''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. 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. Along the way, he meets and falls in love with the woman taking him there.
The film received mixed reviews overall, but positive reviews from some critics, including
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
, who described the film as "new and fresh and not shy of taking chances", and was a minor box office success in the US. It has since become a
cult film
A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
, working a clerical job in a dreary factory for an unpleasant, demanding boss, Frank Waturi. Joyless, listless and chronically sick, Banks regularly visits doctors who can find nothing wrong with him. Finally, a Dr. Ellison diagnoses an incurable disease called a "brain cloud", which has no symptoms, but will kill him within five or six months. Ellison says that the symptoms he has been experiencing are actually
psychosomatic
A somatic symptom disorder, formerly known as a somatoform disorder,(2013) superconductors. There are deposits of it on the tiny Pacific island of Waponi Woo, but the resident Waponis will only let him mine it if he solves a problem for them. They believe that the fire god of the volcano on their island must be appeased by a voluntary human sacrifice once every century, but none of them are willing to volunteer this time around. Graynamore offers to pay for whatever Joe wants to enjoy his final days, as long as he jumps into the volcano within 20 days. With nothing to lose, Joe accepts.
Joe spends a day and a night out on the town in New York City, where he solicits advice on everything from style to living life to the fullest from his chauffeur, Marshall. He also purchases four top-of-the-line, waterproof steamer trunks from a fanatically dedicated luggage salesman.
Joe then flies to Los Angeles, where he is met by one of Graynamore's daughters, Angelica, a flighty socialite. The next morning, Angelica takes Joe to her father's yacht, the ''Tweedledee''. The captain is her half-sister Patricia. Patricia has reluctantly agreed to take Joe to Waponi Woo; Graynamore has promised to give her the yacht in return.
After an awkward beginning, Joe and Patricia begin to bond. Then they run into a typhoon. Patricia is knocked unconscious and flung overboard. After Joe jumps in to rescue her, lightning strikes, sinking the yacht. Joe is able to construct a raft by lashing together his steamer trunks. Patricia does not regain consciousness for several days. Joe doles out the small supply of fresh water to her, while he gradually becomes delirious from thirst. He experiences a revelation during his delirium and thanks God for his life. When Patricia finally awakens, she is deeply touched by Joe's self-sacrifice. They then find that they have luckily drifted to their destination.
The Waponis treat them to a grand feast. Their leader, Chief Tobi, asks one last time if anyone else will volunteer, but there are no takers and Joe heads to the volcano. Patricia tries to stop him, declaring her love for him. He admits he loves her as well, "but the timing stinks." Patricia persuades Joe to have the chief marry them.
Afterwards, Patricia refuses to be separated from her new husband. When Joe is unable to dissuade her, they jump in together, but the volcano erupts at that moment, blowing them out into the ocean. The island sinks, but Joe and Patricia land near Joe's trusty steamer trunks. At first ecstatic about their miraculous salvation, Joe tells Patricia about his fatal brain cloud. She recognizes the name of Joe's doctor as that of her father's crony and realizes that Joe has been set up. He is not dying and they can live happily ever after.
Cast
In addition, two other notable actors in smaller roles are Nathan Lane as Baw, the Waponi advance man, and
Carol Kane
Carolyn Laurie Kane (born June 18, 1952) is an American actress. She became known in the 1970s and 1980s in films such as '' Hester Street'' (for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress), ''Dog Day Afternoon'', ''Annie ...
, inexplicably credited as Lisa LeBlanc, a hairdresser.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 64% based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "''Joe Versus the Volcano'' erupts with plenty of screwball energy and thoughtful observations about living to the fullest, but its existential ambition may prove too goofy for some audiences." At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film a grade "C+" on scale of A to F.
Vincent Canby wrote: Upon its release, ''Time'' called it a "wan bit of whimsy ... hatmakes no more sense than its synopsis, though Meg Ryan beguiles in three different roles. Fifteen years later, ''Time'' critic
Richard Schickel
Richard Warren Schickel (February 10, 1933 – February 18, 2017) was an American film historian, journalist, author, documentarian, and film and literary critic. He was a film critic for ''Time'' magazine from 1965–2010, and also wro ...
listed it as one of his "Guilty Pleasures"; while acknowledging "there are people who think this film... may be the worst big budget film of modern times," Schickel disagreed:
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars and called it: He later brought the film to Ebertfest 2012 and wondered "why he gave 3.5 stars instead of 4."
Soundtrack
The soundtrack, composed by Georges Delerue, was released in very limited numbers as a promotional item. Only 3000 copies were manufactured in 1990, the year of the movie's release. Because of Delerue's strong following, Varèse Sarabande re-released the CD in 2002.
Shanley wrote two songs for the film, "Marooned Without You" and "The Cowboy Song", the former used thematically throughout and the latter performed by Hanks on the ukulele.
Eric Burdon's version of
Merle Travis
Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic expl ...
's " Sixteen Tons" was used at the beginning of the film. After Joe leaves the doctor's office, an edited version of Ray Charles's version of "
Ol' Man River
"Ol' Man River" is a show tune from the 1927 musical ''Show Boat'' with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. The song contrasts the struggles and hardships of African Americans with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississipp ...
Blue Moon
A blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: the third of four full moons in a season.
The phrase in modern usage has nothing to do with the actual color of the Moon, although a visually blue Moon (the Moon a ...
" plays as Joe spends his final night before departing on his journey. On the boat trip, the
Young Rascals
Young may refer to:
* Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents
* Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood
Music
* The Young, an American roc ...
Del-Vikings
The Del-Vikings (also known as The Dell-Vikings) were an American doo-wop musical group that recorded several hit singles in the 1950s and continued to record and tour with various lineups in later decades. The group is notable for the hit song ...
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (Roud 6637), sometimes "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again", is a popular song from the American Civil War that expressed people's longing for the return of their friends and relatives who were fighting in the ...
" and "
Hava Nagila
Hava Nagila ( he, הָבָה נָגִילָה, ''Hāvā Nāgīlā'', "Let us rejoice") is a Jewish folk song. It is traditionally sung at celebrations, such as weddings. Written in 1918, it quickly spread through the Jewish diaspora.
History ...
".
Home media
The film was first released on home video in late 1990 and was later released on DVD by Warner Home Video in April 2002.
The manufacture-on-demand Blu-ray was released through Warner Archive Collection on June 20, 2017, and it received positive reviews for the quality.
Stage musical
In 2012, San Diego's Lambs Players Theatre presented the world premiere of a musical based on the film. Directed by Robert Smyth, it featured a book, music and lyrics by Scott Hafso and Darcy Phillips, with musical direction by Jon Lorenz and additional musical arrangements by Taylor Peckham.