It is interesting to note the characterizations of the cockroaches in the film. They are predominately male, healthy and heterosexual--they shout macho phrases and thrust their pelvises in the hopes of getting a woman's attention. They cannot only talk, but can also sing and dance (nearly every style of music is covered from funk and country and western to gospel). It is like visiting a cockroach Animal House. The roaches live to have fun, and to them life is one long party. Many of the party scenes amidst decomposing waste, empty beer bottles and dirty socks represent a standard of living that is associated with the poor, and the poor in this case have no fear of the future. In many ways, the scene can be compared to the oil paintings of Brueghel, where 16th century pagans celebrated life in much the same way the roaches do in Joe's Apartment. Interestingly, the Black Plague, long believed to have its origins in the poor communities of Europe, was spread by insects and rodents.

Joe's Apartment. © Geffen Pictures.

Payson's cockroaches are examples of smart and successful living. They are incredibly resourceful, supportive and adaptable. When Joe attempts to flush them down the toilet, the roaches begin surfing the wave. And it is this observation of turning a bad situation into a good one that reinforces the theory of survival of the fittest, challenging the belief that the human race is the dominant one. Ironically, it is the cockroaches who aid the survival of a human (Joe) when he is threatened by others of his species.

Anatomically Correct and ...
Technically, the execution of the cockroaches is very well done. In a decade when special effects dominate the box office, Joe's Apartment stands alongside the best, including Twister and Independence Day. The CGI animation of the insects was done by Blue Sky Productions in New York. Chris Wedge was the director of animation and his team worked from storyboards created by Payson and Dan Shefelman. The design of the roaches required actually reproducing the anatomy of a cockroach. Small liberties were taken to give the designs more flexibility when animated, but the final composited product results in convincing the audience they're not watching CGI.

With 14 artists, Blue Sky created 200 shots requiring CGI--the longest shot took one-and-a-half months to complete and it was only five seconds long. In order to scatter hundreds of cockroaches at one time, the company created a program that enabled them to duplicate a cockroach as many times as needed to follow a determined path, called flocking software. Also of note are the two stop motion shots created by Peter Wallach and Fly Films in New York. To fill in the total effect, "roach wrangler" Ray Mendez brought in several thousand live cockroaches.

As Federico Fellini has said, "A good picture has to have defects. It has to have mistakes in it, like life, like people." Joe's Apartment is the first film of a young director who thinks and feels, and the first film of a company exploring new markets. Payson survived a creative and management task few are capable of and many are willing to attempt with less spirit. The results are unpredictable and promising. Payson wants to make people laugh and have a good time watching his films, just as his cockroaches do. What more can one ask of humans?

John R. Dilworth is a New York based independent filmmaker whose recent short animated film, The Chicken From Outer Space, was nominated for an Academy Award.