almost-love interests in the movie), the mystery man's daughter and captain of the ship. Is this what the public (my houseplants) wants? It was depressing to see John Cleese as the new Q in The World is Not Enough, doing silly-ass nothing comedy business that would be too broad for Casino Royale. Angelica's half-sister Patricia fits the bill - she's a rebel, and her only frustration is her uneasy relationship with her father - she hasn't sold out like Angelica, but she's acutely aware that along every handout comes with strings attached. Thank you for my life." The colors are much sharper on the DVD, with the sickly greens of the flourescents that 'suck out your soul' at American Panascope, pulsing like electricity. From its cheapo font main titles, Joe versus the Volcano is visually deceiving. Perhaps Tom Hanks in 1990 didn't send the right signals to get viewers ready to see something with this kind of 'heavy whimsy'. Abe Vigoda is the native chief who seems to realize that he's an expendable plot mechanism. Too bad Barry Mcgovern is American - he'd be a terrific Q. If ever there were a time for the insertion of the absurd (or for putting on a wig and playing a Meg Ryan character), it's now. Go figure. The chip on Patricia's shoulder is different - she gives Joe a hard time, unconsciously testing to see if he's going to be another passive Pod, or will fight back. I guess it was the last straw, an artificial stylistic jump they didn't want to make. Patricia is unconscious and injured and Joe cares for her, shading her with an umbrella while he suffers the harsh effects of the sun and sea air. Eventually, his body gives out and he comes face-to-face with the unknown. But even as an entire society is wiped out before his eyes, and not grieved one bit (who mourns people without souls? Hindmick pulls a gun on Joe to protect Graynamore from Joe's anger, and to allow Graynamore to keep the yacht. The absurd is a regularity here and so we accept it. Both were perceived as dismal flops, but Joe versus the Volcano has accumulated an impressive cult (sorry, no other word applies) following. LA, by contrast, is reduced to an airport, Palos Verdes ("It looks fake! 1. One need only peruse some corners of Twitter (or call a relative who puts too much faith in one particular cable channel) to find people who are more than willing to tell you what you're feeling isn't real, what you're experiencing is being blown out of proportion, and what you think is abnormal is actually normal. If the rest of this piece gets a bit enthusiastic, let's just say this is one of Savant's favorite films. The movie was re-shot to change the ending, which was unpopular with test audiences. Joe dances to music from a transistor radio while adrift on the ocean, and the screen is just an expanse of sky with this goofy, ukelele-playing guy doing The Swim for his own amusement. Carol Kane has a one-shot smile as a hairdresser, and Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction) purrs nicely as the first mate on the sailboat. And Joe versus the Volcano is extremely worthy of analysis. Their fear is the giant volcano Wu, which instead of being a given (it either kills you or it don't), has become a cultural Moloch that determines their every move. But could a film that speaks the fantastic so fluently end in any other way than by having Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan shot out of a volcano like Gonzo flying out of a canon? The haunted-house feeling of walking through an apartment building and hearing dozens of conference calls occurring behind closed doors. The new danger of hugs. Goofs The show starts in this expressionistic mode, with Joe's coworkers reduced to soulless Pods in a greenish half-world of bad flourescent lighting. To Savant it's perfect. Hugs. But she's a player and a fighter, and she's just what Joe needs. My favorite bit of all is Barry McGovern's marvellously intense luggage salesman, who outfits Joe like Argos getting Jason ready to go forth and conquer. In 'Sleepless in Seattle,' Nostalgia Is Progress, This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. America's sweetheart was booked and busy.). I am an altruistic flibbertigibbet and you're welcome. As a gambit, it's vaguely similar to The Wicker Man. There are moments when it seems so strange it can't possibly be real; there are other moments when it's business as usual because it must be. Each woman Joe meets on his journey is a dead ringer for the last, but all have serious problems. The implication is that Graynamore hasn't lost his soul, he's sold it. Here's a wonderful comedy that needs to be re-evaluated by as many people who can muster the imagination to give it another try, as it's the romantic equal of I Know Where I'm Going, and goes neck and neck with Groundhog Day in the Useful Philosophy department. During the dangerous voyage, the two fall in love, and Joe must decide whether or not to dive into the volcano, or to take a chance on life and love and believe that maybe the "brain fog" isn't real. Mr. I find the philosophy in Joe versus the Volcano really useful ... for seeing the truth of things, not necessarily doing the right thing. This is how we will stay strong through this crisis. It's not just the usual pap but has a number of compelling essays analyzing the film. as the key to personal advancement in a cosmic system of reincarnation. The romantic center is Meg Ryan, in three roles. For some mysterious reason, it was critically trounced and rejected by audiences back in 1990 - Savant's even read a 'hip' treatise on the movie industry for that year where the author made it an example of idiotic and worthless moviemaking. A deadpan, "I'll be going now", is his perfunctory exit line. Joe versus the Volcano is about taking responsibility for one's own life, which means having courage - courage not to be cool, courage not to be affluent. "I'm not sick except for this terminal disease?" Joe Versus the Volcano constructs a world in which everything makes sense because nothing makes sense. Cristina Cuomo Is Immune to Your Criticism, Apple AirPods Are The Cheapest They've Ever Been. Return, 3. DeDe and Angelica fascinate Joe, but neither is the girl for him. The moon rises before him, huge and majestic over the water, and Joe is awed. ', with a meaningless laugh that indicates total editorial desperation. Other interpretations abound. Angelica, the Los Angeles Mercedes-Benz welfare case, has become the bought dog of her father, and has lost all self-respect. In one magical moment a woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty, totally blue, steps into a shot. That's about right, the doctor replies. Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. ". Connections One of the greatest delights of the resolutely strange Joe Versus the Volcano is that it never makes any attempt to explain why Ryan keeps showing up in different wigs with different names. (Or, more specifically, jumps the lava.) Shanley sets up brilliantly composed scene shots that express just the right mood, and moves on. Joe Versus the Volcano constructs a world in which everything makes sense because nothing makes sense. Part of it is sinister and intentional but part of it, I think, is just a by-product (or perhaps the product) of an American experience of capitalism that says if things aren't going well for you or you don't feel great, it's because you didn't work hard enough. Wa-waturi!". There's also the dignified goodwill of Marshall (Ossie Davis), a chauffeur who doubles as a mentor-motivator, helping to prepare Joe for his odyssey, so to speak. | (She also provides the voice of an unseen flight attendant. The 'behind the scenes documentary' turns out to be a woebegone featurette from 1990, where the actors pay lip service to the 'existential' nature of the film, and then basically give up.