Day 15: Joe Versus The Volcano

Day 15: Joe Versus The Volcano

John Patrick Shanley is in my books a genius. Mix in my favorite queen and king of romantic comedies, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, a silly plot and the worst puppet shark I’ve ever seen (except the Goonies octopus – which I saw- which you probably didn’t, but if you go back and rent it you can see it in the deleted scenes and no why that scene should never see the light of day) and you have yourself a PERFECT MOVIE!
I think this might be a bit hard for me to write about as this, like Goonies, is such a childhood favorite I can’t possibly talk about this like a normal human being. Well, I think I have shown myself already to be pretty abnormal so what the heck right? I love LOVE This Movie! And I don’t care if I’m the only one on the planet who does (actually I think I may have one or two others in my boat but judging by the rolled eyes of my coworkers, I know I am at least in a minority here). Yes this movie is CHEESY! Yes this movie has some horrible special affects. Yes this movie has Meg Ryan in 2 baaaad wigs. But this movie has some incredible music, lots of visually and symbolically beautiful scenes, a great sense of humor and one of the best moral lessons ever: Get a Second Opinion on a Brain Cloud Diagnosis. Look, like my duck blanket and my puppy, this is a piece of my heart that you can have your own opinions about all you want, but I LOVE THEM and that’s all there is to it! Here’s how Joe Versus the Volcano checks off on my list:

• Giddy: Every damn scene!
• Lie: Lloyde Bridges and Robert Stack both convince Tom Hanks that he has a brain cloud and is going to die anyway so why not jump into a giant Volcano. That’s one big lie!
• Big Emotional Outburst: I can’t tell you how many times I have seen the scene at the top of the volcano with Meg and Tom professing their love, but I never get sick of it!
• Dance Sequence: The lonely, awkward Tom dances to Buddy Holly on top of the floating luggage. Sigh – I dance the same way at home alone.
• Wedding: Yes, on top of the volcano with the soon to be extinct Waponi Woo’s.
• Rewatchable: Well, lets put it this way, if I can say the lines as they’re saying them though every scene, yeah we got a rewatchable. I think there are maybe 3 movies that I can say that’s true about and this is one of them.
• Love: I would like to believe this one falls under the category of love at first site. Mmmmm… can you hear it? My heart is melting just a little.
• Fantasy: We have a brain cloud, a rich man who swoops in and gives you a gigantic spending spree before you are to die, an ocean voyage, a typhoon, a Hawaiian like island, a volcano and love that keeps you afloat (along with great luggage).
• Journey of the main character: The rediscovery that life is beautiful is a wonderful tale that I love having told to me. We all get bogged down in jobs that suck, stressful situations, and life can for a while look bleak and bland and then suddenly you get a wake up call to all the beauty and abundance there is in this world that is out there for you. Like Joe says “Dear God, thank you for my life, I forgot how big it all is”.
• Body Count: And here we have not only 3 shipmates on the Tweedle Dee but an entire ISLAND! That’s right folks, this Romantic Comedy has mass genocide in it!
• Music Montages: Dom Dom Dom Dom Dom bee doo bee Dom Dom Dom Dom Dom, Dom bee doo bee dom – wa wa wa wa wa… ur… I mean – Buddy Holly during the fishing scene.
• Strong Female: She says it her self folks when he asks her if she believes in God and she says “I believe in myself, I have confidence in myself”.