Customer Reviews

Joe

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Starring Peter Boyle as Joe, an angry blue collar worker and Dennis Patrick as an upscale business executive whose daughter is recovering from a drug overdose, this 1970 movie captured the essence of the era.

The world was rapidly changing then and values that were formerly held dear were being questioned and attacked by the counter-culture movement. When Joe sits in a bar and vents his anger at this changing world, he presents a picture of a very real human being.

An act of violence brings the business executive into Joe's world, and the two men form an odd kind of bonding. They might be from different economic classes but they share a similar anger and confusion of a changing world that they are struggling to understand.

Susan Sarandon plays the hippie daughter. This was her first movie role and the part is small but significant. She's young and fresh and just at the beginning of her career.

The film has a rather unsettling effect and manages to capture all the complexities and contradictions of its time. I sat on the edge of my seat as the drama unfolded, glad for the comic relief of the satirical humor. I wonder why the sound track of the songs never became popular. The words were hard hitting and emotion stirring. Perhaps it was because it played to the festering unease that lay simmering below the surface, just waiting to erupt.

Every single scene was laced with irony and contrast. And every scene had its moments that made me squirm uncomfortably. There were no subtle nuances; everything was crisp and clear. And the script brought the voices of its time to the screen without any pretty packaging.

The screenplay was good, and so was most of the acting, although in retrospect it seems a little overdone. But that's easy to say thirty years later, when the hippies have all grown up and the results of the upheaval in our country turned out to be more of social awareness than confrontative violence. In 1970 though, it was different.

Don't miss this video. It's an historical view of a bygone era. And totally fascinating.

Caution-possible spoilers ahead..... Just watched 'Joe' for the second time. The first time was 30+ years ago on an Air Force Base. I was reminded of that by the Air Force overcoat with Tech. Sgt. stripes wore by the boyfriend/dealer; we airmen had quite a laugh the first time that appeared on the screen because that is a 'lifer' rank. Over the years I have carried several other images from the film. Foremost was the absolutely beautiful and vulnerable daughter of the executive. As someone else commented, you could not take you eyes off her. I did not realize until now that this was a 20-year old Susan Sarandon in her first movie. What a loss that she did not do more movies when she looked like that. I also recall the irony of having a counterculture hero like Peter Boyle playing the title role of a right-wing gun nut. Not unlike George C. Scott playing generals in Dr. Strangelove and Patton. And of course the shocking ending made a lasting impression.

30+ years ago it was the most talked about movie that ever played on the base. We thought it was a great film then and I have been reluctant to see it again because I was afraid that it would be as disappointingly dated as Easy Rider. But watching it today I was amazed at how well the film has held up. It is a very strong script with few holes although you have to wonder about the boyfriend immediately getting out of the bathtub when Sarandon gets in with him.

Searching for an explanation of why this film is still so entertaining I have to think it has something to do with the perfect physical casting. Boyle was physically believable as Joe (as others have pointed out his portrayal would inspire the Archie Bunker character a few 'years later). Did Ted Knight model his 'Caddyshack' character-Judge Smails after the Dennis Patrick's advertising executive in 'Joe'? They look alike and sound alike. Patrick was totally believable as the wrapped-too-tight upper middle class executive. And Sarandon's doe-eyed innocent with the Raggety Ann doll still evokes a protective response from all male viewers-perfect casting.

The nude and drug scenes actually hold up (they were very provocative for their day) and are as explicit as anything to be found in 'Thirteen'. About the only thing that dates this film is that the violence is not realistic or graphic. 'Joe' was about the same time as 'The Wild Bunch', and the tone of movie violence had a just begun to change.

Another reason this film holds up is that events in the past couple of years have brought back the relevancy of the theme and context of this film. In the film both types of 'conservatives' are portrayed as full of fear and hate toward the unconventional ways of the counterculture; and filled with envy at their free and hedonistic lifestyle. The counterculture is portrayed as mocking the straight culture; and although paranoid toward conservatives (legitimately so given that this was just a couple months after Kent State) they cannot resist flaunting their lifestyle in an attempt to antagonize. The political landscape is not all that different 30+ years later. I'm not sure conservatives envy young people and liberals as much as 1970, but they fear and hate them more.

An excellent film that surprisingly is as relevant now as it was in the early 1970's.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

This movie introduced the world to two new stars. One, Peter Boyle, became a star instantly, and still remains one today. We also get the debut of Susan Sarandon, who star really wouldn't shine until, well, how about "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"? She certainly shone for me there! However, she was a small if important figure in this movie, and it's Boyle who carries it.

