Stream it now Joe Versus the Volcano

IMDb rating: 5.5 (20,777 votes)
IMDb ID: 0099892
Duration: 102 min
Release Date: March 9, 1990
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When a hypochondriac learns that he is dying, he accepts an offer to throw himself in a volcano at a tropical island, and along the way there, learns to truly live.


Comedy, Romance produced in 1990 [USA]

 
 
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Of all the funny, cult-following sort of movies out there, this one is the best. No matter how many times I see this movie, I notice something new each time. I love Meg Ryan's performance and Joe's illness was too funny. A great movie to quote..."I have no response to that." "I know he can get the job, but can he DO the job? I didn't say that. If I said that, Harry, I would have been wrong." "Brain cloud. I knew it. I mean, I didn't know it, I just knew it."
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very good movie...i wish i could see it on the big screen now that i have an appreciation for movies...the visuals are stunning
tom hanks plays joe banks- a man who has a bleak, bland existence and is walking through life like a zombie... he has a crummy job and a crummier boss at a dark, dingy, dust-filled factory where he works...one day, a physician gives him the news that he has 6 months to live and his eyes begin to open up to the true beauty of the world... inspiring message within a visually pleasing shell.
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this movie is fantastic. i watch it several times a year and i think that it really lifts my spirits. the many spiritual references ro asides really resonate with me and it is just a wonderful film.
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Comments pending.
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I never knew much about this movie before I watched it. So we bought it yesterday for $3.00, and I liked it. It wasn't standing ovation material or anything, but it was enjoyable. Tom Hanks was good, and the movie had one part that reminded me of Cast Away and that new movie Open Water. My question is...How can someone stay unconscious for that long and wake up just fine?

Meg Ryan played three characters, a high voiced New York sounding girl, a totally weird and annoying voiced red head, and a normal voiced girl with blonde hair. Every time but the third, I said to myself, "Is that Meg Ryan?"

Ossie Davis was very good in this film. He plays the limo driver and gives a very interesting speech about how your clothes are who you are...or..something like that (it's been a while).

This movie had it's funny parts, like some of Joe's lines (see title of review) and his boss's attitude. It was also funny at the end before he jumped into the volcano. So the ending was a little predictable, so what? Nobody would've been happy if he'd jumped in and died, as planned.

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And some more...
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Early Tom Hanks films (with the exception of Big) were completely panned by critics for the most part, and I can understand the poor criticism on some of his work. Volunteers, Dragnet, Bachelor Party, Turner & Hooch, and The Bonfire of the Vanities were all awful. As far as some of the others, like Punchline and Nothing in Common, these deserve some credit. One early Hanks film that came just after he gained success in Big is the underrated fairy tale Joe Versus The Volcano. This film is full of imagination and creativity and also marks the first collaboration between Hanks and Meg Ryan.

Written and directed by then first time filmmaker John Patrick Shanley (who later went on to create Moonstruck), this is one of the most interesting fantasies ever made. The cinematography by Stephen Goldblatt is absolutely praise worthy, and the film establishes it's own style right from the beginning. When it was released in theaters I was only 6 years old, so I missed the chance to see it on the big screen. At that time I'm sure this film had an even bigger impact on audiences, for this kind of visual style had never been seen before in a film, and I'm still not sure if we today have seen anything like Joe Versus The Volcano. It's a film that can truly be called original.

Meg Ryan steals the show giving one outstanding performance as three different people, all who show up in Joe's life at random but perfect times. Ryan has been a steadily great actress her entire career, yet throughout all of her acclaim this role still stands as her most underappreciated. There are many other short supporting roles that are terrific by Dan Hedaya, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, and Abe Vigoda. The film is near perfect in my opinion, and the only thing stopping it is some bumps the story takes toward the end. These do not hurt the film much though, for Joe Versus The Volcano still stands as a work of art to remember. It's a shame this film has been disrespected as much as it has.
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THE WORD THAT KEPT COMING TO MIND WHEN WATCHING THIS WAS "STUPID". I WOULD HAVE HOPED TOM HANKS AND MEG RYAN COULD HAVE DONE BETTER THAN THIS. I DO ADMIRE THE FACT IT IS UNUSUAL, THERE AREN'T TOO MANY FILMS WITH IT'S PLOT. BUT IT IS VERY BLAND AND SLOW MOVING. NO SPARKS AT ALL BETWEEN THE TWO LEADS. IT JUST LACKS SOMETHING.
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This was SUCH an odd movie. Like... REALLY odd. So unrelentingly bleak at the beginning and so patently absurd at the end. It was certainly an enjoyable watch, and certainly wasn't something I'd ever seen before...but I can't decide if I actually LIKED it or not. Hmm.
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Joe vs the Volcano. This comdey stars Tom Hanks as Joe. Joe is a hypochondriac who gets diagnosed with a terminal disease. He is a boring type of guy with a boring office type job who leads a boring type of life. When he is offered the opportunity of adventure he jumps at it so he can turn his life around before he dies. The only problem at the end of this little adventure he has to jump into a volcano. Joe doesn't see this as problem because he's going to die anyway so the adventure begins. Meg Ryan does an entertaining job playing three characters here. Robert Stack appears shortly as Dr. Ellison. This part is hilarious. And there is a great appearance by Ossie Davis as Marshall the limo driver.

I love this movie. It starts out grey and gloomy to show Joe's outlook on life, but as the movie goes along it perks up and Tom Hanks is a funny guy.
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