Joe Versus the Volcano

Joe Versus the Volcano is a 1990 comedy film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and was the first film directed by screenwriter John Patrick Shanley. It was the first of three films pairing Hanks and Ryan. Though it was praised by notable reviewers such as Roger Ebert at the time of its release in 1990, Joe Versus the Volcano was considered a box office flop, and one of Hanks' minor films. Since then, it has accumulated a cult following.

Plot

Joe Banks (Tom Hanks) is a downtrodden everyman, working in a factory for a pointy haired boss, Frank Waturi (Dan Hedaya). Banks is chronically ill, and finds no joy in his existence. One day, he visits a doctor (Robert Stack) who finds a fatal "brain cloud", apparently an inoperable tumor. Ironically, it didn't cause his poor health. Those symptoms were psychosomatic — he was just imagining them. The doctor suggests, "You some time left, Mr. Banks. You have some life left. My advice to you is: live it well." Joe promptly quits his job, tells his boss off, and asks former co-worker DeDe (Meg Ryan in the first of three parts) out on a date. It goes well, but when he tells her he's dying, she becomes upset and leaves.

The next day, Joe is visited by wealthy industrialist Samuel Graynamore (Lloyd Bridges), who has a proposition for him. There is a small Pacific island called Waponi Wu. It has deposits of a mineral that Graynamore wants to mine, but the native Waponis won't let him, unless he can solve a problem for them. They believe that the volcano on their island must be appeased with a voluntary human sacrifice once every century, but none of the Waponis is willing to volunteer this time around. If he can provide a willing victim, Graynamore can have the mineral. Having heard of Joe's situation, the businessman offers him the opportunity to "live like a king, die like a man." Graynamore will pay for whatever Joe wants, as long as he throws himself into the volcano afterwards. With nothing to lose, Joe agrees.

Joe spends a day and night on the town in New York, where he solicits advice on style and life from wise chauffeur Marshall (Ossie Davis). Joe purchases an Armani tuxedo; for his valued assistance, Marshall also gets a tuxedo. Joe also buys four top-of-the-line, hand-crafted, waterproof steamer trunks from a fanatically dedicated luggage salesman (Barry McGovern).

Joe then flies to Los Angeles, where he is met by one of Graynamore's daughters, Angelica (also played by Meg Ryan), who cautions him not to tell her anything, as she cannot keep a secret ("Daddy says I'm a flibbertigibbet!"). She takes him to a yacht, captained by her half-sister, Patricia (Meg Ryan again).

The ocean voyage starts out well; Joe and Patricia are attracted to each other. But then they run into a typhoon. Lightning strikes the yacht and it sinks. Joe rescues Patricia and fashions a raft by lashing his steamer trunks together. She does not regain consciousness for several days. Joe saves the small supply of water for her, while he gradually becomes delirious from thirst. When Patricia awakens, they find they have fortuitously drifted to their destination.

The Waponis treat them to a grand feast. Their chief (Abe Vigoda) asks one last time if anyone else will volunteer, but there are no takers and Joe heads for the volcano. Patricia tries to stop him, declaring her love for him. He admits he loves her as well, "but the timing stinks." Patricia gets the chief to marry them, which he does with comical haste.

Afterwards, Patricia decides to join Joe in his jump. When he is unable to dissuade her, they jump in together, but are spared when the volcano erupts and blows them out into the ocean. The island sinks, but Joe and Patricia find their trusty steamer trunks again. Upon discussion, Patricia recognizes the name of Joe's doctor as that of her father's crony. He had lied to him; Joe isn't dying and they can live happily ever after.

Trivia

• Joe remarks to each of Meg Ryan's characters (DeDe, Angelica, and Patricia) that when he first saw them he felt he had seen them somewhere before.
• A recurring image of a jagged thunderbolt plays a part in the movie. It is part of the company logo, it is the shape of the pathway leading up to Joe's workplace, it is seen in the plaster damage in Joe's apartment, in the lightning bolt that destroys Patricia's boat, and in the path to the volcano. Other recurring images include ducks, the façade of the factory, dogs, and the moon.
• Carol Kane (using the pseudonym 'Lisa LaFleur'), Amanda Plummer, and Nathan Lane make cameo appearances in this film.
• The fictitious Waponi culture was created 1800 years ago when a Roman galley, crewed by Jewish and Druid slaves, was caught in a storm off the coast of Carthage. They were swept around the horn of Africa and, thinking that they were heading back to Rome, settled on a sparsly populated island in the Pacific. The Waponi tribe is a bizarre cultural mix of Polynesian, Hebrew, Latin, and Celtic influences. They are also major fans of "Jump Soda," an orange drink, and known throughout Polynesia for having no sense of direction.
• The name Waponi Wu means little island with a big volcano. The volcano is called the Big Wu.
• According to people close to Shanley at the time, the story is based on a near death experience Shanley had and is his attempt to describe and explain the altered outlook on life he adopted as a result.
• The original screenplay had a somewhat different ending with the doctor and the industrialist getting their comeuppance.
• Shanley wrote two songs for the movie, 'Marooned Without You' and 'The Cowboy Song', the former used thematically throughout and the latter performed by Tom Hanks on the ukulele.
• The soundtrack currently sells for over US$100. Only 3000 copies were ever printed.

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