Joe Versus the Volcano

"An average Joe. An adventurous comedy."

1990 1h 42m EN

😐

5.8

MID

★5.8TMDB · 605

ComedyRomanceAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Hypochondriac Joe Banks finds out he has six months to live, quits his dead end job, musters the courage to ask his co-worker out on a date, and is then hired to jump into a volcano by a mysterious visitor.

“An average Joe. An adventurous comedy.”

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Cast

Tom Hanks
Joe Banks
Meg Ryan
DeDe / Angelica / Patricia Graynamore
Lloyd Bridges
Samuel Harvey Graynamore
Dan Hedaya
Frank Waturi
Ossie Davis
Marshall
Barry McGovern
Luggage Salesman
Robert Stack
Dr. Ellison
Amanda Plummer
Dagmar

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Patrick Shanley
Writers: John Patrick Shanley
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Directed by John Patrick Shanley, shot by Stephen Goldblatt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Georges Delerue. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Richard Halsey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and Lloyd Bridges carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "An average Joe. An adventurous comedy.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0099892 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Patrick Shanley directs. Stephen Goldblatt behind the camera. Georges Delerue scores. Richard Halsey cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

136 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by John Patrick Shanley, shot by Stephen Goldblatt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Georges Delerue. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Richard Halsey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and Lloyd Bridges carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "An average Joe. An adventurous comedy.".
7IMDB entry: tt0099892 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Stephen Goldblatt
Original score: Georges Delerue
Editing: Richard Halsey
Production design: Bo Welch
Costume design: Colleen Atwood
Makeup / hair: Leonard Engelman
VFX supervisor: Dave Carson
Stunt coordinator: Bill Erickson
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $39,400,000
Return: 158% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

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John Patrick Shanley

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2022-06-26
★ 5/10
Good message, decent movie, albeit really odd That pretty much sums up this 1990 film starring Tom Hanks as a miserable man stuck in an uninspiring job. After learning he's going to die in six months, he accepts an offer to live it up for a couple of weeks and sacrifice himself in a volcano on some nondescript Pacific island. Right off the bat, the movie tips off that it's more fantasy than reality. There's a great message about not selling your life -- your dreams -- for whatever pathetic wage they're offering at the local factory or whatever the case. But the final act fizzles out in Giligan's Island cartooniness. Meg Ryan co-stars in a three-pronged role. GRADE: C+
GenerationofSwine2023-01-12
★ 10/10
Bare with me here, because things are hazy. I distinctly remember renting this at our old small town independent pre-Block Buster video rental establishment. Back when it stopped selling porn (for a few years) and devoted the back room to Betamax and Laser Disc before they moved on to a bigger building. I remember riding my bike there with my father when I was ten. I remember seeing the poster in one of the two small windows. I remember the other new releases on the shelf, and I remember renting this on VHS with a Beta Danger Mouse. And then I remember thinking it was a drama because of the start of the film, cracking up about the luggage, cracking up about the actual volcano climax, and that is about it. But I guess the point is that I remember laughing, and that is what matters.
kevin20192025-10-31
★ 8/10
"Joe Versus the Volcano" is a most off-beat and unusual film, but the central message it advocates is a common one. Life is worth living and this is never more relevant and meaningful than when life is slowly ebbing away and coming to an end and perhaps the circumstances leading up to that final terminal breath allows for a period of reflection. How awful would it be if all you were to see is a succession of missed opportunities and the "what ifs...." stemming from the possiblities afforded by these lost opportunities. A life of poor choices and complete failures is hardly ideal, but when compared to a life wasted? A life of no accomplishments at all? A life lived on these terms of taking no risks is indeed a boring existence and hopefully none of us need to jump into a volcano to realise this.