Joe's Apartment

Plot synopsis:
Penniless and straight out of the University of Iowa, Joe (Jerry O'Connell) moves to New York needing an apartment and a job. With the fortuitous death of Mrs. Grotowski, an artist named Walter Shit (Jim Turner) helps Joe to take over the last rent controlled apartment in a building slated for demolition. If Senator Dougherty (Robert Vaughn) can empty the building, he can make way for the prison he intends to build there, and uses thug Alberto Bianco (Don Ho) and his nephews, Vlad (Shiek Mahmud-Bey) and Jesus (Jim Sterling), to intimidate tenants (see landlord harassment).
Joe discovers he has 20 to 30 thousand roommates, all of them talking, singing cockroaches grateful that a slob has moved in. Led by Ralph (Billy West), the sentient, tune-savvy insects scare away the thugs in an act of enlightened self-interest that endears them to their human meal ticket. Tired of living on handouts from Mom back in Iowa and after a series of dead-end jobs ruined by his well-intentioned six-legged roomies, Joe finds himself the unskilled drummer in Walter Shit’s band. Hanging posters for SHIT, he encounters Senator Dougherty’s daughter Lily (Megan Ward) promoting her own project, a community garden to occupy the vacant site surrounding Joe’s building.
A gift to Lily while working on her garden is enough to woo her back to Joe's apartment, where the cockroaches break a promise to keep out of his business and a panicked Lily flees, only to discover the garden she’d worked on has been burned to the ground. During a fight with his roommates over his spoiled romantic evening, the building suffers the same fate as the garden. A mutual truce between our hapless and now homeless roommates leads the cockroaches to "call in favors from every roach, rat and pigeon in New York City" to try to make amends to Joe. Overnight, the roaches scour New York to gather materials to convert the entire area into a garden and take care of all the necessary paperwork to ensure harmony reigns over all.

Tags: romantic

Review:
"Joe's Apartment" has more creativity and originality in it than most of the films I've seen in 1999.
I remember it was pretty funny but then I was maybe 7 years old so now I was expecting this film to be stupid.
I also liked that Walter Sh!t character (played by Jim Turner), actually he was the reason why this comedy appeared original to me.
Then my brother rented it, and the rest of my family saw it, and we all laughed, and I realized something I should've known earlier, that this was funny, and I shouldn't be ashamed to think that way...and neither should YOU!.
Indeed, even though it's not the best movie of the century, I found it quite entertaining and "fresh".I loved the way it is shot, there is a real work on the layouts that makes Joe's apartment look dirty and moving at the same time.
I could not describe the way I laughed rolling on the floor when I saw those roaches watching an "insect porn movie", it cracked me up.This movie is worth seeing for sure and does not deserve such a mark.
The story itself is a bit naive, but, hé, it's a fairy-tale!Everyone who likes Who frames Roger Rabbit, Ant Z, Thumbelina by Don Bluth (OK, bad example) or over-the-top-sentimental-romance like What Dreams May Come must like Joe's Apartment.What do we have here?
1: a lonely country-boy in New York; 2: two ugly and dumb bad guys; 3: a sweet girl as love interest; and 4: thousands of bugs who are supposed to be loathsome, but soon turn out to be adorable.
Just remember, this is a critic who holds some of the most vile films ever (vile in a good way) in my list of best comedies ever (Dumb and Dumber, UHF, South Park), so it is not surprising that I found this movie enjoyable and funny.
The movie stars Jerry O'Connell as a loser type who finds an apartment in NY's east side for 50 or 60 bucks, but then he also finds it is infested with more cockroaches than the DMV has idiots.
I'm sure there will be some watching the movie who might think, this might be a good time to become bulemic, and for those people I don't reccomend the movie for the hurl factor.
But for those who can take the chum of roaches on a face, in breasts, in toilets singing songs (I love the funky towel song), this movie is for you.
To see the roaches up close and performing song and dance made me a little nauseous at first as it brought back memories of those times when I got too close to a real roach, but after a while, you sort of forget that they are dirty and disgusting pests and actually start enjoying and anticipating their next comic routine.
