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With the recent release of You've Got Mail, I started chewing on the Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan chemistry thing, and it got me thinking about the underrated gem that started their coupling, Joe Versus The Volcano. It's been a favorite of mine for a long time, and, for some reason, there are a lot of folks out there that have never seen it. That might not seem so odd, except for the fact that its stars are now among the upper tenth of today's Hollywood talent. Tom Hanks stars as Joe Banks, a man trapped in a styrofoam, desolate wasteland of a life. He slogs to work with a thousand other zombies, to sit in a dank, stank basement office and send out catalogs for a medical supply company. The existence is sapping his strength and his will, and his only respites from this mess are his repeated trips to the doctor with whatever ailment he imagines next. Joe gave up the excitement of a career in firefighting for this?!? One day, the doctor actually finds something, though. Joe is diagnosed with a fatal disease, (you'll love the name of the diagnosed disease) and is given only a few months to live. On the heels of this news, though, he gets a visit from a wealthy businessman, one Mr. Graynamore (Lloyd Bridges), who offers him the opportunity of the rest of his lifetime. A big spending spree in New York, followed by a cruise to a remote island known as Waponi Wu, where he will live like a king. One catch -- he has to jump into a volcano, as a sacrifice to the gods that look after the island. Seems the natives are sitting on a huge chunk of some vital, profitable element that Graynamore's licking his chops over. If the natives can get some outsider to be their sacrificial lamb, they'll give Mr. Graynamore mining rights to Waponi Wu. Joe takes the offer, and along the way, learns about himself, his companion (Ryan), and the mysteries of life & death. Hanks is very funny in this movie, folks. He works the ironic humor to a tee, and his natural gifts as a physical comedian show him at the top of his game. But, it also helps that his leading lady here is the lovely Meg Ryan, the woman who's becoming the Hepburn to his Tracy when it comes to romantic comedy. Meg plays three roles here, and all of them are necessary to Joe's character evolution. The first woman, DeDe, is a co-worker of Joe's that he's always had a thing for, but never had the guts to do anything about. After his diagnosis, he throws caution to the wind and asks her out. The other two women are Angelica and Patricia, Mr. Graynamore's daughters. Angelica is his escort to the cruise, whose hilarious motto is "I have no response to that....", and she spends one night with Joe, offering him poetry and California attitude, as well as insecurity to beat his own. Patricia is the rebel, full of spirit and the need to be independent. She's smart and sassy and, well, just what Joe has always needed in a woman. The satirical edge and grey humor comes from the pen of writer-director John Patrick Shanley, who made Joe at the peak of his powers in Hollywood, having parlayed his writing Oscar® for 1987's Moonstruck into this, his only, directing gig. (He went on to write the scripts for Alive and Congo.) Shanley also pours some gentle lessons into Joe, through the wisdom of a limo driver named Marshall (Ossie Davis). Marshall takes Joe under his wing for a day, showing him how to weigh what's really important in life. He speaks plainly and truthfully, almost like a surrogate dad. The Georgia-born Davis, a bulwark of nobility in films like Do the Right Thing and TV's "Evening Shade", makes a lot of this brief appearance, and his gentle voice and knowing looks guide the first stage of Joe's awakening to life. High marks also go to Abe Vigoda as the tribal chieftain, and if you're good, you might be able to pick out the brief appearance by a then-unknown Nathan Lane. Very funny at times, tender at others, and downright slapstick more than a few, it still amazes me how ill-received this film was. It flashed in and out of theatres quickly, with scattered bad reviews, but came alive on pay-TV and video. It's developed a cult following through the decade, and is only now coming into its own. This is probably due to Hanks increasing respect in the business, but Ryan too has her fans. Mainly, though, I think the popularity is building because the film is like a forgotten step in the two's teaming. You can see the chemistry here, especially when Patricia is Ryan's focus. Hanks and Ryan share that same glow that they had in their time together in Sleepless in Seattle and in You've Got Mail. Granted, it's not quite the same here, but this was early in the teaming. Nowadays, they're literally like an old married couple. Here, they're like a magical blind date. The personalities blend, but they're still learning the other's ways and deliveries. It's kind of groovy to watch, actually. Hit your local videodrome and give Joe Versus The Volcano a try. I bet your love for this film will smolder, bubble and erupt -- just like it has for me. Get "reel" soon,
See past Alternative Medicine columns: A Christmas Story | To Kill A Mockingbird | I Wanna Hold Your Hand | Kingpin | Joe Versus the Volcano | The Commitments | Indian Summer | The Big Lebowski | Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre | Empire Records | That Thing You Do! | The Ten Commandments | The Third Man | Waiting for Guffman
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