So, what do you think happens to Joe next?
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Edward_de_Vere — 10 years ago(March 07, 2016 02:17 PM)
I also think that Joe reverts back to something resembling the life that he had in Texas before he moved to NYC: with a low-paying but honest and non-degrading job. On the bus, Joe was telling Ratso that he wanted to work outside, so perhaps he'd get a job with a landscaping or construction company, or else work as a farm hand at an orange grove.
The film seems to end on a hopeful note in spite of Ratso's death and Joe's isolation. It implies that he'll never go back to the kind of seedy, sleazy life that he had in New York. -
prismabird — 10 years ago(March 07, 2016 04:53 PM)
I agree, he'll probably return to what he knows (dishwashing) and avoid the dark life he knows is dangerous. But I'm wondering how long that can last. Because Joe can't really go back. He's changed too much, and too much has changed for him.
If he happens to make friends, if he happens to be able to keep them, I think he has a chance of doing okay. But friendship isn't easy, and Joe's about 25 years behind on learning how to foster it. I see him sinking into a bad state of mind, personally. Which might lead him to finding help (I would hope).
It's funny, being so concerned about a fictional character. I think I see a few elements of myself in Joe, and not good ones, hence my interest. -
Edward_de_Vere — 10 years ago(March 08, 2016 08:56 AM)
I wonder just how socially isolated Joe was in Texas. The fact that he was writing a postcard to his co-worker (black guy washing dishes) who was at best a casual acquaintance suggests that he may have been almost as isolated there as he was in NYC. It's not made clear why that should be, Joe's obviously not the brightest bulb but has a friendly and easy-going demeanor.
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I_Love_Hutch — 10 years ago(March 07, 2016 03:19 PM)
It is very natural to want to know if Joe is going to be okay. I also agree that he probably would get a job as a dishwasher or maybe bussing tables.
But outside of this, I really can't imagine a sequel to MC. The end of the book (I know I've mentioned it before, but here goes again!) has Joe suddenly becoming aware of what he has just lost, i.e., a friend. And the movie "For the first time in his life, Joe felt scared. Very scared." Because of the isolation and awkwardness of his childhood upbringing, he wasn't afforded the chance to learn about much of life, including normal socialization. He had never had friends, but he also
wasn't aware
that he was missing something in life. He didn't know enough to be fully aware of just how lonely he was. He was oblivious. And then upon forming a friendship with Ratso, he actually
felt
those human feelings for the first time. And then when Ratso died, Joe could discern the difference and then he KNEW how lonely he had actually been his entire life.
I think the way story ends, how it sort of opens itself into the void is very egfective. It's haunting and I imagine that's how the author wanted it. I think Joe probably would be okay. But he would never be the same. -
prismabird — 10 years ago(March 07, 2016 04:59 PM)
Like you, I love the book, I love how it ends, and I wouldn't want a sequel. But I still want to know. It's like when you hear a song, and the writer deliberately left off the last note, or word. It makes my brain want to fill it in.
I slightly disagree, though. Joe knew he was lonely, desperately so. There are passages in the book where he's physically, literally crying out in his sleep for human contact. He knew that something was missing. But I do agree with you that now, thanks to Rico, he knows exactly what that something was like - which is why I don't know that he'll be okay. To lose something like that, and not know how to find it again, has to be crazy-making. -
Matthew7819 — 10 years ago(March 07, 2016 03:39 PM)
I have watched the movie at least ten times, i think that after the ending that Joe Buck would go into a deep depression and be lonely for a long time, he might take weeks or months to recover from the shock of Rico's death but he would in time get over it and move on, maybe get into religion or something like that, the book also talks about him finding a good woman and taking care of Rico, obviously this cannot happen but Joe would probably find a good woman in Miami and start dating for the first time in his life, after getting a job first.
I imagine Joe Buck walking past a construction site, i am from Florida myself, Sarasota and there has always been a boom in construction, the 60s through the 1980s saw a huge increase in construction and tourism in Florida and Joe Buck was in Miami so it makes sense to assume that Joe might see a construction job, outdoors work and apply right there with the foreman or site manager, they see him for what he is, a big strong man with a lot of muscle who wants to work hard and make money, this was his goal and he told Ratso that he wanted to get some kind of job doing outdoor work so he could tell them his goal and ask to start working the same day, as long as he was willing to work and did a good job he should have no problem making money and getting his own place, he could stay in another hotel and pay month to month at first and then save up for an old car and get to work easily with that.
So i can see Joe settling into construction work easily, making big money and saving most of it, meeting a nice woman probably on the beach or in some bar, she would appreciate his kindness and southern charm and friendly personality and would take care of him emotionally, being a mother of sorts to the naive Joe Buck, he would probably get married before long and have his own house with the wife taking care of things at home, i dont know how Joe would do with children but he seems to be sweet natured so he would take car of kids very well and be gentle with them, remember when he played with the little girl on the bus on the way to New York, thats the real Joe Buck, a big man child that is not totally grown up himself.
Joe would be kind to any children that he had and he would be ready to love a woman as well too, he would just need time to heal and get over his depression, then find a job and start making money first, then find a woman, he would be able to love a woman because he learned how to love and care for another person when he was around Ratso, so he would apply that to a woman, Florida women love Southern guys like Joe and he would find a woman quickly.
