I just finished re-watching this movie again, and I think that it is probably my all-time favorite film. Tom Hanks characterized it as an "existential comedy with adventure and romance in it." That's probably a fair assessment. There's so much to say about this film, and so much has already been said about it, I'm not sure what I can add but a recommendation. I saw new things on this viewing that I had never seen before, but I see new things each time I see it. This time, it was the shape of the lightning bolt that destroys the Tweedle-Dee, and Joe's pronouncement to DeDe, Angelica, and Patricia that, upon first meeting each of them, he felt like he had met them before.One day, Shel and I will have to renew our vows, and when we do, I want to go all-out with a Waponi-style wedding. Our first wedding was, as those who were there know, a Florin-style wedding, and that was comically memorable, but I'm convinced that the Waponi way is better.
I guess what I love about this film is the fact that it is so thoroughly enjoyable on so many different levels - if all you want is a brainless comedy, that's there (e.g. the Waponi gong ringers swinging into their instruments and kerflopping down to the ground, the fake testes on Mr. Waturi's desk), and if you want something deeper, that's there too.
The dialog is an example:
DeDe: "What's with the shoe, Joe?"
Joe: "I'm losing my [soul]."
The subtle, yet pervasive symbolism is another, e.g. the lighting bolt shape, (again) the fake testes on Mr. Waturi's desk, the shedding of a hat each time 'finishes' a stage of development.
The movie is super quotable: "[Luggage] is the central preoccupation of my life . . . . If I had the need, and the wherewithal, this would be my trunk of choice."
"Okay, I'll take four."
"May you live to be a thousand years old."
"Yeah, you too."
Joe is supposed to be an "everyman." That's his express purpose in the screenplay - to be the generic everyman, and to be the protagonist. He is loving, kind, generous, flexible, and long suffering - due chiefly to his own unwillingness to force change. He is a hypochondriac. He has a terrificly thankful sense of awe and wonder. He is able to enjoy irony and humor, even at his own expense. Some might argue that these qualities flout the "everyman" mold, but I believe that they exemplify it. Joe isn't who we each want to be - Joe is who we are.
enough.
I love this film.
