User Reviews

The 1970 classic "Joe" owes a lot to the performances of its leading actors, especially Peter Boyle in his star-making turn in the title role. Joe is a blue collar bigot; he's actually pretty democratic about it, as he seems to hate all those who are "different" equally. He makes the acquaintance of Bill Compton (Dennis Patrick), a well-off advertising executive who's just accidentally killed the drug pushing boyfriend (Patrick McDermott) of his young daughter Melissa (Susan Sarandon, in her film debut). Joe figures out that Bill is a killer, but even armed with this knowledge, he doesn't exactly blackmail Bill. Rather, he thinks he's found a kindred spirit, somebody who despises hippies as much as he does. The result is an uneasy sort of relationship that forms the crux of the movie, as it develops. Bill isn't as angry a man as Joe, but he does find him to be an interesting individual.

The way that a few separate worlds, and worldviews, collide, makes for good entertainment in this effort from screenwriter Norman Wexler and director John G. Avildsen. The generation gap provides further conflict, and seeing Joe and Bill eventually immerse themselves in the hippie universe is no less than fascinating. (The two of them do so as a means of searching for Melissa, who's run away.) They try to prove to each other how well they can adapt to this kind of lifestyle, including taking hits from a bong. Naturally, it isn't long before Joe is reminded of just how much he loathes hippies when he and Bill are robbed, and he spurs the increasingly distressed Bill on to a violent revenge - and a devastating conclusion.

Described in many reviews here as an even more volatile version of Archie Bunker, Boyles' Joe is a true force of nature, and the actor is so good in the role that he basically makes the movie. The other actors (such as Audrey Caire as Bills' wife and K. Callan as Joes' wife) are fine, and Boyle and Patrick do work well together.

A film very much of its time, "Joe" is a well paced drama that is definitely worth a viewing. It's likely to stick in peoples' minds after it's over.

Eight out of 10.

Bill, a respectable businessman, kills his daughter's drug-dealer boyfriend in a fit of rage after she overdoses. In shock over what he has done, he goes into a bar to have a drink. In the bar is Joe, a man who hates blacks and hippies, and who is giving full vent to his spleen. In one sense, Joe's rant is dated, couched in terms of the events of the late 1960s. But in another sense, his diatribe is a timeless expression of bigotry, one that it is just as fresh in the twenty-first century as it was back then.

Bill confesses to Joe that he just killed one of those hippies, because it eases his conscience to admit his crime to someone who "understands," though he quickly says he was just kidding. Later, when Joe realizes that Bill actually did kill a hippie, something he has always wanted to do, but probably never would have, he calls Bill up and says he wants to get together. The two of them form a deadly combination, resulting in a massacre of hippies. Inadvertently, Bill kills Melissa, his own daughter.

The first time I saw the movie was in 1970. As the years passed, my memory was that Bill and Joe killed a bunch of harmless, peace-loving hippies. But having seen the movie recently, I realize that the hippies are not portrayed sympathetically. Early in the movie, when Melissa enters the room she shares with her boyfriend, he is taking a bath. She gets in the tub with him, and he immediately gets out. It is not clear whether he is merely indifferent to her romantic gesture, or whether he despises her, but either way, he treats her like dirt.

Speaking of dirt, that reminds me of their feet. Notwithstanding the bath, their feet are filthy. Back in those days, having dirty feet was de rigueur for hippies, because being unclean was a way of displaying contempt for the rules of society. And just to make sure we know they have the required dirt and grime, when they get in bed together, the camera films them from the end of the bed so that we get full view of the bottoms of four filthy feet.

Later, when Bill and Joe participate in an orgy of sorts, we get the spectacle of Joe's naked beer gut coming down on top of some hippie chick as he prepares to have sex with her, after remarking that he doesn't need any foreplay. While this allows us to see how crude Joe is, as if we were not already convinced, it also tells us something about the hippie chick on whom he descends, for a girl would have to be pretty much of a lowlife to take part in such a degrading act.

