We meet this big-screen version of Archie Bunker typically ranting about welfare recipients, black people, and other individuals that he considers socially undesirable at his neighborhood bar. The incident that changes everything is Joe turning his attention to hippies at a time that one-percenter advertising executive Bill Compton (Dennis Patrick) is his audience fresh off of a rage killing of the junkie boyfriend of his 20-something daughter Melissa (Susan Sarandon in her first film role.) Bill commenting that he has just killed a hippie earns the admiration of Joe.
Joe subsequently befriends new idol Bill, and Bill plays along to keep Joe happy to prevent this unstable man from turning him into the police. "Rocky" director John G. Avildsen particularly shines regarding an awkward dinner at the home of Joe. A high point of that hilariously tense evening is Bill initially declining an offer of canned nuts as an appetizer and then subtly taking a handful on learning that take-out Chinese food is the evening fare.
The "Odd Couple"/"In-Laws" vibe becomes particularly strong when Joe coerces Bill into venturing into the nightlife of Greenwich Village in search of Melissa. The crawl through the anti-establishment establishments there lead to an eye-opening night with a group of the detested hippies.
The festivities prove the old adage that everyone has fun until someone loses a stash. The other lessons are that hippies may be onto something regarding free love and heavy drug use but that everyone reverts to form the morning after.
This love in leads to events that set the stage for the twist-laden climax. We learn that Joe is a scary cra cra guy who is not all talk, that Bill has his own breaking point, and that shooting first and asking questions later is a horrible policy.
The impact of this well-produced '70slicious social commentary is that it reminds us that the deep divides in American society are decades old. Intense political differences are only the tip of the iceberg. Class also is an issue in a society in which socioeconomic status allegedly lacks importance. Further, the "kids" and the "adults" continue to disagree with a common theme that the youngsters tend to hold liberal views that their elders believe to be based on an incomplete understanding of the world, and the kids consider the 'rents to be out of touch whether it relates to illicit substances or knowing how to build a website.
The more era-specific insight relates to the corporate culture of the '60s and '70s that several Jack Lemmon films from that period perfectly reflect. Many Depression-era babies work hard to achieve professional success and the associated lifestyle only to have midlife crises; these involve both intense pressure to keep earning enough to pay for things such as the country club membership and the new luxury sedan every year and the related constant degradation at the hands of clients, peers, and bosses. These guys sorely would love to live in a shack on a Caribbean island but feel a strong sense of duty to the natural objects of affection who rely on Daddy to continue providing the lifestyle to which they are accustomed.
This boils (pun intended) down to the legal and illegal forms of grass being greener on the other side of the gated community fence and all of us not realizing that every lawn provides some form of benefit.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Joe" is strongly encouraged to email me; you also can connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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