Joe (Jerry O’Connell) has just moved From Iowa to New York City. Joe needs a job and an apartment. Not realizing how expensive apartments are, Joe has no luck. Joe meets an artist named Walter Shit (Jim Turner). He tells Walter that he is looking for a place for about $100 a month. Walter tells him that the only apartments that are cheap are rent controlled, and there aren’t very many of those around. He would have to have a relative already in one for him to qualify.
When old Mrs. Grotowski (Rose Kimmel) dies in front of Joe, Walter convinces him to pose as her son and take over her apartment. The reason Mrs. Grotowski died was due to Vladimir Bianco (Shiek Muhmud-Bey) and his cousin Jesus Bianco (Jim Sterling). They are goons hired by their uncle Alberto Bianco (Don Ho) to scare people out of the building. In Mrs. Grotowski’s case, it was fatal. Alberto was hired by Senator Dougherty (Robert Vaughn). The building, in the East Village, is in the way of Senator Dougherty’s plans to build a high-rise federal prison.
The dilapidated building, and specifically the apartment, is the home of some 20 to 30 thousand singing cockroaches. Joe is a slob and never cleans anything up. The cockroaches have become fond of Joe. When Vladmir and Jesus try to assault him, to get him out of the building, the cockroaches come to his defense. They like Joe and they know that if Joe gets tossed out, the building will be demolished, and they will lose their home. The cockroaches beat up Vladmir and Jesus and warn them to never come back.
Joe needs to find a job. The cockroaches decide to follow him to keep a protective eye on him. Their efforts only manage to get him fired from every job he gets. Joe’s mother manages to get him a job with P.I. Smith (David Huddleston). Smith makes urinal cakes. Joe ends up losing that job when the company is subject to a hostile takeover by “Featherstone Feminine Products” and the entire urinal cake division is closed.
Joe meets and falls in love with Lily Dougherty (Megan Ward). Lily loves plants and is trying to set up and urban garden. It happens to be the same area that her father, the cross-dressing Senator Dougherty, plans on putting up his prison. The plot of land also surrounds the building that Joe lives in. Wanting to impress Lily, Joe offers to help. At first, things with Lily seem to be working out OK. At least until she enters Joe’s apartment.
“Joe’s Apartment” was released in 1996 and was written and directed by John Payson. It is a comedy fantasy musical produced by MTV and it was based on the MTV short “Joe’s Apartment”, also by John Payson. It was MTV’s first feature film. The computer animation was done by Blue Sky Studios.
The movie flopped and got horrible reviews. It’s both stupid and cute. There are quite a few toilet jokes, OK a lot of toilet jokes, and sexual innuendos. Still, the movie is funny, and sometimes a lot over–the-top, but it is MTV, so I’m not surprised at that. To enjoy it, you need watch it without a stick up your ass, and just go with it.
The cockroaches are voiced by: Rockapella as The Roach Chorus, Billy West as Ralph, Reginald Hudlin as Rodney, Jim Turner, BD Wong, Jim Sterling, Dave Chappelle, Tim Blake Nelson, Godfrey, Rick Aviles, Corey Burton and Bam Bam Bigelow