What's strange about the film is that the "star" and title character does not get introduced until over thirty minutes into the film, before he virtually takes it over. We are first introduced to Sarandon and her hippy-dippy drug dealing boy friend. They are leading relatively aimless lives, and the boyfriend is as scummy as a drug dealer gets, in that he rips off his customers. When Sarandon overdoses, we are introduced to her parents, we see the first of two foil situations in this movie.

There are two tugs-of-war going on in this movie. There is the generation gap here, as the hippy kids can't figure out why the parents would want to work the way they do to get the life they lead. Yes, the parents are stereotypes of people who's joy in life consists of their evening cocktail, but the alternative presented by the kids here is not that appealing either.

Then there is the tug-of-war between white collar and blue collar. Sarandon's parents are relatively wealthy, and after the father has his "conflict" with the boyfriend, he drowns his sorrows in a bar. Enter Boyle, who has been raving about everything wrong with current society in a manner that must have inspired Archie Bunker. When white-collar tells Joe the blue-collar that he wailed on a hippie, he becomes Joe's hero.

A little too much though, as Joe starts involving himself in a life he can only imagine. We see scenes between the two, and then with their wives involved, that show much uncomfortable ness as they realize (well, all but Joe seem to realize) that they live in different worlds. But they also find that their bond (hating hippies) is strong enough that they even begin to admire each other.

The film takes no real sides in all four areas. All have their points, and all have their faults. The youth understandably don't want to turn into their parents, but don't seem to offer a decent alternative. The older people are too set in their ways, but they earned their livelihoods, and this is how they choose their later years. The white-collars are a bit spoiled, but they seem to have education on their side. The blue-collars have a lot of prejudices based on ignorance, but in a way are the salt of the earth. The strength of this picture is that this is all presented while telling an unusual male-bonding story.

"Joe" is a portrayal of an angry, seething hardhat who simply cannot come to grips with the idea that "'dose hippies" have seized the culture and are gleefully butchering everything America stands for in the process. The first scene which introduces us to Joe Curran features him in a downtown New York bar drunkedly screaming about "nigga'-luvin' hippies and social workers, "niggas screwin' and gettin' paid for makin' babies", and, finally crescendoing to reveal his raging desire to "kill one 'uv 'em...I would.I'd like to kill one 'uv 'em". He confesses this to someone who only minutes before did just that: William Compton, nicely played by Dennis Patrick, whose daughter Melissa (Susan Sarandon) was under the drug-induced spell of the late 'Frank' (Patrick McDermott). The two come to form an alliance that has an interesting duality. Joe embraces him out of enormous respect because it ia something that Joe can only hollar about doing. Compton yields to Joe's affection for him out of fear that he'll tell the police or possibly even try to blackmail him, as his "I just did" response to Joe's bar rant about killing "one 'uv him" leads Joe to discover that Compton is the killer. And it is how this unusual alliiance begins to grow into almost a true friendship between a suit and a blue-collar "joe" that truly intrigued me about the film. And much of what Joe says throughout the movie-while boorish and harsh in tone-do represent legitimate gripes of a contentious war veteran experiencing a type of change which he is simply not able to cope with. While bleeding-hearts of that era rationalized on and on about a "new generation that demanded change"-especially anyone writing for The New York Times then, Joe cursed this "change" as a concerted effort to destroy the America that he knew, loved and fought for. It continually reminded me of a riot in the financial district of New York in 1969 where a legion of hardhats pummeled a group of NYU students vociferously protesting the Viet Nam War, tore down some flag that they had hung outside a major edifice there, and in its place hung the American Flag. Even just after viewing te movie, newsreels of that day flashed through my mind and I kept thinking, "That's Joe".

When I saw the shock ending of "The Sixth Sense," Ithought back to the last time a movie's ending took my breath awaylike that, and I thought instantly of "Joe." It's "Allin the Family" plus "Easy Rider" equals "TaxiDriver," and it's unforgettable. (At the time, it wasconsidered a hard "R," and people enjoyed disparaging it forits profanity and violence, including matrons in the lobby afterward,although I noticed none of them left early. One night, at theByron/Carlyle Twin Theater in Miami Beach, a man had a heart attack inthe audience during the last half of the picture.) Some of theperformances are clunky, as is some of the camerawork and patches ofdialogue. But overall, this look at a blue-collar American bigot'simmersion into the world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll istremendously effective. There's a single camera shot near the end,taken from inside a dark house where some casual music is playing,looking out onto a snowy yard over which two shotgun-wielding men areapproaching, and it's one of the most chilling moments of portent infilm. If you still need a reason, well, hey, it was young Sarandon'sfirst movie, and you get to see her in a tub.

