Joe's Apartment (1996)

A nice guy has just moved to New York and discovers that he must share his run-down apartment with a couple thousand singing, dancing cockroaches.

Director:

John Payson

Writers:

John Payson (short film), John Payson (screenplay)

Stars:

Jerry O'Connell, Megan Ward, Billy West

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jerry O'Connell	...	Joe
Megan Ward	...	Lily Dougherty
Billy West	...	Ralph Roach (voice)
Reginald Hudlin	...	Rodney Roach (voice)
Jim Turner	...	Walter Shit / Voice of Cockroach
Pepa	...	Blank (as Sandra Denton)
Robert Vaughn	...	Senator Dougherty
Don Ho	...	Alberto Bianco
Jim Sterling	...	Jesus Bianco / Voice of Cockroach
Shiek Mahmud-Bey	...	Vladimir Bianco
David Huddleston	...	P.I. Smith
Frank Bello	...	Stick-Up Man #1
Lord Kayson	...	Stick-Up Man #2
Alex Molina	...	Stick-Up Man #3
Wayman Ezell	...	Apartment Broker #1

Storyline

Joe comes from Iowa to New York and, being short of money, wants to find an apartment with very low rent. His quest is successful, but he must share the residence with some 50,000 cockroaches. The insects turn out to be Joe's best friends.

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Plot Keywords:

senator | rock band | new york city | apartment | singing | 

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Taglines:

Sex Bugs Rock 'n Roll.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Musical | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for crude humor and a brief drug reference

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 July 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Joes lya

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,854,000, 28 July 1996, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$4,611,624, 8 September 1996

Company Credits

Production Co:

Geffen Pictures,MTV Films,MTV Networks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is based on the 1994 short of the same name that aired on MTV during commercial breaks.

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Goofs

When Joe and Lily are sitting on his couch after their first date, the color of the wine changes from pink when the roaches move the glass towards Lily to dark red when she is holding it.

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Quotes

Roaches: Welcome to Joe's apartment, it's our apartment too/We've been around for a hundred billion years and we'll be here long after you!/(ba ba ba ba ba)/Let's go to our place it's a great big space it's where I wanna be/Where friends all meet and life is sweet cuz everything's for free/It's the joint, it's a gas/It's a big fat boot in the ass (kick your ass)/Let's toast raise your glass here's to Joe! A man with class!/(burp) Sooooo... hello from Joe's apartment you're gonna love the view/It's the ...

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Crazy Credits

Filmed entirely in New York City except for one scene we had to go to Newark for.

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Alternate Versions

When Joe's Apartment was aired on network television, the name of the band that Joe became involved with was changed from "SHIT" to "POO"

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Connections

Referenced in Infected (2008)

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Soundtracks

On the Sand
Written by Bill Ware & Jay Rodriguez
Performed by Groove Thing
Courtesy of Eightball Records

User Reviews

Totally off the wall creative genius

I had never heard of this movie before my 16 year-old son rented the video. It is hilarious. Think of "Babe" as produced by the Marx Brothers, using singing cockroaches instead of mice . Evidently the critics didn't like it much, and I can see how they might not see it as high art, but as entertainment and an enjoyable time in fantasy land, it right up there with the best of them, in my opinion.