What it lacks in intelligence, it makes up for in fun.Joe(O'Connell)has just to New York City and into his first apartment.
They all seem to be a pain in Joe's butt, but the roaches come in more useful for him than he thought.This movie is no classic, of course I don't think any of MTV's movies will be considered classics.
But they are really funny(also see Beavis and Butt-Head Do America and Dead Man On Campus).It's a hilarious and fun little flick, even for people who don't like bugs.
Decided to pick a film I'd never heard of- this turned out to be very funny especially the songs of the cockroaches.
Unfortunately for the poor shop assistant, she was in the middle of watching it and had to take it out of the VCR to rent it to us.Turned out to be a great choice, even though I hate cockroaches!
They love to see the roaches singing and dancing..So if anyone cans it, they can go to buggery because we all get a lot of laughs and entertainment out of it..
Not just an old-fashioned music-and-dance extravaganza in the style of Busby Berkeley, "Joe's Apartment" is also a heartwarming tale of a naive midwestern boy learning about life, seeking his destiny in the big city.
You'll find yourself cheering for Joe, as a tender romance is played out against the backdrop of an epic of modern life, when New York's poorest and most forgotten residents learn to overcome their distrust of an outsider, and help him to find both success and love.Based on the novel of the same name (winner of both the 1994 Pulitzer Prize and the 1995 Nobel prize for literature) and adapted for the screen through the combined efforts of Maya Angelou and Salman Rushdie, the power and majesty of the screenplay has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce acid reflux, and cure eczema ("Wisconsin Dermatological Review", November 1999.) Both a critical success and smash hit (by the end of 2007, the cumulative worldwide box office exceeded $830 million) the film has been playing continuously to packed houses in New York, Los Angeles, London, Prague, and Rio de Janeiro for over eleven years.
Its theme music was adopted in 2004 as the national anthem of Norway (this led to a brief but violent conflict with neighboring Finland, which had also sought to use the music for its anthem, until UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali declared before the General Assembly that "Joe's Apartment" should be considered "part of humanity's common cultural heritage.")Upon his return from a much-publicized audience with Pope John Paul II, star Jerry O'Connell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.
The Dalai Lama (who at the time of this writing has seen the movie over 2300 times) was recently quoted in Newsweek as saying "No feeling person can see "Joe's Apartment" and not be moved to tears by its urgent message: that we must all embrace biological diversity in the fight against homelessness, crime, and political corruption." That this simple truth remains as relevant in today's society as when the film was made, is simply more proof of the prescience and timeless universality of the message.With its magnificent cinematography, lush musical score, and sensitive direction of the outstanding performances, it's easy to see why "Joe's Apartment" swept every major category in the 1997 Oscars, and is third on the AFI's list of the most ground-breaking films of all time.
The artistry of this film recalls the heyday of Hollywood's past greatness, and will leave you both profoundly moved, and filled with renewed hope for the future of the world."Joe's Apartment" is THE feel-good movie of the late '90s, a film that will warm the hearts of young and old, from your grandmother to your grandchildren.
Lily doesn't like her paying job because all she can do is put people on hold; there's no one to switch them to (I did like the nice music that was played).If you don't like 'Fear Factor', this movie might not be for you.
They even did dance routines, including an Esther Williams style performance in a toilet.This movie was very funny at times.
I mean, showing cockroaches who talk and sing sounded hilarious, so I rented the VHS shortly after it came out, but didn't find the dark humor as good as I had hoped.Somebody told me this film was really gross, but I didn't find that the case.
Yet having the guts to make a movie about them, and having them sing and dance, especially in a Busby Berkeley-type number, is pretty outrageous and deserves an "E for effort," as the saying used to go.I think this would have been more tolerable, and funny, had it been a short film, something around 20-30 minutes.
I went into Joe's Apartment I was expecting a crappy film, not going to lie.
Thousands of cockroaches and their scratchy voices running around a ceiling kicking two guy's asses sounds like a Horror film.