Furthermore, the hippies are thieves, for they rob Bill and Joe of their wallets, which angers them so much that they track the hippies down, at which point things get out of hand and the massacre ensues. In other words, the hippies are unlikable, dirty, and immoral. And while it would be going too far to say that they got what they deserved, their behavior does seem to vindicate much of what Joe was saying about them in the bar.

This was one of John G. Avildsen's first films (he is the man who directed Rocky and The Karate Kid). This was also one of Peter Boyle's first films (yes the Peter Boyle who was Young Frankenstein and on Everyone Loves Raymond). Life magazine even had a write up on this film, released the year after Easy Rider Joe sort of takes a look at American society from the other end of the spectrum, that of a conservative blue collar bigot. In real life Peter Boyle is a very kind gentle man (he said he had a hard time changing his voice into Joe's aggressive snarl). For example, Joe talks of how good it felt to kill Japs in WWII. In real life, Peter Boyle's military service was shortened by a nervous breakdown. Nevertheless, Boyle is chilling in his monologues where he talks of niggers and queer liberals. All In The Family came on a year after Joe was made and Joe is really a nightmarish version of Archie Bunker. All In The Family made us laugh at our fears and prejudices, Joe hits us with them like a punch in the face and makes us sick. This was one of Susan Sarandon's first films and she is good as the wealthy businessmen's daughter whose father is forced to kill her at the end. The bloodbath in the end of this film is horrific and expertly done. It reminds you of the violence in The Wild Bunch. This is the film that made Peter Boyle a star and "hardhat" a household world. This movie is never shown on tv and is very hard to find on video but it is well worth your time to see it. Maybe that reason that Joe was so popular is that there is a little bit of him in all of us. He represents our fears and hates and inner demons. Maybe were looking at ourselves and that makes it even more chilling.

WARNING: Read this entry after watching the movie! Like 'Easy Rider' released a year before, 'Joe' tries to illustrate what happens when the counterculture and mainstream (albeit right-wing) America meet: a violent end ensues. Although this film is for the most part a slow-moving display of traditional "old-fashion" American morals versus the 60's "do-what-feels-good" lifestyle, it is also a commentary on upper-class vs. lower-middle class and their inability to meet in the middle as illustrated when the Comptons meet the Currans. Boyle's Joe represents a generation stuck in the 1940s and 50s where 'Kill a commie for Mommy (or jap or hippie for that matter) is okay so long as it helps and saves America. Joe and wife Mary Jo are clearly the archetypes for Archie Bunker and Dingbat wife, Edith. This movie - which will forever be known for its violent (but not bloody - no blood is seen at all) ending is uneven however. Joe blasts (verbally) the hippie generation then (literally) lays down with them to infiltrate their numbers to locate Compton's daughter - when clearly he should have been repulsed by the idea but forgoes the separatist idea for the sake of sex. When he is betrayed through thievery (read: trust of the older generation to the newer generation), he lashes out through an unrelenting chain of murder. Perhaps it is due to the Tarantinos of Hollywood that the watcher expects blood-streaming death in the end scene, but the bloodless shootings long for any sort of impact or realism. 'Joe' is not a great movie, but it is an interesting display of class and culture alienation and the animalistic underlying extremes to the generation gap.

I recall so many things about seeing this movie back during it's original theatrical release - the post Woodstock afterglow of peace and love, along with the pre-Watergate tension of fear and paranoia. It's hard to believe that it's thirty seven years later, and I can still remember the thoughts going through my head while watching the film with my best friend. Like marveling at Peter Boyle's characterization of the ultimate redneck, sure to typecast him the rest of his career (Oh, how wrong!), and how the counter culture jarred the sensibilities of most of the country. To this day, my buddy and I still use Joe Curran's line from my summary above when faced with a dilemma; curious how a simple line like that can stay with you for decades.

It's curious to read comments about the film from others on this board, particularly the ones stating that the film has a dated quality and how over the top the characters were. Still, if you were around during that time, the picture gives a pretty accurate portrayal of the polar opposites that existed back then, pretty much side by side as the events in the story reveal. If you really want dated, when was the last time you heard the words Macy's and Gimbel's in the same sentence, or a line like Joe's - "Come on, get with the Pepsi generation". For historical perspective, you have that great Nixon poster lingering in one of the background scenes - "Would you buy a used car from this man?" With minor intricacies like those, director John Avildsen captures many of the subtle but ever present hints of how life was four decades ago.

