History Film / JoeVersusTheVolcano

* AlmightyJanitor: More like "wise" than "almighty". The chauffer that Joe hires gives him some pretty good advice and sets him on the right track.

* [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Hero]]: Graynamore points to Joe that he was once one when he was a firefighter.

* YouLookFamiliar: Meg Ryan plays three roles. Invoked: "Did I ever tell you that the first time I saw you, I felt I'd seen you before?"
** FridgeBrilliance: Joe mentions how he keeps meeting the same people in his life.

* EsotericMotif: Joe's "crooked road". Seen in the crooked sidewalk to the factory, the crooked road from the airport, and the crooked path to the top of the volcano, all in the same lightning bolt shape.

* NoEnding: {{Lampshaded}} by Joe that he and Patricia are in the middle of nowhere. Patricia [[HandWave Hand Waves]] this and just smiles, "It's always gonna be something with you, isn't it?"
** Actually, if you watch the full end credits, the final scene shows them rescued by a boat in a background picture format. There's more hope for a happy ending for the two of them than it seems.

A 1990 RomanticComedy staring Creator/TomHanks and Creator/MegRyan (the first of three films they've done together). Hanks plays Joe Banks, a miserable {{everyman}} in a dead-end job with a BadBoss. To make matters worse, Joe is diagnosed with a mysterious "brain cloud" that will kill him in six months. Enter an EccentricMillionaire, who is trying to acquire the rights to a [[MacGuffin rare mineral]] on a South Pacific island. The natives will only give him the mineral rights if he finds a hero to AppeaseTheVolcanoGod for them. The millionaire hires Joe, who agrees to jump into the volcano at the end of a month of living it up on an all-expense-paid voyage. HilarityEnsues.

A notorious flop when it was released in 1990, but in the years since it's been VindicatedByHistory to some extent.

* BadBoss: Mr. Waturi.
-->"Do you think I feel good? Nobody feels good. After childhood, it's a fact of life. I feel rotten. So what?"

* WeirdMoon: A giant moon silhouettes Joe as he's floating around on his luggage raft. Justified, as Joe is hallucinating from the effects of exposure and dehydration.

* MundaneMadeAwesome: The steamer trunk is introduced by an AngelicChoir. Turns out it becomes ''very'' important to the plot.

[[EveryManHasHisPrice Every Woman Has Her Price]]: Patricia is snarky and nasty to Joe at first, but she explains that her father bribed her with the ''Tweedle Dee'' to help him with his plan. She's angry that she discovered she did have a price and what the price was (the boat.)

* {{Unobtainium}}: Boobaroo, the rare mineral that is a tremendous superconductor.

* YouLookFamiliar: Meg Ryan plays three roles. {{Lampshaded}}: "Did I ever tell you that the first time I saw you, I felt I'd seen you before?"

* AppeaseTheVolcanoGod: [[spoiler: The volcano god rejects Joe and Patricia and sinks the island]].
* [[{{Motif}} Arc Motif]]: The mysterious giant zig-zag symbol. It pops up throughout the film.
** For instance, on the giant logo of the SteamAndFlameFactory, on the sidewalk outside, on the trail up the side of the volcano, on the lightning that destroys the boat... Is it a volcano or a lightning bolt?
*** It's quite explicit in the film. It's the "crooked road" that Joe's been walking all his life.

* DeathByMaterialism: [[spoiler: According to the Waponi chief, his people have been seduced by orange soda (given to them by Graynamore), and now none of them are willing to sacrifice themselves to appease their volcano god. Since none of them jump, the volcano god destroys the island.]]

* EccentricMillionaire: Graynamore, [[spoiler: who's not as kind as he seems, making a perfectly healthy man commit suicide by making him think he has a fatal disease]].

** [[spoiler: Patricia says she has last words too when she decides to jump with him, but she can't think of anything to say]].

-->[[spoiler: '''Joe:''' I have... a brain cloud. ''(dramatic musical strike)'']]
-->[[spoiler: '''Patricia:''' A brain cloud... what ''is'' a brain cloud?]]
-->[[spoiler: '''Joe:''' Well, it's a ... ''({{beat}})'' ... well, maybe I should have gotten a second opinion.]]
-->[[spoiler: '''Patricia:''' You mean you were diagnosed with something called a brain cloud and didn't ask for a ''second opinion''?! What are you, a hypochondriac or something?]]

* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: The Waponis. It's strongly implied that since none of the natives were brave enough to pick from one of their own, the Volcano God rejected the replacements and destroyed the island instead.]]

* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler: Graynamore and his doctor tricked Joe into thinking he was dying to get him to jump in a volcano to win some {{Unobtainium}}]].

-> "Nobody knows anything, Joe. We'll take this leap, and we'll see. We'll jump, and we'll see. That's life, right?"

* AuthorAppeal: Watch ''{{Moonstruck}}'' and this film and note the similarities.

* ChekhovsGun: The luggage. Let's just say it's a good that that it's [[spoiler:watertight.]]

* [[spoiler:MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Dr. Ellison clearly does not deserve his degree, but you don't find that out until the final scene.]]

** Actually, [[spoiler:if you watch the full end credits, the final scene shows them rescued by a boat in a background picture format. There's more hope for a happy ending for the two of them than it seems.]]

** The filmmakers said this was to symbolize (paraphrased) how the same woman can seem completely and totally different depending on when in your life you meet her. [[spoiler:When Joe meets the first woman played by Meg Ryan, she's someone he's dreamed about but upon actually getting her, finds she's shallow and fearful... like his adult life has been for the last few years. The second woman is flighty and obsessed with the material and ultimately empty... Joe's transition between his old life and new way of living, where he accumulates numerous possessions but is still alone and acutely aware that he is. The third is both outspoken and independent, but still not sure of her lot in life and frustrated with the connections that drag her down... this is how Joe feels as he begins to come to terms with the end of his life but still finds himself clinging to it. It's this woman that Joe spends the most time with and connects with, and so they [[CharacterDevelopment grow together]] into a complete whole.]]
* YourDaysAreNumbered

* {{Homage}}: According to WordOfGod, the "Sixteen Tons" opening is a tribute to ''Film/Metropolis''.