In Defense Of...
Who says critics and audiences get it right every time!?
Revisit some of cinema’s most polarizing films, selected and presented by members of our staff!
Joe’s Apartment
- Tue, Dec 16
The Frida Cinema's seating is first-come, first-serve. For our Midnight Screenings, please plan on arriving by 11:30pm to ensure ample time for parking, picking up concessions, and securing optimal seats. Screening will begin promptly at midnight.
Director: John Payson Run Time: 81 min. Release Year: 1996
Starring: Billy West, Jerry O'Connell, Megan Ward, Reginald Hudlin, Willi One Blood
Sex, bugs, and rock n' roll! Our final In Defense Of...pick from 2026 comes courtesy of our Director Of Memberships, Bobby, as he's chosen the 1996 cult comedy Joe's Apartment! Entirely a product of MTV’s weirdo golden age, Joe’s Apartment follows a fresh-faced transplant to New York who moves into the only place he can afford — a rundown East Village unit already occupied by an army of wisecracking, singing, dancing cockroaches. Jerry O’Connell plays the perpetually overwhelmed Joe, whose attempts to survive city life quickly collapse under the chaos of his new six-legged roommates. With its mix of practical puppetry and anarchic cartoon energy, the film has become a cult favorite for anyone nostalgic for the heyday of midnight movies and VHS oddities. About In Defense Of...: Who says critics and audiences get it right every time!? Revisit some of cinema’s most polarizing films, selected and presented by members of our staff!