It looked like a cheesy MTV film that lacked talent and humor.
Joe (O'Connell) is a College grad who is having a hard time after moving to New York City.
Little does he know the podunk joint is home to over 5,000 singing and talking cockroaches.Joe must now cope with the roaches irrational behavior, as well as trying to score big with a local, garden nut named Lily (Ward).
I could be wrong though.I have seen the original short that this film is based on, and I hate cockroaches.
Plus Jerry O'Connell's likable persona was something that flowed nicely throughout the film.Joe's Apartment crosses the line of disgusting and becomes utterly filled with gross out humor and repulsive scenery of Joe's apartment.
But it's a fun, creative movie that dares to go where no film has gone before.
Gives me an idea for my fourth short film.Starring: Jerry O'Connell, Megan Ward, Billy West, Robert Vaughn, Reginald Hudlin, Jim Turner, and Don Ho. Directed by: John Payson..
Making what I think to be one of the most disgusting creatures on Earth to be endearing, lovable characters was a huge stretch, but it was the most successful aspect of the movie.The story is simple, and oftentimes can be dull, but the occasional insect song and dance routine, along with several apartment-sized battles between roach and human that stay consistently silly, it's easy to look past the tired love story.A wholly original, fun movie, anyone willing to let loose and laugh at some three stooges- esquire comedy will most likely enjoy the slapstick and excrement-related humor.Chances are that you can buy this movie for less than five dollars on DVD at this point, so if you happen to pass it, pick it up.
When I read that someone had made a musical with singing & dancing cockroaches in a filthy apartment I was surprised.
Well, if singing cockroaches and an endless stream of toilet humor is your thing, you might enjoy the film....
But apart from every negative I've written in this review, I must admit that I followed this film from the very beginning pretty much to the very end...
This movie was a funny comedy especially that part where they were watching a talk show with that roach asking a pigeon, a rat and a squirrel how to promote better understanding between species.
I like the way the film develops in the early stages, taking some chances and daring to be a little different.
It is a very 90s movie, the style, the characters, the music, it is a nice time capsule of an era.So the real treat of this movie is the roaches, the musical numbers they do I think are hilarious!
and the stop motion animation is pretty cool, in an age where everything is made with CGI watching something like Joe's Apartment really is a treat.The script and story line are a bit weak I'll give it that, but if you just want to laugh at something that is kind of weird and funny, Joe's Apartment is a good way to burn an evening..
Jerry O'Connell plays Joe, a guy from Iowa who cannot find a cheap apartment to rent in New York city because of real estate speculation.
But none the less, this was a fantastic movie, with a bunch of slap-stick humor, so anyone who loves this kind of humor should definitely watch.
Also if your going to watch this film, be ready for some weird scenes and musical parts, because that is kind of what this movie is mostly put of.
But overall, if your in the mood for a great slap-stick humor film, go watch Joe's Apartment..
Wasn't a masterpiece but who can beat a good laugh and catchy tunes.Joe's Apartment a must see for those with a wacked sense of humour, not for those with weak stomachs and a dry straight up sense of humour.
Rodney and Ralph are the stars of this movie I'd say, cockroaches with attitude, they sing they dance and damn they are funny..
A movie so mindless and dumb that the prospect that Beavis and Butthead might quote Shakespeare doesn't seem too far fetched.However, what gets me is how I really like this movie.I remember watching this movie years ago when it first came to video, and having the love of stupid humor that runs in my veins, I had an instant liking to the talking cockroaches.
And of course, being a girl who loves those bushy-tailed rodents, we ended up renting it, and I found myself on a return trip to Joe's Apartment.
"Joe's Apartment" is a feature-length adaptation of a short film previously seen on MTV.
Joe, an Iowa innocent new to the Big Apple, is horrified when the bugs take a liking to him because he's their kind of slob.
Otherwise, the plot is dumb to the point of irrelevance: the congressman wants to level Joe's building, the last one on its East Village block, to make way for the vast new Manhattan Maximum Security Prison (which makes him a Democrat who's caved in to Republican priorities -- again, just like real life).
