JOE'S APARTMENT (1996) - Movie Review

Director: John Payson
Starring: Jerry O'Connell, Jim Turner, Megan Ward, Billy West, Reginald Hudlin, Robert Vaughn
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Musical
Writer: John Payson
Runtime: 80 min
Rated: PG-13 for crude humor and a brief drug reference
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

This blog is supported by its audience. When you buy through links on my blog, I may earn an affiliate commission.

Synopsis:

Jerry O'Connell (TV's "Sliders," "Stand By Me") is fresh off the bus from Iowa and just trying to make it in New York, but he's got no job, no girl and, worst of all, no place to live. But life's about to change when he finds a home. It's a slummy, squalid, seedy little box of a place, but it's a pad Joe can call his own...or so he thinks. It seems that not all of the apartment's former tenants have evacuated. His roommates -- 50,000 dancing, singing, talking cockroaches. This creepy, funny musical film is based on the award-winning MTV live-action/animated short. Co-starring Megan Ward ("Party of Five," "Encino Man"), Jim Turner ("The Ref," "The Lost Boys"), rap group Salt-n-Pepa's Sandra Denton and Robert Vaughn ("The Towering Inferno," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.").

Review:

MTV's first foray into feature films, the zany comedy "Joe's Apartment" is the very definition of a love it or hate it movie. First of all, it features singing, dancing and wisecracking cockroaches, and that alone is enough to turn away a lot of people. Secondly, its entire running time is crammed with the most juvenile humor imaginable. And yet, I have a genuine fondness for this movie. What does that say about me as a person ?

John Payson wrote and directed this adaptation of his 1992 MTV short. I remember this movie from TV when I was growing up, and watching it again recently, I was surprised how well it stands up today. Sure, it's a product of its time, but the goofy humor fires on all cylinders. One of the first scenes of the movie, in which Jerry O'Connell's Joe steps off the bus and gets mugged three times in a row is followed by one of the best punchlines in history. The movie adheres to the "Airplane" formula of firing off gag after gag in rapid succession. Some work, others not so much, but I feel it hits more than it misses.

The cockroaches are the real stars here, and the computer-generated animation is solid for a movie that's nearly 30 years old and only cost $13 million to produce. They look convincing enough while also maintaining a certain level of expressiveness that shames even the insanely expensive 2019 CGI remake of "The Lion King" ($260 million budget). Extreme close-ups reveal the true age of the VFX work, but it's still an impressive feat. Fun fact: this was the first feature film project for Blue Sky Studios ("Ice Age", "Rio"), and they worked with the same computer animation software that was used in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and "Jurassic Park". The CGI is complemented by some inventive practical effects that include live roaches and puppets, and dynamic camerawork. It's really impressive work on such a small budget.

The humor is raunchy, even more so than you would expect from a PG-13 movie, and mostly mean-spirited. The movie can turn dark and grimy in a moment's notice, but still manages to maintain a whimsical tone throughout. O'Connell is great at navigating the film's manic gags and delivers an appropriately cartoonish performance without going overboard. Jim Turner is also great as Joe's wacky performance artist friend. The roach banter is amusing, not necessarily hilarious, but funny like something you'd hear in a 1990s cartoon, and they also get a couple of creative musical numbers with some surprisingly catchy songs. The Coen Brothers' go-to composer Carter Burwell contributes a wonderful score, which is another pleasant surprise.

To say this is a great movie might be something of a hot take, but what I can say is that "Joe's Apartment" is not a bad movie, and much like the cockroaches did at the end, Payson managed to take all the filth and garbage and create something fun and memorable. It's not high art, and it's not trying to be. It knows exactly what it is and revels in it. Results will vary depending on your understanding of comedy, but if you can stomach the cockroaches and enjoy screwball humor, the movie delivers in spades.

SCORE: 7/10