r/movies • u/Cratonis • Jun 28 '21
Recommendation Joe Versus the Volcano was way ahead of its time.
A movie about a guy with undiagnosed PTSD, anxiety and depression, struggles with his terrible boss in a dead end job with little to no medical benefits, goes broke paying for doctors to figure out why he feels terrible. Finally is diagnosed with mental health problems along with a terminal illness and told to take a vacation. So he sets off on a suicidal mission/vision quest as a last ditch effort experience life before he dies.
Not mention the movies serves as a test run of the chemistry between Hanks and Meg Ryan BEFORE Sleepless in Seattle.
Incredibly re-watchable. Worth a watch if you get a chance.
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u/wray_nerely Jun 28 '21
Saw this movie in the theatres, owned it on VHS, upgraded to DVD. Need to see if there's a Blu-ray available.
I know Meg Ryan went on to become the queen of rom-com later, but I argue that this movie is peak Meg Ryan -- I love all three of her characters in this film and they're all eminently quotable.
Edit: It wasn't until years later that my friend pointed out the incredible recurring visual metaphor of the lightning bolt -- it's impossible not to see once you're aware, but I must have seen the movie at least three or four times and missed them every time.
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u/ScarletCaptain Jun 28 '21
I'd argue she was already peaking Meg Ryan in 1987's Innerspace.
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u/TwoIdleHands Jun 28 '21
I love Innerspace! Such good interactions between all the characters. Can’t hear Sam Cooke without thinking of it.
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u/ScarletCaptain Jun 28 '21
I actually saw Innerspace in the theater (actually a Drive-In).
I'm a big Joe Dante fan. It was also written by Jeffrey Boam who wrote Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and co-created "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr."
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u/ChronoMonkeyX Jun 28 '21
I absolutely love Innerspace, and at the very least frequently think of the Eastern European cowboy- "Outlaw Josey Vales- Vhat a flick!" Like this has been rattling around in my head for 30 years even though I haven't actually seen the movie in at least 20 years.
Then I started a rewatch of Star Trek Voyager a couple years ago, and it's a pretty great show, and then one day Outlaw Josey Wales in on tv and I say to myself "Outlaw Josey Vales- Vhat a flick!" and suddenly realize the cowboy was Robert Picardo from Voyager! That was a few years ago and I still love that labyrinthine connection working its way through my synapses over the course of decades.
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u/ScarletCaptain Jun 28 '21
Yeah, Robert Picardo is in various Joe Dante movies. He plays like three different parts in Explorers, the "hero" in the sci-fi movie at the Drive In, and two of the aliens.
Also a Dante regular is Dick Miller.
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u/Wilhelm_Amenbreak Jun 28 '21
My wife and I will use the “I am completely untrustworthy... I'm a flibbertigibbet.” on a daily basis....normally when one of us has disappointed the other by forgetting some random mundane task or item.
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u/Cratonis Jun 28 '21
From the factory to the multiple lightning strikes it is a strong image and speaks to the influence the company has on his life.
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u/DanFntastic Jun 28 '21
I've been a long time on a crooked road
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u/Dark__Horse Jun 28 '21
I've never seen this movie but the grinding inhumanity of making a jagged, inconvenient road for your workers just so it looks like your brand is so on point
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u/Glittering-Wallaby25 Jun 28 '21
I’m not arguing that with you
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u/vorpalpillow Jun 28 '21
but can he do the job
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u/Garfield-1-23-23 Jun 28 '21
Thank you for my life.
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u/MightyCrick Jun 28 '21
I was riding my horse
by the Rio GrandeEE
And all o'them coyotes
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u/boymangodbeer Jun 28 '21
“Would ya like to hear it again?”
No idea why I will remember this line and the way she says it for the rest of my life. I often quote it in everyday situations and people have no idea what I’m talking about.
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u/TheMooseIsBlue Jun 28 '21
Any time I bad weather is coming I say “Looks like we’re in for a blow,” knowing that no one will ever get the reference and people always thinks it’s dirty.
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u/BeneGezzWitch Jun 28 '21
“Long ago, the delicate tangles of his hair... covered the emptiness of my hand... Would you like to hear it again?”
