Joe – Rache für Amerika (1970)

Joe – Rache für Amerika: Directed by John G. Avildsen. With Susan Sarandon, Patrick McDermott, Tim Lewis, Estelle Omens. Two men, Bill, a wealthy conservative, and Joe, a far-right factory worker, form a dangerous bond after Bill confesses to Joe about murdering his daughter’s drug dealer boyfriend.

“Norman Wexler, who went on to encapsulate the zeitgeist in SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER and to create deathless, hyper-offensive camp in MANDINGO, was a prince among hot-button-pushers in JOE. When a Madison Avenue type (Dennis Patrick) throttles to death the sneering drug pusher who was the lover of his daughter (Susan Sarandon), he meets an unlikely fan and friend: Joe Curran (Peter Boyle), a racist, hippie-hating hardhat type whou0026#39;s as far from the genteel Mr. Compton as warm root beer is from gravlax and eggs. The movie is as flummoxing, and as weirdly elating, as a deeply abusive boyfriend. One minute itu0026#39;s getting you to giggle along with the no-baloney Joe; a second later, heu0026#39;s a Hitlerian psychopath. At times, weu0026#39;re touched by the friendship and mutual respect that crosses class lines; at other times, weu0026#39;re made to chuckle at Joe and his wifeu0026#39;s homely ways, and at still others Comptonu0026#39;s brand of magazine-derived good taste comes in for a beating. Like another surprise hit of its year, PATTON, JOE has that non-lecturing, read-it-this-way-or-that quality. Nearly every scene has something for an audience to cheer or boo (and oftentimes, those are the same things). The director, John G. Avildsen, has a few real winners (SAVE THE TIGER, NEIGHBORS) in his undistinguished career; this may be tops among them.”