Today's viewing was only the second time I've seen the movie, and I have to admit I don't remember Susan Sarandon in one of the lead roles, but then again, this was her very first picture. The scenes of nudity and free love were something actually quite new and bold at the time, shocking in fact, as film makers began to experiment with their ability to push the envelope of propriety and convention. "Joe" took a major leap in that regard, particularly since it was a 'mainstream' picture.

With the passage of time, the thing that impresses me the most about Peter Boyle was how he overcame the stereotype of Joe Curran to appear in or star in some of my very favorite pieces of work. I mean, how do you go from "Joe" to that hilarious rendition of 'Puttin' on the Ritz' in "Young Frankenstein"? And my absolute favorite episode of 'X-Files' has Boyle as Clyde Bruckman, in both a tender and tragic, funny and serious portrayal that turns the tables on Scully and Mulder more than once. And as a career capper, Frank Barone has to be one of the funniest characters in the history of television. Even repeat episodes in syndication are funny as he-- whenever the elder Barone lets loose with one of his observations. He is one actor that this viewer sorely misses already.

Still a powerful movie that's hard to pull away from. This is not The Sound of Music by any means but a cold hard look at America in the late 60's. The anti establishment clashing with the old school generation of post World War II. In a weird ironic twist of fate Ad executive Bill Compton learns of his only daughter's Melissa (Susan Sarrandon) drug overdose on methamphetamine. Bill decides to go to his daughter's Greenwich Village apartment to gather up some clothes and personals while she's convalescing. Bill to his dismay, milling through the dilapidated filth ridden apartment, (pills and drug paraphernalia cluttered,) runs into Melisssa's drug dealing boyfriend who happens to say all the wrong things about his daughter, taunting the troubled man to no end which infuriates Bill to point where he grabs the druggie and bashes him against a wall till his skull cracks. Laying lifelessly on the floor Bill flees the apartment and ends up at a Tavern where a bald, overweight individual is mouthing off about Blacks and hippies and the sorry state of the world. Enter Joe Curran (Peter Boyle) who captivate you, the viewer, and drags you into his 9-5 factory working slob world. Meanwhile our shaken ad executive/ first timer of manslaughter in the first degree, has the look of someone who just killed someone for the first time. Joe in his intoxicated state sees right through Bill as he admits to killing someone and Joe says, "Your kidding?" Bill looks right back at a stunned Joe and takes the bold statement back by saying "Just Kidding!" But Joe is dubious and has this feeling about Bill as pleasantries are exchanged i.e. what do you do for a living etc... A few days later Joe and his simpleton wife watch the news about a drug dealer found dead in an apartment. A bell goes off in Joe's head as he realizes that Bill actually committed that act of violence. Joe is moved by that action rather than calling the authorities. Instead he looks up Bill Compton and reaches him at his Ad Agency by phone as per prior conversation that night at the bar. They meet at a bowling alley as classes clash throughout the rest of the movie. Bill with his important advertising executive position. Very distinguished professional, aged but handsome, tall and grey well reserved disposition and impeccably dressed. On the other hand we have Joe. The World War II veteran factory worker who is flamboyant, extremely uncouth due to his lack of education, making a meager salary, bigoted and hates just about everything from Blacks to Gays. Makes you wonder if Norman Lear got his Idea for the Television show All In The Family while watching this movie. I noticed the similarities when Joe tells his wife to be quiet during dinner. Despite the two men's backgrounds, Bill and Joe have a chemistry and a mutual admiration for each other as they both believe the world is going to the dogs. Joe invites Bill and his elegant yet snobbish wife Joan played by Audrey Caire to Astoria, Queens to Joe's Railroad styled tracked home. Joe's wife is preening in anticipation as the Royals (The Compton's) enter their home Joan is a pro at patronizing Joe's wife May Jo on her home, her drapes and unusual name. Joe boasts that not only does he have ginger ale in the house but he also has seven up to go along with the cheap scotch. After a gourmet meal of Chinese take out in the Curran's cramp dining area the men enter Joe's man cave full of bowling trophies and deer heads but Joe's pride and joy is his cabinet full of weaponry. Joe takes out a machine gun and says, "Your not supposed to have this it's illegal." Joe wants to make it quite clear that he won't tell a sole about Bill's involvement murder in his daughter's apartment. Joe summons Bill's Wife to the basement as Joe also reassures Joan that there's Nothing to worry about. May Jo tells Joan to her disdain that they should get together at her Manhattan upscale apartment real soon. The Compton's return to their luxury Central Park apartment as Bill pours some brandy for his wife and himself. Starts a fire in front of his elaborate fire place. Earlier that day at the Hospital, Melissa laying in bed relaxing has a visit from her girlfriend who breaks the shocking news that her boyfriend was murdered in her apartment. Melissa panic stricken gets dressed and runs out of the Hospital. Meanwhile at the apartment a soothing snort of brandy shared with the discussion of Bill's plight of the murdering of that no good hippie boyfriend is discussed as we hear noises from the other room as a devastated Melissa overhears the reality that her Father murdered her boyfriend . She runs out of the apartment as Bill tries to stop her without any luck . Melissa flees into the city night and Bill's is wondering what to do next. Don't worry cause Joe has a plan to find her with resounding results and an ending you'll never forget. Wonderful screenplay by Norman Wexler and kudos for his early work of cinematography/director by John Avildsen who is also famous for physical movies such as the Rocky and Karate Kid films. Great period piece which still resonates with today's social climate.

