Joe Versus the Volcano

Joe Banks is a dissatisfied New Yorker stuck in a dull office job, convinced that the fluorescent lights at work are making him ill and too timid to approach the woman he likes. A visit to a doctor brings worse news: he has a brain condition and only months left to live. Freed from his usual fears, he accepts an unusual offer from an eccentric wealthy businessman named Samuel Harvey Graynamore: live lavishly for a short time and then throw himself into an active volcano on a Polynesian island, where the local people believe a sacrifice will calm their fire god and secure access to a valuable mineral.

John Patrick Shanley wrote and directed the film, his first as director, arriving years before Doubt and Wild Mountain Thyme. Tom Hanks plays Joe, while Meg Ryan appears in three distinct roles, among them Patricia Graynamore, the businessman's daughter, with Lloyd Bridges, Dan Hedaya, Ossie Davis and Barry McGovern in support. Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall produced for Warner Bros. and Amblin Entertainment.

Made for about 25 million dollars, the film took in roughly 39 million worldwide. Ratings place it modestly: on IMDb it holds 5.9 from around 42,000 votes, and on TMDB 5.8 from some 600 votes. A critics' rating of 6.1 from 37 reviews sits close to those audience figures, suggesting a mixed but not hostile reception all round.