Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 10, 1990                   TAG: 9003102562
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: mike mayo
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`JOE' DOESN'T LIVE UP TO ITS POTENTIAL

That's a shame because this one has potential. Writer/director John Patrick Shanley won a well-deserved Oscar for his "Moonstruck" script, and "Joe" appeared to be another offbeat comedy with a first-rate cast. The film does begin with some good ideas and a fresh approach, but it quickly becomes clear that Shanley loves to direct.

He's particularly fond of carefully staged, visually impressive, lenghty shots - things like having the camera pull away from a conventional close-up to give us an overhead shot of the character, and then flipping the camera around to show us an impressively grimy factory; or presenting a misty New York skyline at night with all the building lights tinted in soft pastel colors; or showing a moon so huge it makes the ones in "Moonstruck" look puny.

But those shots do nothing to advance the story about Joe Banks (Tom Hanks) who is told that he has an incurable "brain cloud" and will die within six months. Having learned that, he leaves his job at the aforementioned grimy factory, which is shown in interminable, hideous detail. The next day, a rich guy named Graynamore (Lloyd Bridges) shows up and invites Joe to live like a king for a few weeks and then throw himself into a volcano on a small Pacific island.

The reasons behind that are far too ridiculous and complicated to describe, but Joe buys it, and thus is introduced to Graynamore's two daughters, a nasty redhead and a beautiful blonde (Meg Ryan in both roles; she's also a dark-haired secretary). The blonde tells him that she and her sister are "soulsick."

Most of the characters tend to spout that kind of bumper-sticker philosophy instead of realistic dialogue, though the main Meg Ryan character is unconscious for one prolonged sequence. They talk that way because they really don't have anything to say. Once the premise has been established, the story wanders aimlessly until it bumps into an ending, complete with the special effects that tie everything all up in a neat, mushy package.

Hanks handles the lead as well as anyone could, but he's not given enough to work with. His natural charm and screen presence can't carry what little dramatic weight the story has. As for Meg Ryan, her evil redhead is much more interesting than her cute blonde, but red doesn't stick around very long.

"Joe Versus the Volcano" was produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment company, and once it gets away from the factory, it takes on that same fuzzy prettiness that has made so many of Spielberg's recent movies so annoying.

`Joe Versus the Volcano' A Warner Bros. release playing at the Towers Theatre (345-5519) and the Valley View Mall 6 (362-8219). Rated PG for profanity. An hour and 40 minutes long.