22. JOE (drama, 1970) Joe (Peter Boyle) is a factory worker who's known to hate "hippies and niggers". He's a loudmouth who despises them saying that if he had the chance he'd go on a killing spree. He meets Bill, a businessman who has just murdered the lover of his drug addict young daughter Jill (Susan Sarandon). Finding out Jill runs away and joins a hippie commune at the outskirts of town. Bill turns to Joe for help. Their search leads them through the seediest parts of town where both men's inner hatred and loath is furthered tested. They finally discover Jill and the climax that ensues turns bloody.

Critique: This was director John G. Avildsen's first sleeper-turned smash hit (an amazing run of others include: Rocky, The Karate Kid, Split-Image, Weekend at Bernie's). Film is interesting enough in that it served to encapsulate the themes and ideas of the turbulent 60s (Vietnam War, black power, women's lib etc.). It also has a good performance from Peter Boyle as Joe, one of the cinema's first antiheroes. He's always been good at playing creepy, bossy heavies whose abstract ideas are enforced by his intimidating presence (he would play the Frankenstein monster in Mel Brook's spoof Young Frankenstein). He reminds me of a little kid trapped in a big, dumb, awkward body. Film has a weak script (the meeting of Joe and Bill, for instance, is a bit coincidental), but it has a particularly gruesome, post-Taxi Driver ending.

QUOTE: Title Song: "I saw a fella selling junk to children He gets nervous everytime I pass Cause he knows that if I catch him I'm gonna kick his head and kick his fat ***."

How did I miss this when it first appeared? I was in high school in Southern California when Joe was first released but despite a storyline which would have appealed to hipper elements at school, I don't recall Joe ever being mentioned by anyone who fit that description nor do I recall ever reading about it in the burgeoning and ubiquitous underground press. Anyhow, to this day I have never met anyone who mentioned anything to me about this movie and indeed, I found out about it only through an amazon recommendation that appeared because of something else I bought. Anyhow, that recommendation sounded interesting so I ordered it, watched it, and overall I enjoyed it.

Joe is a thought-provoking film, but it is riddled with stereotypes. Ad exec Bill Compton's world is one of money, success, and a sort of metrosexual social milieu. Joe Curran's world is combatively blue-collar, where any man with any pretense to sophistication is seen as a "fag", a pinko, or a n*#*#*-lover. He may have been the inspiration for Archie Bunker, the ignorant TV bigot who came to epitomize the typical conservative to a generation of sneering liberals. Curran bowled (how gauche!), he ate junk food, drank cheap beer and liquor, loved to fondle and clean his guns, and constantly railed against hippies, contemporary music and culture, and welfare parasites. He is a time-bomb just waiting to explode. The film's hippies, too, are stereotypes with their cocktail of constant drug use, communal living, libertine attitudes, and even their eating habits.

So how did two such unlikely friends hook up? Unlike many others, I don't see this as a weird kind of male bonding film. I see it as the story of a guy who got sucked into a world he didn't know, like, or understand by a careless comment he made to a raving drunk in a bar. Dennis Patrick, as ad exec Bill Compton has a lot to lose. After accidentally killing his daughter's degenerate boyfriend in a fit of rage, he stops into a bar for a drink. Peter Boyle, as Joe Curran, was already in the bar loudly pontificating on welfare bums and other human effluvium. He commented to Compton that he'd like to kill a hippie. Compton, still in shock from his struggle with his daughter's boyfriend, commented that he just did. Curran introduced himself and offered to buy him a drink, but Compton left. When the story of the dead drug addict hit the news, Curran put two and two together, sought Compton out and asked to meet him. Compton, fearing blackmail, went along to meet the cunning Curran and that meeting started the spiral of events which eventually led to a tragic ending.

Though Joe is somewhat dated, it is still a story that speaks to legions of parents who have suffered the heartache of seriously wayward offspring as well as being a cautionary reminder of how easily events can spiral out of control with tragic consequences. If you grew up in the late sixties or early seventies and haven't seen Joe, do so now, its like riding a time machine.