Joe would be fine and would struggle at first but he would recover and become a strong man quickly, working would help him settle himself and make money, a woman would take care of him, i dont know what else he would do but he would start with that. -
prismabird — 10 years ago(March 07, 2016 05:12 PM)
I've watched it probably ten times too - every time I do, it gets me in a bit of a funk, but I love it anyway. I kinda think of it as my anti-Shawshank Redemption, in that SR is a movie that always uplifts me in the most gorgeous way. MC is the downer version - it puts me in a beautiful sorrow.
I like the way you see Joe's future. I think it's a lot how he would hope for it. Job, then wife, then kids, shopping on Saturdays, trips to the beach. But he would need a very patient boss, and a more patient wife. Joe's life experience is basically nil, which means a lot of on the job training, and 'learn as you go' work on relationships. For example, would Joe even have a concept for fidelity? I suspect not. He's never so much observed a marriage, except perhaps from a distance. God knows what kind of father he would be - where would he have learned any of it?
But then, there's a lot of people out there like that. Sometimes, they do okay. Joe has, if nothing else, a good demeanor and a decent sense of self restraint (there's a lot of scenes where he's clearly very angry, but doesn't resort to violence, like when he want to throw the bottle in the bar). -
InherentlyYours — 10 years ago(March 08, 2016 04:35 PM)
Problem is that Joe isn't interested in hard labor, if his venture into NYC is indicative. He might just try to be a hooker in Miami. If he's going to look for a blue collar-job, he may as well return to Texas, where he'll at least have family (if it exists)
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Matthew7819 — 10 years ago(March 09, 2016 02:00 AM)
His grandmother Sally Buck is dead, her boyfriend Woodsy Niles probably wouldnt be around or in good health either, there was no Grandpa Buck shown either, and his mother was a whore who dumped him off, he could always try to track down grandchildren and cousins of Sally Buck but wouldnt know who they are, makes sense for him to never return to look for them.
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InherentlyYours — 10 years ago(March 09, 2016 02:05 AM)
I suppose if there is nobody is Texas for him, then no reason to return, unless it feels like "home". But more importantly, I don't assume Joe would accept a construction job (or other menial job), as if his NYC experience changed him that quickly to want to lead a conventional life.
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Edward_de_Vere — 10 years ago(March 09, 2016 08:58 AM)
Problem is that Joe isn't interested in hard labor, if his venture into NYC is indicative. He might just try to be a hooker in Miami.
Throwing away his cowboy outfit was Joe's way of saying that he's put the sleazy hustler life behind him and is willing to do whatever it takes to live a normal life. He probably came to the conclusion that even washing dishes is a better life than being a male prostitute. He may not like hard labor, but I think he'll wind up doing it to get by. -
InherentlyYours — 10 years ago(March 09, 2016 09:13 AM)
Throwing away his cowboy outfit was Joe's way of saying that he's put the sleazy hustler life behind him
I don't if there's a definite conclusion for that. It could be that the leather was badly soiled and not dry-cleanable. He can be a hustler with other clothes. Actually he didn't think about going to Miami , it was only for Ratso's health. Ratso's dream about Miami seemed to be about being in the hustling business there. Or are we going by the novel again?
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Edward_de_Vere — 10 years ago(March 09, 2016 11:21 AM)
No, I'm going by what we see in the film. I thought that the scene with Joe throwing out the cowboy outfit was significant - throwing it out was his way of saying to himself that we won't be a hustler anymore. He said as much to Ratso on the bus, something like "Hell, I ain't no hustler, I want to get a job working outside."
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hockeyhrs — 10 years ago(March 23, 2016 07:48 PM)
Joe gets arrested and does jail time for (at least) the assault or (worst-case) murder of Townie. How does he get caught?
(a) He's not smart enough to wipe away all of his fingerprints.
(b) His fingerprints are on file with the federal government (we know he was in the Army because he was in uniform when he came home & discovered Grandma had died). -
Edward_de_Vere — 10 years ago(March 25, 2016 08:43 AM)
Joe gets arrested and does jail time for (at least) the assault or (worst-case) murder of Townie.
Assuming Townie survived, he probably wouldn't press charges because pursuing the case would mean revealing his own homosexuality to co-workers, family, etc. -
prismabird — 10 years ago(March 29, 2016 07:15 AM)
I really don't think Joe killed Townie (in the book he definitely didn't, but in the movie, we didn't see him do anything that would cause death), and I doubt the cops would bother to look very hard into a gay 'hookup' turned violent - certainly they wouldn't chase Joe all the way down to Miami. If he tried hustling again, he might have ended up behind bars anyway, but I trust he was genuine about giving that up.
I now have this sort of great image of Joe getting caught up in the Miami cocaine trade of the 70s. Although that wouldn't work out either. He gets carsick on boats.
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Woodyanders — 7 years ago(December 04, 2018 08:26 PM)
I think Joe Buck got himself some kind of regular nine-to-five blue collar type of job. He most probably wound up working at a diner or a restaurant since that was the sort of work he was accustomed to doing. Moreover, Joe Buck at the end of the film is a little wiser and more humane as well as has a better sense of who and what he really is.
You've seen Guy Standeven in something because the man was in everything.