Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Joe's Apartment Blu-ray Movie Review

Doin’ the cockroach.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III January 17, 2024

Based on a 1992 short that played during commercial breaks -- which will be an accurate gauge of your feelings about the actual film -- John Payson's Joe's Apartment was MTV's first big-screen production but absolutely bombed in 1996, earning back a fraction of its modest $13M budget and being named as one of Siskel & Ebert's worst films of the year. Funny thing about cult classics, though: like cockroaches, they can endure all kinds of abuse and still somehow survive. I wouldn't call it a stone-cold classic or some kind of misunderstood masterpiece; this oddball slice of mid-90s comedy is juvenile, thinly-plotted, and totally gross... so needless to say, I had a pretty good time with this one.

After arriving in New York seeking an apartment and a new job, titular schlub Joe (Jerry O'Connell) meets local artist Walter Shit (Jim Turner) and learns about the rarest of unicorns: rent-controlled apartments. As luck would have it, old Mrs. Grotowski (Rose Kimmel) -- the last tenant in a run-down building slated for demolition -- dies on her front step, so Joe pretends to be her long-lost son and nabs the apartment for a cool $50 per month. It's worth every penny, too: crawling with thousands of singing and dancing cockroaches, these six-legged guests take a liking to Joe because he's almost as dirty as they are. Sure, they drive away house guests and prospective girlfriends but are otherwise harmless. The real villain here is Senator Doughtery (Robert Vaughn); he's looking to bulldoze the property and build a massive prison, and uses mid-level thug Alberto Bianco (Don Ho) and his two henchmen to scare Joe into moving out.

If you squint really hard, Joe's Apartment plays like Batteries Not Included if you replaced the cute li'l alien spaceships with, well, thousands of singing and dancing cockroaches and traded in all that emotional melodrama for black comedy. There's even a bit of a romantic subplot between Joe and lovely Lily Dougherty (Megan Ward), the senator's daughter who's initially oblivious to both Joe's creepy, crawly roommates and her dad's scheming ways, that eventually works its way into the big finale. Unsurprisingly, Joe's Apartment keeps it feather-light during the bulk of its 80-minute running time (yep, that includes the credits) as it bounces between Joe vs. the henchmen, Joe vs. the cockroaches, and Joe vs. love -- only the volcano doesn't get involved here. It's occasionally dumb, surprisingly charming, unsurprisingly gross, and it doesn't feel stretched thin or overlong at its sleek running time. The music is pretty great, too.

The end result is a fun little diversion that'll get under your skin if you let it, and I'd imagine that the faithful few who saw Joe's Apartment in the theater or on home video will be up for a Blu-ray reunion. That's more or less what you'll get with Warner Archive's welcome new Blu-ray edition, which is sadly light on bonus features -- not even the original short is included -- but at least rewards die-hard fans with another knockout 4K-sourced A/V presentation.

Joe's Apartment Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archive's new 1080p transfer of Joe's Apartment is sourced from a recent 4K scan of the original camera negative, which I can't believe I just typed. Not surprisingly, the result is a flat-out flawless presentation that's free from damage with accurate color saturation, excellent fine detail, a proper amount of film grain, and a very stable overall appearance that's encoded perfectly onto a dual-layered disc with no signs of digital manipulation or artifacts. Hell, even the low-rent cockroach CGI somehow blends in pretty convincingly with its practical effects. As evidenced by these screenshots, Joe's Apartment looks exactly as it ought to: an ideal home video presentation that likely meets or beats original theatrical showings which, like the film itself, probably featured more bugs than people.

Joe's Apartment Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The film's excellent soundtrack does most of the driving on this DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix, led by songs from Mel Tormé and the Roach Chorus, Madball, Diamond D, Soul Coughing, Moby (who appears briefly in the film), The Rentals, De La Soul, Nightmares on Wax, Green Day, and more. Otherwise the sound stage falls within the usual boundaries of comedy with a largely front-forward presentation that opens up to the rear channels in larger settings or when more background characters are around... including those of the six-legged persuasion, who frequently zip around and chime in with a few well-placed smart remarks. All told, this 5.1 mix lands between "gets the job done" and "crank up your receiver", and its relatively young age all but ensures there's not a trace of damage to be found.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, not the extras listed below.

Joe's Apartment Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with poster-themed cover art; no slipcover or inserts are included. Sadly, the extras run really light but at least fit WAC's mantra of "hey, how about a few restored cartoons?"

• The Lady in Red (7:14) - This 1935 Looney Tunes short certainly fits the bill, following a group of fun-loving cockroaches in a Mexican café while the owner's away. It's actually pretty fun but the ending, involving a nasty parrot who tries to tries to kidnap one of the "girls", comes out of nowhere and feels tacked-on.

• From Hare to Eternity (7:12) - Fast-forwarding more than 60 years, this 1997 LT short was planned for a theatrical release but, as far as I know, never got one. Starring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam, it's dedicated to Friz Freleng (d. 1995) and was the last credited directorial role for animation legend Chuck Jones (d. 2002).

• Superior Duck (6:41) - Another newer LT cartoon, this 1996 short follows Daffy Duck as the title character who tries to show off his questionable super powers. Like From Hare to Eternity, it was directed by Chuck Jones and can also be found as an extra on the third disc of Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume One.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:50) - Not sure what happened here, but for whatever reason this trailer is missing most of the original background music (rights issues?) and sound effects. See the original version here.

Joe's Apartment Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ignored by audiences? Panned by critics? Who cares? On its own terms, Joe's Apartment is an enjoyable little slice of mid-90s black comedy with great time capsule footage of New York, terrific gross-out gags, a stacked soundtrack, and plenty of recognizable names buried in the credits. It's obviously not some kind of secret masterpiece but still plenty of fun in the right mindset, as most first-time viewers might be going in with lowered expectations. Warner Archive's new Blu-ray edition goes light on the extras but its 4K-sourced transfer is a thing of beauty. Recommended.