MovieChat Forums > Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) Discussion > Most polarizing movie

Most polarizing movie

posted 18 years ago by jdoughty
13 replies | jump to latest

I'm firmly in the "love it" camp, and I run into people who hate it, but what really strikes me after all these years is that there's no middle ground. I've never met anyone who was indifferent to JVTV, or who felt it was "okay."

And I can't think of another movie that has engendered such an all-or-nothing response from viewers.

Here's my stab at an explanation: it's caught between two worlds.

On the one hand, it's an incredible piece of art from all concerned: the script, the acting, and the incredible art design.

But on the other hand, it was imbued with elements of a wacky comedy. At the time it was made, Tom Hanks wasn't "Tom Hanks" yet -- and the studio didn't quite know what to do with him. This wasn't the "Philadelphia" or "Saving Private Ryan" guy. He was still the "Bosom Buddies" and "Bachelor Party" guy. Hadn't even made "A League of Their Own" yet.

So what we got was an odd amalgam of "Shanley's deeply moving carpe diem parable" and "Hanks's yuk-yuk sendup." Note that I'm not indicting Hanks here -- I think he knew what he was about. But if it had been made even five years later, do you really think we would have had a Muppet shark that growls like a tiger? Would the Waponi have been so over-the-top?

A person I know, very knowledgable about film, said he'd admired this script for years -- and only later saw the movie, finding it "terrible."

Do you agree that this film is tremendously polarizing? What's your take on why?

[–] andrewsk8s 15 years ago

Another "love it" vote here. I'm glad to find so many others that agree here.

I think a whole lot of the "hate it" has to do with the mis-categorization of Joe Vs. the Volcano and the two very different audiences that it attracts. One camp is that goofy "Bachelor Party" Tom Hanks crowd and certainly there are many things, including the title, which would lead one to believe they were going to see a raucous, silly comedy (like the Waponis and that shark that you point out).

I can only believe that it was all intentional because it was so beautifully made, but the second camp are those (like me) that see this light romantic comedy as a framework for a profound parable frought with meaning and symbolism. It's not just Meg Ryan who played 3 characters. Many of us can see ourselves living as the first Joe, and it's a cautionary tale about going for it before you're dead and trying to be transitional Joe going on that journey (carrying a lot of baggage with you), before eventually becoming that self-actualized third Joe. It would have been very hard to work it out as a straight drama (and it's been done so many times in film already), so they disguised this subtext story within a romantic comedy. IMO, brilliant.

"Dear God who I do not know. Thank you for my life. I'd forgotten how big..... thank you. Thank you."

[–] nccomet 15 years ago

I love this movie but it definitely splits the audience into two camps. Other films that seem to be either love it or hate it types are Raising Arizona and Napoleon Dyamite.

[–] Bear85 15 years ago

Another love it/ hate it movie is Groundhog Day. I love it, know lots of people who hate it, but not many who are in between.