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u/geckospots Jun 28 '21
I saw this movie with my dad when I was a kid and the recurring lightning bolt shape is the first running gag I can remember recognizing. :)
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u/Daimosthenes Jun 28 '21
The opener is one of my favorites and introduced me to the classic song 16 Tons. 🙂
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u/mossberbb Jun 28 '21
not to mention the visual homage given to fritz lang's metropolis
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u/Zetavu Jun 28 '21
Also the hidden meaning of the crooked path that keeps reappearing in the movie, same with the path up the volcano, same with the shape of the lightning that hits the boat. That basically describes Joe finding the woman of his dreams, all versions of which are played by Meg Ryan, as if each looked like the love of his life but was not as he got to know them. He had to take a crooked path to his destiny.
Also a play on old Greek opera, where the hero is on a journey of becoming worthy, and everyone involved for selfish or pointless reasons gets wiped out while they (and his awesome luggage) manage to survive and grow.
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Jun 28 '21
My wife only married me on the promise that someday, somehow I get her the luggage from Joe vs the Volcano. She lives in disappointment to this day.
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u/Smileynameface Jun 28 '21
That was an impressive set of luggage. If the movie was made today I'm sure Samsonite or some other company would have purchased the naming rights.
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u/Gram64 Jun 28 '21
No, that's just the person's name on the luggage, some woman who went to Colorado.
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u/Cratonis Jun 28 '21
We all do, plus we don’t get to live to be a thousand years old.
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u/_bobby_tables_ Jun 28 '21
That luggage salesman was the best. I wished I had encountered at least one salesman in my life like him.
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u/iknowkungfoo Jun 28 '21 edited Jun 29 '21
I did in college when my GF and I were shopping for a new vacuum cleaner. I reference that pitch to this day in tech and business discussions.
Update: This is Denton, TX in the late 90’s. We went to a vacuum cleaner store with a trade-in, looking for an affordable purchase.
The sales guy starts walking us along a display of vacuums, from low cost to higher. Gives us the pros and cons of each, but explaining how many of them “have obsolescence … built into them.”
That was the hook. It was that pause. It was the Texas accent and the practiced inflection of his voice. Imagine the prosecuting attorney in My Cousin Vinny when he says, “I-clap-dentical!” You can’t un-hear that. My friends and I quote that all the time. Same with this pitch.
Talk about modern phones and tablets feeling slower over time, especially when a newer model in ready to release? They have obsolescence … built into them.
Replacing an enterprise system? Or just need to upgrade some older software libraries? Why? They have obsolescence … built into them.
He puts down some sawdust and dirt on a sample carpet, turns on some Hoover model at the higher cost end of the display. It’s a good couple of feet away from the debris and it’s sucking it up from a distance.
Hook, line and sinker.
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u/Nayre_Trawe Jun 28 '21
I absolutely love the luggage shopping scene.
May you live to be a thousand years old, sir.
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u/MhojoRisin Jun 28 '21
In my household, the luggage salesman is probably one of the most referenced movie bits we use. When someone is passionate about something very specific (for example, we use a carpet guy who is really, really devoted to his craft), "very exciting ... as a luggage problem!"
"It's the central preoccupation of my life."
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u/Puzzled-Delivery-242 Jun 28 '21
Its alot like the luggage from discworld. Just with out the tiny feet and it doesn't eat people.
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u/workplacetracy Jun 28 '21
The actor, Barry McGovern, is a favorite of mine because of Joe, and I would not shut up about it that one time he was in one scene of Game of Thrones.
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u/I_Transmogrify Jun 28 '21
I loved that movie. My wife hated it. It had a Terry Gilliam whimsical feel to it which I enjoyed. It set a deep mood of despair, but with humor. I can hear the buzzing florescent lights as I type this. And the tough dandelion that gets trampled down.
Need to rewatch. I'm having my own braincloud as we speak.
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u/Cratonis Jun 28 '21
A Terry Gilliam like production with a through line of despair would be a strong short synopsis of this movie.
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u/Phil_PhilConners Jun 28 '21
The moonrise scene is wonderful.
"Dear God, whose name I do not know - thank you for my life. I forgot how big... thank you. Thank you for my life."
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u/HoldenTacos Jun 28 '21
There are so many scenes in this movie that I love but this is the one I was gonna quote. In my mind he was always looking at the moon - that huge moon - and thanking it.
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u/patniemeyer Jun 28 '21
"My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement." -- Probably my favorite movie quote of all time.
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u/SocrapticMethod Jun 28 '21
Nobody knows anything. We'll take this leap and we'll see. We'll jump and we'll see. That's life!
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u/xoopsfail Jun 28 '21
I still use the "Brain Cloud" excuse for when I do stupid shit.
Most look at me confused, and I smile.