I would seriously wonder about the people that laughed the whole time, or put this film on their top ten list.
If you are in the mood to watch something that will really make you feel like your night has been completely wasted, rent Joe's Apartment..
I never thought I'd be praising a film for it's cockroaches but what can I say these little guys have style and some serious musical talent.
The musical bits in this film are really original and alone would make this movie worth seeing and no its not just because they feature cockroaches.Aside from the vermin the visuals in this movie are great and almost have a cartoonish comic book element to them.
This film has a sense of humor and style that makes the idea that anybody thought it could be a mainstream hit kind of laughable.
If singing cockroaches don't sound like your thing then chances are you won't enjoy this film and the rather charming and talented vermin that star in it.
However if your sense of humor is a little off Joe's Apartment is well worth checking out..
I can always watch this movie over and over again coz it'll never stop being funny.
If the fact that Joe (O'Connell) works for a company that makes toilet cakes or that the the girl of his dreams is trying to build a beautiful park in the middle of the slums don't make you smile, than the singing roaches are sure to make you laugh.
High-pitched singing is really all that "Joe's Apartment" has going for it.
I've found Joe's Apartment to be a cute movie.
The Character Joe rents out an apartment, occupied by acres of cockroaches, who sing and dance and give Joe unwanted company.
OK, we get it already.So how does a film revolving around annoying little roaches extend to 90 minutes?
By adding in that predictable subplot involving the hard-to-get love interest for Joe of course, who the viewers automatically know will end up together by the end of the movie.
These roaches cause Joe nothing but grief, and torture, and they invade his privacy; yet the film is supposed to make us laugh.When the film reaches its inevitable conclusion, I was so annoyed and disgusted by this time that I couldn't feel any of the euphoria the film was trying to feed its viewers.
I have not seen the short on which this was based, but I assume it was funnier that this film - it would rely on the roaches singing and dancing routine(s), without the subplots that a full length film has to have to reach its 90 minutes, which just made the cockroaches grow annoying, crude, mean, and tiresome..
I'd rather eat a real bug than visit Joe's apartment again!.
cockroaches will be left after nuclear detonation, so in either case, you're F.U.B.A.R.ed!I had the unfortunate "privilage" of actually witnessing "Joe's Apartment" when it played in theaters.
The film primarily fails because the cockroaches in it are NOT endearing in any sort of way at all.
Also, the film backfired majorly by featuring "master thespian" Jerry O'Connell, who disgraces his passable work in both "Stand By Me" and  "Crossing Jordan" by appearing in the filth that is "Joe's Apartment".
If you absolutely MUST watch a film with talking cockroaches, then try to track down the original MTV short that "Joe's Apartment" is based on.
The feature-length version of "Joe's Apartment" makes the MTV short look like "Citizen Kaine"!.
Even though I hate cockroaches I couldn't help but to like the singing cockroaches in this film.
Though I think this film is more for the young teenagers who like toilette humour and kind of childish jokes.
I have seen better comedies but this was quite good but like I have just written this film consists more of teenage kind of jokes rather than mature adult jokes.
Its one of the funniest movies I have seen..you have to see this film, enough said!
I like this movie because it is funny!
The thing that I like best about the roaches is their "sense of humor"!
I highly recommend that you rent or purchase Joes apartment because that's when you will have the "laugh" of your life!.
From the opening animation scene of the singing cockroach atop the Statue of Liberty's torch to the end scene where they form the MTV logo, the film manages to get its purpose across - to make you laugh so hard that your stomach hurts.
Joe (a country boy from Iowa, played by luscious Jerry O'Connell) comes to the Big Apple in search of a job and his first apartment.
My favorite scene was the song and dance routine in the toilet to the original tune  "Funky Towel." I laughed until I had tears in my eyes.For people like me who are squeamish about bugs this movie will definitely make you uneasy.
How can you not like a movie with singing cockroaches?.