Review: Joe vs. The Volcano

Joe (Tom Hanks) has a boring job, an unpleasant boss (Dan Hedaya), and for the love of God will someone fix those fluorescent lights, they’re enough to give a guy a migraine! Well, a migraine is merely one of many illnesses that Joe believes he suffers from, and you can probably add hypochondria to the list too. Or maybe not, as when he goes to see a doctor (Robert Stack), Joe is told that he has a ‘brain cloud’, which although somewhat vague, is incurable and fatal enough to make Joe re-evaluate his dull, barely lived life. With only months to live, Joe quits his job and when an oddball millionaire (Lloyd Bridges) turns up with an offer: Joe can live the remainder of his life in luxury, so long as he agrees to travel to a previously unheard of island, and jump into a volcano as a human sacrifice to stop the volcano from wreaking havoc on the locals. Somehow Joe actually agrees to this lunacy. Hey, he’s already dying so I guess it doesn’t matter. Meg Ryan turns up in a number of different roles, including the secretary similarly dissatisfied with her job as Joe is, as well as playing Bridges’ two very different daughters (who are half-sisters to one another). Ossie Davis plays a chauffeur, Nathan Lane plays a native of the island, Amanda Plummer is the first-mate on a ship, and Abe Vigoda plays a tribal elder.

10 year-old me didn’t know what to make of this 1990 comic fantasy from writer-director John Patrick Shanley (“Doubt”), and 34 year-old me still doesn’t think it’s a total success. However, if I liked 2013’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, then I can’t really dismiss this one entirely, given that the two films seem like kissin’ cousins (look at the typhoon scene in this film, for instance), albeit the latter film is slightly stronger. It’s certainly not so bad that Shanley should’ve waited until 2008’s excellent “Doubt” to direct a film again. I actually feel really sorry for him that this flop happened to him, especially since it’s not actually a bad film at all, just unsuccessful.

Although initially a bit mannered, Tom Hanks is ideally cast, albeit with one of the worst mullets this side of Icehouse front-man Iva Davies. This was the first screen pairing of Hanks with Meg Ryan, who plays several roles in the film. She’s in spot-on Meg Ryan form here, so if you hate her (i.e. If you’re a jealous female), you’ll find her nauseating to multiple degrees. She has never looked hotter than she does here in her third role. She’s like Sally with straight hair. It’s also the most appealing performance in her multiple roles, and overall her performance in the film (or performances) is some of her strongest work to date.

The premise is obvious but relatable (at least to 35 year-old me, not 10 year-old me) and rather ambitious, and the supporting cast is excellent, if ultimately not utilised enough. Lloyd Bridges in particular is a spritely, daffy delight but underused. He seems so bonkers you’d think he’d picked up sniffing glue again. It might seem a touch on the nose for the refined, sage Ossie Davis to be cast as a limo driver here (a year after “Driving Miss Daisy” was released, no less), but the man never gave a performance with less than 100% effort. You definitely wish he had more scenes here. Robert Stack probably has the most thankless role in the film, which is a shame. Dan Hedaya, however is terrific as Hanks’ horrible boss early in the piece. Look out for a very funny and very random appearance by a hammerhead shark. There’s not enough hammerhead sharks in movies, I feel. I love them. The film is really well-shot by Stephen Goldblatt (“The Hunger”, “Lethal Weapon”, “Batman Forever”), who makes the whole thing seem more grand and expansive.

The main issue I have with the film is that it’s a little too quirky for its own good, with lots of little eccentricities for the sake of it. The “Walter Mitty” remake was a bit like that (and similarly not as profound as it thinks it is), but overall more successful than this film. Still, it sure beats “Prelude to a Kiss”, and underneath all the quirkiness there’s something good and worthy here hidden behind flights of fancy that just aren’t necessary. Look, the film almost works. It’s quite watchable, with a great cast of familiar faces, plus some wonderful imagery etc. However, the eccentricity eventually works against it, Lloyd Bridges and Robert Stack are underused, and there’s a truly appalling, cheating shaggy dog ending that I hated. It’s bound to be someone’s favourite film, just not mine.

Rating: C+