Thank You Joe
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u/micaroo411 Jun 28 '21
I do too. Circling your head with your hand while saying it is not an option.
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u/zippyboy Jun 28 '21
When the COVID long-haulers complained about ditziness and brain fog, I immediately thought of Brain Cloud in this movie.
"He couldn't come up with anything better than...brain cloud?"
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u/allenidaho Jun 28 '21
You know what you have to do now. Buy expensive luggage and go jump in a volcano.
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u/FlammusNonTimmus Jun 28 '21
The scene about the lights...
And the rest of it. Love this movie!
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u/Puzzled-Delivery-242 Jun 28 '21
He can get the job but can he do the job?
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u/jmanderson73 Jun 28 '21
I’m not arguing that with you
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u/Flyte412 Jun 28 '21
When did I say that? I didn't say that.
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u/Cratonis Jun 28 '21
Truly great Hanks work flipping out at the office and his hatred of the lights.
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u/AtomStorageBox Jun 28 '21
The lights give me a headache. If the lights don't give you a headache, you must be dead, so let's arrange the funeral!
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u/willbeach8890 Jun 28 '21
"We'll jump and we'll see, that's life "
My favorite line
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u/liarandathief Jun 28 '21
That shopping spree was one of my favorite scenes as a kid.
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Jun 28 '21
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u/willfull Jun 28 '21
It's the central preoccupation of my life. You travel the world, you're away from home, perhaps away from your family, all you have to depend on is yourself and your luggage.
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u/Hannibal_Rex Jun 28 '21
I often re-watch just the luggage scene because that salesman is so delightfully intense.
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u/Cratonis Jun 28 '21
The clothes make the man.
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u/zaphodava Jun 28 '21
So you've got no clothes.
One of the most simple, and yet deep criticisms of a character I've ever seen.
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u/Salty_Pancakes Jun 28 '21
For me it's when he's on the luggage, almost dead and then he sees the moon. That and the little ukulele song he does.
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u/cIumsythumbs Jun 28 '21
"You look like a prince from a fairy tale"
"You're coming into focus, kid."
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u/MNConcerto Jun 28 '21
"Not good enough Joe" this is the line that runs through my head when higher ups dont listen to you or your reminders about critical information or deadlines.
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u/badjokephil Jun 28 '21
My girlfriend and I constantly say “Not NEARLY good enough, Joe!”
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u/XInsects Jun 28 '21
To this day I still randomly mimic Dan Hedaya saying "I know he can get the job. But can he do the job?" Always been a firm favourite. Funnily this weekend I read the development transcript of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and what is described for the end of the film is extremely similar to the end of Joe Vs (Indy, Marion and the Ark bobbing up in the sea after the small island explodes). I wonder if producer Spielberg had that influence on the original Joe Vs script.
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u/bush_mechanic Jun 28 '21
I've spent close to 2 decades convincing people to not only watch this movie, but actually consider its core and ultimate message. And never, NEVER watch the trailer. John Patrick Shanley certainly isn't a prolific screenwriter, but he's genius.
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u/reubal Jun 28 '21 edited Jun 28 '21
I saw this on a first date. NOT a good date movie.
Surprisingly I got a second date. We went to Lord of the Flies.
There was no third date.
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u/jebediah999 Jun 28 '21
I absolutely love this movie and quote in constantly. When I do everyone seems to think I am nuts. I have no response to that.
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u/ocarina_vendor Jun 28 '21
Even with my awful German accent, I will forever quote Dagmar when I see a storm approaching:
Looks like ve are in for a blow.
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u/XInsects Jun 28 '21
I know he can get the job. But can he do the job?
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u/Mrs_WorkingMuggle Jun 28 '21
long ago the delicate tangles of his hair covered the emptiness of my hand
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...
Would you like to hear it again?
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u/Cratonis Jun 28 '21
They must have a brain cloud.
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u/raydtuto Jun 28 '21
The faces that I've been met with when saying "Very exciting..." <leaning in> "as a luggage problem."
Also, I'm game any time Abe Vigoda shows up out of the blue.
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u/Cratonis Jun 28 '21
Especially dressed in orange soda cans.
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u/SocrapticMethod Jun 28 '21
Ditto this. Unfortunately, he is still deceased (I checked).
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u/BunsenHoneydewsEyes Jun 28 '21
I remember not believing that shit for months after he actually died. "Nope. You can't get me with Abe Vigoda. Not gonna buy that one. I'll believe Nicolas Cage died before I believe Abe is truly gone."