...John "Rocky/Karate Kid" Avildsen's breakthrough feature "Joe" propelled two hitherto unknown actors, Peter Boyle and Susan Sarandon, onto the path to fame and fortune along with Mr. Avildsen, all the while creating a remarkably telling snapshot of the American psyche at a dangerous nadir.

Indeed, the film enjoyed serious attention and financial success for a low-budget effort, mostly by dint of serendipitous release shortly after the Kent State shooting and the attendant protests, as well as a few other germane incidents that I'll leave to the few who may read this to discover, which is when I first saw it, freshly minted from high school. Exposure in magazines like Playboy didn't hurt, either. Retrospective viewing, though responsive to the film's timely, emotional impact, still reveals the clunkiness of a risibly Oscar-nominated screenplay. Said script evinces every brief moment of its purported eight day creation in a number of suspect plot devices: Joe putting two and two together via unlikely headlines and news broadcasts and Bill bringing his entire purloined stash to the hippie pad being the most egregious examples. Likewise, the dialogue runs the gamut from embarrassing cliché to occasional brilliance, but overall feels a bit too forced to be quite genuine. The film is overtly, painfully political, an O. Henryesque morality play transcribed for the dawning of the Seventies and seasoned with a generous helping of product placement masquerading as picaresque realism, a harbinger of developing trends.

Perhaps this (and despite its flaws) is what makes "Joe" so much fun to watch, and why I give it a higher-than-it-deserves rating. Its blatant polarization and core pessimism make it as relevant now as it was over four decades ago. It taps a bellicose and resentful nerve that's hard to ignore.

John G. Avildsen directed Norman Wexler's inflammatory script about a middle-aged "square," who, after accidentally killing his daughter's pusher/lover, teams up with a bigoted blue collar nitwit (the title character played with a lot of bravado by Peter Boyle) with tragic results. They commiserate and find common ground in their intolerance of ANYTHING they're not: liberals; blacks; the young. A time-capsule of the early 1970s, this plays like an R-rated version of ALL IN THE FAMILY with Boyle playing Archie Bunker with guns. The acting is all first rate...not only by Boyle, but by Dennis Patrick, Susan Sarandon and, at least briefly, Patrick McDermott as one of the most unlikeable victims in movie history. A violent, unforgiving film. It's certainly unsettling but what is it telling us? It's OK to have junkies & pushers running rampant as long as they're peace-loving? It's become a classic.