Audiences will want their security deposit back from Joe's Apartment, a lame comedy whose dancing cockroaches are more charming than the human characters. Read critic reviews
Joe's Apartment
1996, Musical/Comedy, 1h 20m
27 Reviews 25,000+ RatingsWhat to know
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Movie Info
Based on a popular short film, this comedy focuses on Joe (Jerry O'Connell), a young man who has moved from Iowa to downtown New York City. After settling into his grimy apartment, Joe discovers that it is home to a legion of talking and singing cockroaches. Although having so many bugs for roommates has its drawbacks, Joe finds the roaches to be friendly and good-natured, and they aid him in wooing the lovely Lily (Megan Ward), as well as in contending with his mean landlord (Don Ho).
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Rating: PG-13
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Genre: Musical, Comedy
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Original Language: English
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Director: John Payson
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Producer: Diana Phillips, Bonni Lee
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Writer: John Payson
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Release Date (Theaters): original
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $4.6M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Warner Bros.
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Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo
Cast & Crew
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Critic Reviews for Joe's Apartment
Audience Reviews for Joe's Apartment
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Mostly known for being the first film made by MTV Productions, "Joe's Apartment" appears to be what is advertised, a pleasant romp, and actually has classic and contemporary music featured in almost every scene. This was at the summit of MTV's popularity, past its age of only featuring music videos, and with this first film from the cable network, a toe was dipped into the proverbial pool. This film didn't do very well critically or commercially and ended up being a box office bust. If it wasn't for the popularity of "Beavis and Butt-head Do America" in that same year, movies from the network would probably be much rarer than they are today. There's nothing altogether special or musically thrilling about this film so it's easy to see why it didn't do very well with the age demographic they were trying to reach. Besides having a quirky and up tempo soundtrack and an interesting gimmick, there isn't anything to this creepy crawly film except to say that the lead character, Joe, is disgusting. Joe moves to the Big Apple and steals an apartment from a dead woman after she is murdered by the landlord's hired guns. The plot gets a bit twisted after that, because her death is a bit glossed over what with a love story, an insidious back alley deal between the love interest's father and some corporate big wigs, and on top of everything a population of singing roaches in Joe's apartment, beguiled to him because of his atrocious cleaning habits. For all the philandering that goes on what remains the emphasis of the film throughout are these disgusting roaches and their co-dependent relationship with their tenant. They sing once, and do help thwart a murder attempt, but afterward they complain and whine about everything and serve as a burden to the storyline. The ending feels anti-climactic, because though he reaches an agreement with his roach friends, we're much more interested in the blackmail and corruption of the side storyline, and that gets no attention and ends all at once without true explanation. It's a bit of a half baked idea to begin with, and this was obviously trying too hard to be cool to teenagers, missing the point of what an MTV film should be.
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I saw this film when I was a kid and I always thought it was a fun little flick. This is a film without its flaws, but it is pretty entertaining for what it is, and manages to be funny as well. I found this film pretty underrated and it doesn't deserve the flack it has received. I do agree it's flawed, but for the most part, it's a mindless comedy that is not meant to be taken seriously. If you love mindless humor, then this film is for you. The film's script is uneven, but most of the time there's plenty of good material here to make it work. The effects may look dated by now, but Joe's Apartment is still a fun little time waster that isn't meant to be taken seriously. The film has its moments and doesn't try to be a great flick, but it manages to be pretty fun due to the singing cockroaches, which is what saves the film from being a total dud. The performances are good for what they are, and are never anything great, but for what it is, the cast do a fine job here. Although mindless fun, the film definitely left a lot of room for improvement, and it could have been a far better one at that, if the ideas were much more thought out. This is an interesting idea for a flick that like I said, is entertaining and fun, but in the end could have been much better than what it turned out to be. None the less, I really liked the film, and if you like no brainer comedies, this film is for you.
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The parts with the roaches are entertaining - otherwise not very special.
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The singing roaches were cool, I guess. Other than that, this movie sucked.
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