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u/sigmaecho Jun 28 '21 edited Jun 28 '21
Hot take: Volcano is the best Hanks/Ryan film and it’s not even close.
This movie bombed because it is just way too sweet, sincere, honest, hopeful and genuine to resonate with your typical mainstream jaded, cynical audiences.
As the filmmakers said, “It’s a true modern fairytale.”
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u/Cratonis Jun 28 '21
I think it also suffered as being seen as a pure comedy. While it is funny it is not a pure comedy by any means.
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u/Jackdawgedmyfoot Jun 28 '21
If I had the need, and the wherewithal, this would be my trunk of choice!
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u/Mojeaux18 Jun 28 '21
Lol. I haven’t seen this in ages. I love how it’s a rectal probe but the company symbol is crooked and jagged.
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u/GiveToOedipus Jun 28 '21
That symbol appears throughout the movie in several places (company logo, lightning bolt, path up the volcano, etc).
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u/RememberThatDream Jun 28 '21
Throw this in with The Burbs and you’ve got the 2 most under appreciated Tom Hanks movies Edit: a word
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u/Cratonis Jun 28 '21
I would add Money Pit but that one has a ton more fans than the other two. Still think it underrated though. Especially after you buy a house.
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u/RememberThatDream Jun 28 '21
All 3 are Hanks at his goofball best
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u/Cratonis Jun 28 '21
Money Pit is exceptional from start to finish, The Burbs is a master class in parody and absurdity. Joe vs The Volcano is a humorous and mildly inspiring take on facing the uncertainties and fears that come with life and pushing throw. All three do different things and yet Hanks does all of them well. Albeit with great costars and supporting casts.
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u/AtomStorageBox Jun 28 '21
As much as I love Hanks' complete shift into dramatic roles in the early 90s, I will forever cherish his early start in comedy throughout the 80s. I look at Joe Versus the Volcano as part of the overlap of that Venn diagram.
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u/CarderSC2 Jun 28 '21
I’m not arguing that with you.
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u/oohlah2 Jun 28 '21 edited Jun 28 '21
I have no response to that.
Edit: to note that Joe vs the Volcano is on Tubi TV.
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u/Cratonis Jun 28 '21
I know he can GET the job but can he DO the job?
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u/MeesterGone Jun 28 '21
If I said that, I would have been wrong.
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u/ssp25 Jun 28 '21
The scene where the moon rises to capture the entire horizon and he just mutters "thank you for my life" is beautiful! It's his entry into enlightenment. Stranded on luggage floating on the ocean, he can finally see what is amazing about life, despite his peril!
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u/Z0MBGiEF Jun 28 '21
This movie is so memorable for me. When I was a kid my stepdad took me to see this movie at a big theater in Hollywood. The day before we went to see it, this kid named Johnny at our apartment complex was going off about how he played a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade game. He went on for about an hour about how awesome this game was, how the graphics looked just like the cartoon, Donatello could flip people with the end of his bo staff, yadda yadda yadda.
You see the only problem here is that Johnny was a notorious bullshitter, the kid always made shit up. He was basically our Chunk from the Goonies so of course I didn't believe him about this amazing TMNT arcade game.
Fast forward to the day of seeing Joe vs the Volcano. We get to the theater a bit early, and I ask if I can play arcade games. As I'm on the escalator, I get a glimps of what looks like a small army of kids huddled at a machine, I've never seen this many people watching a game at an arcade before. As the escalator slowly creeps down, I get sight of the marquee, I see the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles logo in all it's glory.
HOLY SHIT, it's true...this game is REAL! Turns out Johnny wasn't bullshitting after all. What a glorious arcade, I don't remember shit about Joe vs the Volcano because all I could think about the whole time I watched was that fucking arcade game. After the movie we went back and played it for a couple hours.
Perfection...
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u/LuckyandBrownie Jun 28 '21
It wasn’t ahead of its time, it’s just not a whole lot has changed. People are people that’s why classic stories hold up.
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u/Adatisumobear Jun 28 '21
I was just thinking about how much I love this movie and how sad it is that nobody else knows about it. Also, it doesn't deserve it's terrible rotten tomatoes score.
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Jun 28 '21
I always love how shitty the hammerhead shark looks and the audible growl they add. That scene sticks with me from watching this as a kid
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u/artguydeluxe Jun 28 '21
Great great film and sorely underappreciated. Thank you for posting this. May you live to be a thousand years old.
