Joe's Apartment (DVD, 1999)

Not just an old-fashioned musical extravaganza in the style of Busby
Berkeley, "Joe's Apartment" is also a heartwarming tale of a naive
midwestern boy learning about life 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, 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 "a part of the cultural heritage of all
mankind.")

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.

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 hope for the
future of the world.

"Joe's Apartment" is THE feel-good movie of the late '90s, a film that
will fill the hearts of young and old, from your grandmother to your
grandchildren. See it today, with someone you love.

Joe's Apartment is a comedy about Joe, an young Iowian who has moved to New York, seeking an exciting new life. Unfortunately, he is mugged three times in his first day in New York and finds out it's not all it's cracked up to be. He can't find an apartment or a job. He happens across a stranger who agrees to help him try and find lodgings. After prolonged searching, they are just about at their wit's end when an elderly woman comes out of her rent controlled apartment and falls dead. Her keys fly through the air and Joe catches them. His newly found friend ceases the moment and screams out "Joe, it's your mother, and she's dead! You'll have to take her apartment." With this, Joe's escapades begin in the Big Apple, and he soon finds out he has quite a few new friends, thousands in fact. Joe's new apartment is already occupied by roaches. No ordinary roaches mind you, for they can talk, and talk they do as they help Joe avoid thugs, help find work and finally find true love.

Hey Rodney! Is that you? This movie is a must see cult classic! You will never look at roaches the same way again. They sing, they dance, they beat people up, etc., but don't think this is a movie for you and your young kids to share. It has some strange stuff and some bad language. This movie goes good with friends, pizza, and beer. Disclamer - No roaches were harmed in the making of this film.

I like this movie because it has cockroaches that talk and sing and help out poor little Joe when he moves to New York.

just by the first 5 minutes you will say, "this is MTV". its full of dirty dirty people that are so bored and are involved in music. that sounds like it to me. (well at least in the 80s and 90s) but this movie is just so funny. singing cockroaches. stuff burning, and the fat kid from stand by me. what more could you ask for?