You feel sorry for the two leads in this film, and it has nothing to do with their respective characters. No, you sympathize with Sarah Polley ("The Sweet Hereafter") and Eric Thal because they both try so hard to make the most of poorly-written roles. Josephine is a college student and aspiring journalist. Joe is a wiretapper masquerading as a phone company technician. They meet in a bar. She's intrigued and pursues Joe, but Joe plays it cool. They finally get together, have a night of bland sex (bland to the viewer, anyway) and begin a complicated relationship. She finds out about his secret occupation, and continues to date him. He has no people skills whatsoever, and embarrasses Josephine in front of her friends. She continues to date him. It's not until much later in the film that she comes to her senses and realizes what a jerk Joe is. It's a variation of Roger Ebert's idiot plot. The story continues only because both characters are too stupid to realize they're hopelessly wrong for each other. "Joe's So Mean to Josephine" wastes the talents of Polley and Thal. On the bright side, it was nice to see the city of Toronto actually playing itself this time, instead of pretending to be New York or Chicago.
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cuz15 January 1999
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Bram-515 March 1999Love the title and loved the film; a tiny perfect movie. It felt like I was watching home video, carefully edited into a realistic story; Sarah Polley and Eric Thal were Josephine and Joe, perfectly recognizable as people I know. And, I agree with Sarah that I can hardly believe the screenplay was written by a man. Josephine fared much better as a character and the end was beautiful -- seemingly abrupt, left to the viewer, enough of a surprise but well foreshadowed by the rest of the movie. Surely this will strike a chord of recognition in everyone who sees it. If not, you haven't been paying attention.
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aaron-7120 March 2000I can't think of a better written story about the problems, jealousies, insecurities that arise between couples in difficult, conflicting relationships that are based less on love than need. The dynamics between Joe and Josephine change halfway through and the pathetic behavior of Josephine suddenly changes as her career takes off the Joe's career criminal life takes a nose dive as he realizes that his life is going nowhere. The resolution is both maddening, dramatic and touching. The two lead performers are great.
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neomannix11 March 2008I actually knew Peter Wellington while he was working on the script, and proof read it for him and gave him as much feedback as I could on the Joe character, who I the narcissus that I am, believe is loosely based on me.I was quite the macho ass-hole back then and somewhat of a bad boy.My girlfriend at the time was somewhat like Josephine. But once again I'm flattering myself. I have a very bad temper that I'm still trying to get a grip on and Peter had seen me lose it one night and was more than amazed. I really helped him out a lot in regards to how Joe, who is less than a happy camper would lose his temper.Peter is an extremely intelligent, insightful, funny, and highly creative individual with great talent and I am extremely proud to have had the pleasure to get to know him as well as I did that wonderfully strange summer in downtown Montreal.I deeply and sincerely wish him all the best in all of his future endeavors whatever they may be.
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oldirtysk8er6 March 2001Just saw this film on the sundance channel and I instantly fell in love with it. "Joe's So Mean To Josephine" is sick, painful, and great fun to watch. It's like a twisted episode of Melrose Place, only the characters are much more pathetic in their attempts to find love. Try to watch this on Sundance Channel, you wont be disapointed, and if you're anything like me you'll be screaming, "Damn you Joe!" at the television screen.
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rxpagg122 February 2004Joe's so mean to Josephine was an excellent movie. Wellington developed the characters beautifully unfolding their personalities piece by piece. Joe's pain touched my heart. Josephine's naivete and disillusionment in the man she loved was compelling. Polley & Thal played them with realism. I loved Thal's earthy performance and Polley's perkiness. By time the movie was over, I felt like Joe & Josephine were actual people. Josie's lack of ease was cute, and Joe's coolness then vulnerability pulled me in. I've been looking for the video hoping to view it again, but haven't had any luck. I would like to hear from someone who knows where I can find one. This one deserves a place in my video library!
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rsaltzman22 November 2002I did like this film overall, but I agree with those who say it ends too abruptly. I also liked the musical score by Ron Sures, including the ending song. Does anyone know if the soundtrack/score has been released? Just wondering.
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This film made me very sad. Sarah Polley made some pretty dangerous choices in this film. Since she's a great actress, she made it seem like it could happen to anyone. The viewer can almost see into the mind of an emotionally abused woman.
It may not have been the best film I've ever seen, but I really enjoyed the human element. It will make me think twice before I start to fall for the wrong guy...