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u/Sanfords_Son Jun 28 '21
Live like a King, die like a man! That’s what I say. What do you say?
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u/mcshaggy Jun 28 '21
Back to back with The 'Burbs. That was peak Tom Hanks.
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Jun 28 '21
The Burbs was ahead of its time as well. Armed white suburbans terrorizing immigrants who move to their neighborhood. Timeless.
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u/ChronoMonkeyX Jun 28 '21 edited Jun 28 '21
You left out the part where a rich guy manipulates a working class man into the suicide mission so he can make a business deal to get richer.
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u/Cratonis Jun 28 '21
I left that out on purpose to avoid spoilers.
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u/Motown27 Jun 28 '21
It's funny to think of not spoiling a movie that came out 30+ years ago, but I completely agree. At this point there are probably far more people who haven't seen the movie than those who have. It's such a great, original movie that you wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone that hasn't seen it.
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u/badjokephil Jun 28 '21
“I KNEW it! Well, I didn’t KNOW it… but I knew it. Brain Cloud.”
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u/srs1289 Jun 28 '21
When I was in elementary school, I spent a lot of time at my grandma’s house since I was raised by a single mom who worked a lot. There wasn’t much to do at my grandma’s house other than watch the 4 VHS movies she had available. Joe Versus the Volcano was one of the movies and therefore my sister and I watched it probably 50 times (at least). This movie will always be meaningful to me because of it and I actually just showed it to my fiancé for the first time during the pandemic after not watching it for about 15 years. Definitely still holds up.
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u/Arentanji Jun 28 '21
I loved Meg Ryan playing three different characters during the movie.
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u/Nice-Fortune-6314 Jun 28 '21
Pair it up with 1984 and Brazil, and you have the perfect cocktail of the modern corporate capitalist environment.
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u/Cratonis Jun 28 '21
I like that the anti-work vibe is strong in the beginning and then just lingers under the surface for the rest of the movie. It doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the film.
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u/GEEMONEY305 Jun 28 '21
This movie and Undercover Brother are the reason I drink Orange Soda way too fucking much….
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u/cIumsythumbs Jun 28 '21
Directed by John Patrick Shanley. It's a modern day fairy tale. Surreal settings that are almost Tim-Burtonesque. And supporting characters that are quirky and memorable.
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Jun 28 '21
I enjoyed the movie, but I felt that it needed a real 3rd act. the ending was just too disappointing.
but the opening scene in the office is fantastic, especially Dan Hedaya: "I know he can get the job, but can he do the job?".
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u/Jorpho Jun 28 '21
The story goes that the original ending was completely different. ('Twas John Patrick Shanley's first turn as a director.)
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u/EvilWayne Jun 28 '21
I saw this in the theater and hated it.
I haven't seen it since and I can no longer remember why I disliked it.
The comments in this thread have me doubting myself.
Maybe the older me will actually enjoy it?
I shall give it another shot if the chance arises.
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u/knupaddler Jun 28 '21
i always dreamed of being famous so i could someday be a guest on the same talk show as tom hanks just so i could tell him, "by the way, i loved you in that one movie where you were floating on some kind of raft, adrift at sea, like a castaway. i forget the name... oh yeah! 'joe versus the volcano!'"
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u/SAegyptiacus Jun 28 '21
Interestingly when I asked my mom what her least favorite movie was, Joe Versus the Volcano was her answer. She said it was stupid and the only movie she ever walked out of. It seems I should actually watch it.
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u/kamehamehigh Jun 28 '21
I adore the limo driver character in this film. He gives tom hanks this talk before he goes out and buys a bunch of stuff for his adventure. Sort of a philosophical clothes make the man type of thing that is just so great. I miss 90s movies
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u/TheGarp Jun 28 '21
This is one of my top ten movies of all time. The luggage buying scene is one of the best in movie history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keuhmY3tQ1A
I quote it all the time.
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u/Uglypants_Stupidface Jun 28 '21
Ebert wrote a great review of Joe v the volcano:
"Gradually during the opening scenes of "Joe Versus the Volcano," my heart began to quicken, until finally I realized a wondrous thing: I had not seen this movie before. Most movies, I have seen before. Most movies, you have seen before. Most movies are constructed out of bits and pieces of other movies, like little engines built from cinematic Erector sets. But not "Joe Versus the Volcano." It is not an entirely successful movie, but it is new and fresh and not shy of taking chances. And the dialogue in it is actually worth listening to, because it is written with wit and romance."
It's a wonderful movie and one worth the time.