Joe's Apartment Was A Strange Choice For MTV's First Movie Release In The ‘90s, Here's Why I Approve

MTV, which, as of December 31st of last year, put the kibosh on its last remaining 24-hour music video channels, has long been known for its content outside of music.

From its cartoon division, with shows like Beavis and Butt-Head, to even a bunch of shows you've likely forgotten about, such as Wonder Showzen, MTV definitely had no short supply when it came to properties they could use for a feature-length film. So why, in the name of all that is holy, did they choose a 1992 short film about cockroaches as the base of their first film? I don’t know, but 1996’s Joe’s Apartment was that movie, and it’s quite the head-scratcher, even today.

That said, I still think it’s a pretty good movie, and for a number of reasons. Here are just a few.

Joe's Apartment Is Vintage MTV Levels Of "Attitude"

Oh, MTV. Growing up, it was THE network you went to if you wanted “Attitude.” It was also the antithesis of Nickelodeon. A good comparison would be Sega vs. Nintendo in the ‘90s. On one hand, you had Nintendo, which was often seen as being for kids (even their cartoons were “childish”). On the other hand, you had Sega, which had badass characters like Sonic, Toejam and Earl, and Vectorman. So, similarly, I viewed Nickelodeon as being the “kids” network, and MTV being for adults.

That’s because MTV had programs where they talked about things like sex and drugs, which was why the tagline for Joe’s Apartment was Sex, Bugs, Rock ‘N Roll, and the movie delivered on its promise! The story stars Slider’s (which I’ll plug any chance I get) own Jerry O’Connell as a character named Joe who moves to New York. Luckily (or unluckily), he manages to secure a room in an apartment that is set to be demolished by a senator (Robert Vaughn), only to find that it’s loaded with cockroaches.

However, the cockroaches can talk (And sing!), and they love Joe since he’s a slob, which is conducive to their living conditions. Joe has a musician friend named Walter Shit (That’s his actual name – didn’t I say MTV had “attitude”?), and Joe joins his band. He then later meets a woman he likes named Lily (Megan Ward), who just so happens to be the senator’s daughter. She comes to his apartment, and cockroaches land on her head.

That’s pretty much the whole movie. It doesn’t sound like much - and it’s not - but it’s still fun. Mostly because of the cockroaches, which I’ll get into next!

The Cockroaches Are The Main Attraction

On paper, Joe’s Apartment shouldn’t work (And I’m sure a lot of people would say that it doesn’t work, as it only has a 21% on Rotten Tomatoes). However, the only reason I think it does work is because of the cockroaches, which are the main attraction here.

The main one is voiced by Futurama’s Fry himself, Billy West (this was actually his feature film debut). But, it doesn’t stop there, because even though the writer and director, John Payson, could have just had Billy West do multiple voices, he instead got talent by the likes of Dave Chappelle, Tim Blake Nelson (star of one of my favorite Coen brothers movies, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs), BD Wong, and even Bam Bam Bigelow (RIP, Bam Bam) to voice others. I feel like this goes above and beyond.

Because each of them has a personality, which is quite something. Sure, in other movies, you get celebrity voices for different characters, but since these are roaches, they pretty much all look the same, so their body movements and voices are really important. Also, they don’t just deliver lines – they sing as well. Yes. I did say sing, because if you’ve never seen this movie before, it could technically be categorized as a musical (so, how come THIS wasn’t nominated for Best Picture?), and the singing and dancing are probably the best part of this film (I mean, they even got Rockapella!).

It’s little wonder that the roaches were in all of the trailers and promotional materials when this movie came out, as they’re the main attraction! If you come to see singing and joking cockroaches, then you won’t be disappointed.

That Said, It's Nice To See A Very Game Jerry O'Connell

I miss Stand By Me star Jerry O’Connell. I mean, I know he’s still around, but as I mentioned earlier, I loved Sliders, and yeah, I’ll admit it, I also loved Kangaroo Jack. (Don’t judge me!)

So, it’s nice to see a young, fresh-faced O’Connell here. He’s game for the comedy, and gives some depth to the character that was introduced in the short film that inspired this movie. With his character coming from Iowa, O’Connell’s got that enthusiastic look going for him of hoping that things will turn out alright in the Big City, only to learn that the City doesn’t give a crap about his hopes and dreams. He has to struggle like the rest of us.

Joe takes it in stride though, and O’Connell does an excellent job of playing an optimist even when he learns that his apartment is filled with roaches. He doesn’t try to have them exterminated, though. Instead, he actually bonds with them, which is the right call for a story like this where the roaches are the star attraction. I also like that O’Connell doesn’t get in the way. Yes, his story is interesting in itself as he tries to work and get laid in New York, but it’s the camaraderie with the roaches that makes this film tick.

As I said before, it shouldn’t work, but it does. It also doesn’t hurt that the movie is only 80 minutes long.

In The End, I Know It's Mostly Forgotten, But Joe's Apartment Is Still A Good Time

Joe’s Apartment is, in a nutshell, like a more playful version of Gremlins. The cockroaches are mostly harmless, and they’re just having a good time, but since they’re pests, people scream when they see them. Especially when they start landing on people’s heads. But, I think it’s really fun, and I’m a little upset that it didn’t do well upon its release. In fact, it was a box office bomb, grossing only $4 million on a $13 million dollar budget.

Which again, begs the question, why did MTV bank the future of their movie business on THIS? Their next movie, which came later that year, was Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, and you kind of wonder why they didn’t lead with THAT. MTV would later go on to make legitimate bangers like Varsity Blues (we miss you, James Van Der Beek), Election, and the Jackass movies, but still, they started with Joe’s Apartment, and it’s still just so strange to me.

Even so, it’s not a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination, and if you don’t get the ick from watching cockroaches up close in your face, then I implore you to give this movie a watch if you’ve never seen it before, or, a rewatch if you saw it when it came out and don’t really remember it. I’m telling you, it’s better than you think.