The Strand to host scavenger hunt and movie

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — Elissa Yeates is inviting you to help celebrate her birthday with a screening of one of her favorites: ‘Joe Versus the Volcano,’ preceded by an exciting scavenger hunt Sunday, June 7.

Joe (a young Tom Hanks) is a miserable hypochondriac with a terrible job. His worst nightmare comes true, which puts him on journey to a remote tropical island to jump into a volcano. This weird, funny, earnest movie was written by John Patrick Shanley (Moonstruck, Doubt) with fanstastical production design from Bo Welch (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns) and THREE different characters played by Meg Ryan.

Collin Souter of RogerEbert.com wrote:

“Do you know your all-time favorite film? I have come to realize my favorite film of all time is John Patrick Shanley’s “Joe Versus the Volcano.” I am obsessed with it and always will be.

It’s a somewhat forgotten and largely dismissed Hollywood product, a fantasy produced by Steven Spielberg that stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

I can vividly remember seeing it for the first time at the Town & Country Theater in Arlington Heights Within the first few minutes of watching Shanley’s directorial debut, I felt like I had discovered something truly extraordinary, something special. Also, I’m pretty sure I laughed a lot more than the audience surrounding me. I got it. The opening sequence helped me laugh at my own teenage sadness. The film spoke to my soul in every way possible and still does to this day.

I quote it all the time. It reflects my philosophies of life and how to live it. I have (re)introduced it to countless friends who either once dismissed it or never saw it because it looked dumb. I have gone through periods where I couldn’t get enough of the appreciation pieces on it, and there are many out there. And if I had to choose one film to watch before I die, it would be this one.

For me, it’s everything. It’s the cinematic language, the unpredictable nature, Shanley’s dialogue that sings in every scene, the unabashed romanticism, the freeness of it, the first shot, the final line of dialogue, the moon scene, the originality, the distinguished look, Georges Delerue’s score, the pop music choices, Bo Welch’s art direction, Stephen Goldblatt’s cinematography, those awful fluorescent lights giving off the dank, green texture to the opening scenes, every walk-on, every gag, every dialogue exchange, Hanks, Ryan, Ossie Davis, Robert Stack, Dan Hedaya, Lloyd Bridges, Abe Vigoda, the melancholia, the joy, the absurdities, the adventure, the fairy tale nature, the recurring images of the zig-zag and the ducks, every shot, every line, every nuance, every flavor. I still haven’t seen anything else like it in 30 years and it gets me every time. “

The film will be preceded by a very competitive scavenger hunt with fabulous prizes, which starts at 4:30 p.m. Teams are limited to four people and one vehicle.

The film will roll at 6 p.m.

There will be free popcorn.

Tickets are $9 in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse and $10 at the door.

The Strand is located at 717 Clay Street in downtown Vicksburg.