# Volcano (1997)

### reviewed by
Paul X Foley

    Volcano (1997)

            Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche
            Directed by Mick Jackson

Why do disaster movies come in pairs? You鈥檇 think one volcano movie or one asteroid movie per summer would be enough. (Maybe even that would be one too many.)

But I鈥檓 not going to gripe about how many small budget gems could be made for the price of this dinosaur. It鈥檚 a big, dumb, fun movie. It almost made me want to go out and rent its sibling, 鈥淒ante鈥檚 Peak.鈥? Well, almost.

Like the packaging promises, the coast is indeed toast as a volcano erupts in the middle of Los Angeles, threatening to destroy the city everyone loves to hate. Tommy Lee Jones, as the intrepid head of the Office of Emergency Management, saves everyone鈥檚 bacon practically single-handedly. The movie is filled with the usual stock characters: venal city officials who ignore the threat till too late, pushy reporters, the pretty scientist, and the faint of heart who discover their inner hero. There鈥檚 even a cute pooch, rescued at the last moment, guaranteed to bring a lump to your throat ... if you鈥檙e especially susceptible to that kind of schmaltz.

Tommy Lee Jones is at his craggy-faced best in this movie, as he deadpans though tons of silly dialogue. The writers have envisioned the head of OEM as a godlike being, and Tommy Lee spends most of the movie in the streets yelling at cops, firemen, and hospital administrators, telling them what to do. He pulls it off, too, which is kind of surprising given the way he鈥檚 dressed. He鈥檚 wearing a short sleeve dress shirt and a baseball cap, a wardrobe combo that usually shouts out 鈥減encil pusher,鈥? 鈥渘erd,鈥? maybe even 鈥渞etard,鈥? but hardly 鈥渁ction-adventure hero.鈥? Anne Heche overcomes a bad haircut to play the role of the pretty geologist. She鈥檚 the brains of the operation, although given the competition she faces here, that may be faint praise. She does a creditable job of playing small-but-plucky, and there鈥檚 even a feminist subtext as Tommy Lee鈥檚 character tries to keep her from taking on jobs that are 鈥渢oo dangerous for a woman.鈥?

There鈥檚 a strenuously earnest racial-harmony subtext too, this in the wake of the LA riots, with a bullet-headed white cop and a burly black guy whose mutual hatred collapses in the face of shared danger. It all ends with the innocence of babes as a small child babbles 鈥渆veryone looks the same!鈥? Black and white, everyone鈥檚 covered with volcanic ash, you see. Problem is, everyone鈥檚 the same depressing shade of gray. The credits roll to tune of Randy Newman鈥檚 highly ironic 鈥淚 Love LA.鈥?

    I鈥檝e paid more to see worse.

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