First off, I would not suggest 'Joe' (1970) as an ideal date movie. This 70's contemporary urban drama from director John G. Avildsen is pervasively raw, gritty and unflinching in its storytelling. However, this is in no way meant against the film in a negative way. On the contrary, its hard, grim style and mood serve the movie well by giving it an honest quality about it. Commendably, it attempts to accurately depict the harsh realities of urban and suburban life as well as society as a whole during the early 70's. The movie has a cool, weird vibe about it and one can tell right away that they are in for a unique moviegoing experience just from the opening credits, which are creatively displayed entirely within the main title image of the word 'Joe'.

The story of 'Joe' begins with the runaway daughter of a wealthy business executive, Melissa Compton (played by a very young Susan Sarandon), who has recently been shacking up with her sleazy, dope-pusher, hippie boyfriend, Frank (Patrick McDermott), in a decaying tenement within New York City. They argue, take lots of drugs and have languid, stoned-out sex. One afternoon after Melissa follows Frank on one of his street-pharmacist sale meetings, he gives her some speedball and sends her on her way home. She instead ends up in a bargain store where she experiences a bad trip-out and breakdown and subsequently ends up in the hospital. After being located by her parents, her father, Bill (Dennis Patrick) ventures to the tenement where Frank and his daughter have been staying to recover some of her clothes and belongings. While inside the apartment, Bill encounters Frank returning home from his latest sale to two teenage girls within the building. After a brief exchange between the two, Frank provokes Bill by taunting him about Melissa. Bill briefly loses his temper and inadvertently kills him in a momentary fit of anger. Afterward he flees the scene and takes with the stash of drugs Frank has brought with him.

The situation progresses from bad to worse when Bill attempts to relieve the stress and anxiety of what he's just done with a drink at a nearby bar, The American Bar & Grill. It's here that he encounters notorious regular customer and titular charcater, Joe Curran (Peter Boyle in a top-notch performance), a dangerously conservative, racist and overly-opinionated working-class factory worker. Joe passionately despises hippies, liberals, blacks, jews, homosexuals, anti-war activists and anyone else he perceives to be a threat to his values and way of life. (Joe is actually not much different from the average denizen of Fox News, or Faux News as I like to call it.) After Bill impulsively admits to Joe that he just killed the hippie, drug dealer boyfriend of his daughter to Joe, Joe is instantly intrigued. Joe's intrigue and wonder are later confirmed when he reads the story of Frank's murder in the newspaper three days later. After this, Bill becomes a personal hero to Joe and the two and the two meet up outside of work and strike up an unholy partnership and odd friendship that glaringly contrasts the socio-economic differences between Bill's life of affluence and prosperity with Joe's blue-collar schlub existence. At first, Bill doesn't share Joe's prejudices and views, but after listening to Joe's rantings and speeches, he gradually begins to believe that he may have done a noble thing by killing Frank.

After Melissa learns of Frank's death and escapes from the hospital, Joe and Bill decide to find her themselves by infiltrating the local underground hippie subculture they both so hate to learn of her whereabouts. It's at this point the film takes a turn for the rather amusing and comical when the two manage to win over the trust of a young group of hippies with the tantalizing promises of the drugs Bill still has in his possession. They're invited back to a party where the two oddly start to momentarily get into the scene by taking drugs themselves and even both getting laid! After they're robbed by the group, though, they quickly snap back into focus, tracking the group down to upstate, country retreat where the film changes gears totally and races to violent, tragic and shocking ending.

As you can probably guess, 'Joe' is not politically correct nor is it pretty. In many ways it's quite an ugly film but is honorable in the fact that it makes no attempt to sugar-coat its subject matter. There are several uncomfortable scenes, most notably those of drug abuse. If you're an ultra right-wing nutball, you'll probably love this movie. If you consider yourself to be liberal, this movie may not be for your taste. I can understand why some critics don't like this movie and can understand why most liberal individuals wouldn't like this movie, but as a viewer who isn't concerned with politics and simply likes a good story for its own sake, I was fairly entertained, so I'm not going to act like 'Joe' is the most horrible, hateful movie ever made.

Peter Boyle's bold and outstanding performance is definitely what makes this movie. His potrayal of Joe is all at once impassioned, powerful, hypnotic, darkly humorous and definitely stays with the viewer. Watching him in this movie is like watching a train-wreck ; you just can't take your eyes off of him. Watch for the tense but darkly comical dinner scene where Joe and his wife Mary Lou (K. Callan) have Bill and his wife, Joan (Audrey Caire), over for dinner at their place where Joe proceeds to proudly show off his gun collection to Joan. Let's just say he's a long, LONG way from his beloved role of Frank the ornery grandad on the hit TV sitcom, 'Everybody Loves Raymond', a character that he makes look tame and innocent by comparison. Fans of Peter Boyle from that show may want to avert their eyes (and ears) from him here.

