MovieChat Forums > Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) Discussion > Anyone else think the movie started grea...

Anyone else think the movie started great but switched midway?

posted 14 years ago by rooprect
7 replies | jump to latest

I thought the 1st half of the movie was fantastic. It had a really Brazil-ian feel (the movie) and had a great surrealistic & satirical presentation, very much like Catch-22, another classic.

But right around midway, around when he gets to Los Angeles and boards the boat, the entire vibe changed. It became a standard romantic comedy, dropped its satire, symbolism & subtlety, and became a straightforward Spielberg type film (I notice Spielberg was the exec producer).

In either case, it remained entertaining throughout, but I'm saying I would've liked it better if it had remained more of an artistic satire, the way it started out. Anyone else feel the same way?

[–] mattster12 14 years ago

I agree with this. I did not enjoy the switch in tone that much at all...

"Who do you think you are, Bill Clinton? You're a comptroller!"

[–] scottrevision 14 years ago

I think the movie becomes more of a dream state at the end. Characters come and disappear without consequence (the actual body count presumably is horrific), Joe and Patricia fly, etc.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] rooprect 14 years ago

The movie was never a satire except briefly in the office scene

You do know what 'satire' means, right? "the use of irony or ridicule in exposing vice, folly, etc."

The entire first half was a satire, ironically ridiculing
(a) the herdlike mentality of the working class (opening scene),
(b) the slave-driving mentality of their oppressors (office scene),
(c) the whorish & hypocritical nature of the medical profession ("brain cloud"?),
(d) the fickle nature of love (Meg's 1st character),
(e) the worthlessness of luxury (as if a bunch of suitcases were sent from god),
(f) the loneliness of 'polite society' (hotel dinner scene),
(g) the vacuity of the glamour life (Meg's 2nd character),
(h) the vacuity of passionless art (Meg's 2nd character's sketches),
(i) and even the Wapani, which apparently you didn't appreciate, who satirized the third world pawns of Western commercialism with their orange soda addiction--truly the best part of the latter half.

The satire & ironic wit fades away once they board the boat since both characters are genuine, and there is no more mockery at hand. The story then shifts to their romance, and the Gilliam-esque surrealism fades to more of a straightforward rom-com (still funny & entertaining, but not of the same vibe as the surrealistic 1st half). And if you didn't recognize anything Spielbergian about the giant moon scene, well, maybe you should watch E.T. again.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] rooprect 14 years ago

Aww, did my post make you angwy?

[–] 14 years ago

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