Joe Verses the Volcano


Starring: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges
Directed by: John Patrick Shanley
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Romance
1990

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Average worker Joe (Tom Hanks) is a hypochondriac who just discovered horrible news—he has a terminal condition called a “brain cloud” and has six months to live. He soon meets up with a crazy billionaire (Lloyd Bridges) who will give Joe unlimited funds and a trip to a remote Pacific island. In return, Joe must jump into an active volcano, in order to please a Pacific tribe that needs a sacrifice for their rituals. Along the way, Joe meets the billionaire’s daughter (Meg Ryan) and the two fall in love.

Review:

Tim: This is the type of film that people will either love or hate. Before watching this, you must realize some important things. First, you must suspend your belief. Joe verses the Volcano is a modern-day fairy tale. The movie starts out with the line, “Once upon a time there was a guy named Joe” and ends with, “and they lived happily ever after.” Those who don’t realize this will probably hate the film because it is so unbelievable. However, if you keep in mind that this is a fairy tale, and anything can happen in a fairy tale, I think you’ll like the film much better.

That being said, this isn’t the best film ever, but it is pretty good. Tom Hanks (the best actor alive) gives a decent performance. This film was made back when he was stringing up comedy after comedy, and making a name for himself. He gives a good performance here, although it doesn’t compare to some of his better work, in Big, for example. He does give a likeable performance, and it’s not hard to watch him on screen.

He gets some help from co-star Meg Ryan, in this film that followed up the hugely successful When Harry Met Sally Meg Ryan actually plays three roles in this film. Her first two aren’t very big roles, but it’s an interesting enough challenge for her, and fun to watch on screen. This is actually one of three times Hanks and Ryan paired up on screen, the other two, of course being Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail.

I really, really like both Hanks and Ryan, so I definitely recommend checking out this film. While it’s definitely not the best you’ll see, it tells a fun little story, and you can definitely find worse romantic comedies out there.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, Big, You’ve Got Mail, Forrest Gump