The Door to the Universe Is You

“The Good Place” holds a special place in American culture. It was truly funny but also demanded that we take philosophy and humans’ place in the universe seriously.

What other entertainment has expected so much of its audience? When have viewers been so sweetly surprised to confront their own moral power? When has the absurd revealed so much about craven but redeemed souls?

The answer is the 1990 flop “Joe Versus the Volcano.”

Well, maybe “flop” is too strong a word. Let’s just say that whenever I meet someone who has seen “Joe Versus the Volcano,” I’m surprised.

When it first came out, I saw it twice in the movie theatre. My brother asked, “Why?”

I’ll tell you why. It’s funny! It has one of Tom Hanks’ earliest and strongest efforts to bridge the gap between comedy and profundity. His Joe Banks is tragic and hilarious. He is a hypochondriac who says fluorescent lights are stealing his energy. He is a sad sack who comes alive when he finds out he is dying. (Spoiler alert: he’s not dying.)

In 1990, I was lost. I had moved home to help care for my mom, but then could not get along with my dad. I blamed myself when she moved to a nursing home. My job was going nowhere. I could not bring myself to have any dreams or hopes for a career. My relationship was in a cycle of torment, but I could not end it.

Joe Versus the Volcano has a stunning portrait of a truly hopeless work environment. The opening sequence is set to a slow, grim version of “16 Tons,” as Joe and his co-workers trudge through the mud to their work at the medical supply factory.

A ruthless billionaire swoops in to offer riches and an adventurous journey to Joe, in exchange for a little thing like jumping into a volcano. (Absurd plot point: the billionaire owns a tropical island whose inhabitants [Jewish and Celtic survivors of an ancient shipwreck] require a willing sacrifice to prevent a violent eruption of the island’s volcano.)

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan would go on to create classic rom coms “Sleepless in Seattle” and “You’ve Got Mail.” But Joe Versus the Volcano is their first movie together, and in it they have three separate romances.

Meg Ryan plays three different characters who all come to love our Joe.

DeDe is Joe’s coworker at the medical supply firm where Joe is working at the start of the film. DeDe is dowdy and meek but full of humor. She is drawn to Joe when he quits his job, responding to his newfound joie de vivre. They share a lovely date. But when DeDe learns that he has a “brain cloud” that will soon kill him, she gets scared and leaves.

Meg Ryan also plays Angelica, a daughter of the man who has hired Joe to jump into the volcano. A beautiful poet and artist, she has a careless hauteur that covers a real sensitivity. She is moved by Joe and wants to connect but can only handle sex, not emotion.

DeDe and Angelica both remind me of Chidi in The Good Place. So many times, he could have had what he most wanted in life. But he couldn’t decide. He was scared to pick only one of his infinite choices, but in not choosing he lost them all.

Ryan also plays Patricia, Angelica’s sister. She has capitulated to working for their father in exchange for the small ship that will take Joe to her father’s island. Patricia is the most natural and honest of the three characters played by Ryan, and she curses herself for selling out. She tells Joe that she had always said she would never work for her father, and that her soul is sick.

In some ways Patricia reminds me of Eleanor Shellstrop, the self-proclaimed dirtbag from Arizona who is the heroine and driving force of The Good Place. “This is the bad place!” she exclaims over and over.

Both Patricia and Eleanor have seen and been part of some bad stuff but are still able to see the good in humans. They are willing to stick their necks out for those they care about, even when the stakes are ridiculously high.

The middle section of Joe Versus the Volcano is my favorite part. The movie is bracketed by absurdism at both the beginning and end. But in the middle, our Joe is in serious trouble and must confront his own mortality. Joe faces losing everything and responds with luck, inventiveness, humor, ingenuity, and an evolution of the soul. It is beautiful and unforgettable.

The movie gives Joe a bracing reimagining of what his life can be, what it MEANS. And he doesn’t even have to die to find it.

In the end Joe and Patricia need to take a literal leap, to give of themselves and to each other entirely.

Back in 1990, Joe Versus the Volcano filled me with hope at a time when it was desperately needed. With a lot of help, I was able to make some leaps and my life was transformed.

In the last few years, I have watched The Good Place with my kids, and the show has inspired some great philosophical discussions. As a young member of Generation X, things seemed very challenging. (Get a good job – in this economy?) But the world we’re handing off to Generation Z seems much more perilous.

I was surprised to learn my young adult son also loves Joe Versus the Volcano. I can’t wait to see the leaps our son makes in his life. It fills me with joy to contemplate.

We only get the one life. Will we be swallowed up by fears or choose hope? Will we believe in ourselves and see the best in each other?

I need to believe that my mom knew (knows?) I love her. Despite my failings as a person, I want to see myself as full of love. When I excavate my life, I must hold that torch in front of me. This is the good place. I choose to leap.