Despite its controversy, 'Joe' deserves to be seen and is commendable for its unflinching realism and honesty, which puts it in the same category as other social commentary-themed flicks of the late 60's and early 70's such as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Dirty Harry and Death Wish. While it's decidely not pretty, it remains an important film for what is: a cultural slice of early '70's, Vietnam-era Americana and its potent reminder of the consequences that result when we take our hatred and prejudices too far.

(Be sure to listen to the lyrics of the titular theme song for this movie, as they are morbidly hilarious.) Macabre humor throughout.

these other reviews of the film are great and there is not much to add. the acting of some of the hippie kids is bad, and there are a few holes here and there, but this is a tremendous film that doesn't deserve to be obscure today. boyle's character is like pretty much everyone i grew up with, i think this is his finest performance. and i agree that the soundtrack should be re released on cd immediately.

"...we gotta get this country off of welfare. Back our boys in Vietnam. Show the world we'll fight for freedom. But does anybody give a good goddamn?..." -Title Song from "Joe"

Peter Boyle's debut as the bigoted hard-hat Joe Curran should send a message that is as pivotal now as it was back in 1970- racism and hatred of counterculture are simply signs of confusion of the times we live in. His emotional depth that he puts in his role was more than Oscar-worthy, simply because he was a man of limited emotion and limited feeling. Joe Curran, one of cinema's first anti-heroes, is a lovable and favored character trapped in the walls of his frustrations. He was a man who needed an escape from his blue-collar existence. This is why we empathize with his flag-waving, freedom-loving persona.

"Joe," adapted from Norman's Wexler's worthy script, was a sleeper hit back in its initial release and a personal triumph to all involved (specifically director, John G. Avildsen, and actress, Susan Sarandon) and rocketed them all to stardom. To put it simple, the film is a swan song in waiting about the complex blue collar view of the hippie generation of the 1960's, actually being a film suitable for any counterculture generation. It shows how often confused past generations are with new lifestyles and fads, etc. This is an excellent film that is worthy of being a favorite of mine for years to come. It is a shame that it is has long since faded from memory. Although I somewhat differ from his opinions and idiosyncrasies, I love Joe Curran in my own way that is different from any character-audience relationship-- simply because he doesn't force the charm on his audience... and this is helped by John G. Avildsen's thoughtful connection. His charcter is what part of makes the final image haunting.

The story is of wealthy advertising executive William Compton (Dennis Patrick) who murders his daughter's hippie-druggie boyfriend (Patrick MacDermot)for turning her onto drugs and overdoses her on speed- resulting in her hospitalization. Leaving from their hip, low-class apartment (disgraceful for their bourgeoise existence), he meets Joe Curran (Peter Boyle) in a bar. He listens to Joe preach to a bored bartender about his racist and anti-hippie views. He identifies with it and catches Joe's ear. When Joe finds that Bill actually murdered someone, he takes him under his wing and they become unlikely friends. When Bill's daughter (Susan Sarandon) finds out that her father murdered her boyfriend, she goes missing in Greenwich Village. Joe now becomes obsessed with helping him find her (after a rather humorous dinner sequence involving Joe, Bill, and their wives). Their search takes them to a marijuana party that later results in violence.

This is a movie that our golden boy, Oscar, totally and unfairly ignored and underrated. These performances in "Joe" are top notch and tour de force and the direction is just as effective, even more than the 1970 winner "Patton." It was terribly and brutally underrated at the Academy Awards which is a shame. This is a beautiful film. Simply and lovingly accomplished. I loved it. It boils over in its humor ("Stop it, for Chrissake, you'd think the Pope was comin'") and steaming social commentary. It would be a noble gesture to restore it and release it to DVD. Putting it bluntly, it needs more attention and more of a following. 1970 was awarded with this fine gem.

This is the #2 film on my Top Ten list and Amazon.com has an asset with this sprawling "epic." A 10!

"Hey Joe! Doesn't it wanna make ya go to war once more? Hey Joe! Why the devil did we go to war before? What the hell for?" -"Joe"'s Title Song

This film is Rated R for nudity, a brief orgy scene, profanity, mild violence, adult situations, and simulated sex.

Is suitable for pre-teen viewing.

Daniel Kremer, film critic