Underappreciated: Joe Versus the Volcano

Underappreciated

Typically, films are made for an audience wide enough to make a large profit. Sometimes, a substantial amount of money, climbing into the hundreds of millions, is spent to make an even more substantial amount of money, targeting blockbuster status. There are underappreciated films to which this applies, but this post is not about any of them. To me, the simplest determining measure if a film is underappreciated is that it deserved better than the audience response and/or a critical response it received. It might be a low box office, or it might be harsh reviews, or it might be both. Here is the first of three films (all of which are part of my fairly extensive personal Blu-ray collection), that in my opinion, are underappreciated.

Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) | Romantic Comedy

Particularly in the '80s and '90s, action films got a reputation for being all the same and too formulaic, which is true for many of them. That is also my general opinion of rom-coms. That is not say I dislike them all. There are some that follow the formula in atypical ways such that I do not think of them purely as romantic comedies. Examples include When Harry Met Sally..., Clueless, The Wedding Singer, Blast from the Past, 50 First Dates, and Blended. Each of these have a method of storytelling, an idiosyncrasy, and/or style of comedy such that the amorous portion of the plot feels less repetitious from others in the genre. Joe Versus the Volcano is certainly a contender for my favorite of all time.

Produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and written by playwright and Oscar-winning screenwriter (for Moonstruck) John Patrick Shanley, this film is also Shanley's directorial debut. With Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail to follow, Joe Versus the Volcano is the first of the three pairings of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, the latter in a triple role. The cast also includes Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Abe Vigoda and Dan Hedaya. Shanley also contributed a couple of songs to the film's soundtrack. The plot is: Tom Hanks' titular Joe is a hypochondriac who is told by a doctor that he has an incurable "brain cloud," will inevitably die in five to six months, and is advised to live life to the fullest. He is soon approached at his home by a wealthy businessman who offers to pay any expense for him to do so, "hiring" him to jump into an island volcano within twenty days. The island's indigenous tribe will allow the businessman access to a rare mineral as long as their fire god is appeased by the ritualistic sacrifice. The adventure ensues.

Honestly, it is difficult to explain in a general sense why I enjoy this movie so much, but it definitely does not waste a moment. Its first onscreen text is, "Once upon a time there was a guy named Joe" and the next screen completes the phrase, "who had a very lousy job..." The first notes of Eric Burdon's excellent cover of "Sixteen Tons" begin soon after with the first scene. This is all within the first minute of runtime of Joe Versus the Volcano. As Joe walks from the parking lot among others to his very lousy job, we are soon introduced to a lightning motif that makes several appearances throughout. This sets the tone for a film that is full of quirk. A few other specific positives are the wide range Ryan displays in her three roles, each a potential love interest for Joe, Hanks is in top comedic form as necessary, and Hanks' vocal and ukulele performance of "The Cowboy Song". This is one of the two songs Shanley wrote for the film, so expertly written in the style of the '40s and '50s singing cowboys, I was surprised to find it actually is not. Everything gels to create an offbeat comedy, one which I have never came across another film to compare.

Admittedly, Joe Versus the Volcano is quite possibly a film that nearly does not fit the description of underappreciated. Yes, at release, it was only a minor success at the box office and received mixed reviews. However, it has since become a cult classic, and yet the fact remains, it deserved better.  

Next week...another underappreciated film, Equilibrium!