The first time we see Joe May he is being released from the hospital, we can see from the start this is not a healthy man. A bout of pneumonia kept him in the hospital for a seven week stay. Joe is played by Dennis Farina in what turned out to be one of his last roles and he completely nails the character. Joe May is a two bit hustler with not much going on.
When he is released from the hospital he goes back to his apartment and apparently it has been quite some time since he has been there because somebody else lives there now, A woman named Jenny played nicely by Jamie Anne Alman. Jenny is a nurse and has a young ten year old daughter. While Joe was in the hospital the landlord assumed he was dead so he simply got rid of Joe's belongings and rented the apartment to Jenny. Jenny feels bad for poor old Joe and actually lets him move in telling him she could use the help paying rent. Jenny also has an abusive boyfriend who is also a cop and from the get go, this cop does not like Joe.
We see Joe try and get things going to make a few bucks here and there and he goes back to see Lenny, a man he knew as a kid and made money with from time to time over the years selling stolen merchandise on the streets. Joe confronts him at a diner while Lenny is having breakfast with two other men, Joe tells him he would like to get back to work hopefully selling what he considers his specialty, radios and electronics. Lenny, played by Gary Cole, downplays the role which really makes the performance believable. Lenny is more interested in his pancakes and coffee than anything Joe is saying. When Joe asks him for work, the man can barely even make eye contact with Joe. He decides to give Joe a connection and he tells him to see a guy named Seymour.
Joe goes to see Seymour who runs a meatpacking company and hands Joe an enormous side of frozen lamb. How exactly Joe is supposed to sell this is never really explained however a very disgruntled Joe walks out and tries to sell the meat around town and getting zero takers. The sight of Joe lugging this huge side of meat around the streets is truly heartbreaking but funny at the same time. It's a great visual. It made me think of Ray Milland in "Lost Weekend" as he carries his typewriter all over town trying desperately to hawk it.
Joe also goes to see his son around Christmas time to reconnect with him but this goes nowhere and we really get the idea that Joe has no options left. The one thing Joe seems to enjoy is raising pigeons on the roof of the building he lives in with Jenny. Something about tough guys raising pigeons on rooftops has always worked in films. I thought of Brando in On the Waterfront or Stallone in The Lords of Flatbush. It works in this film too.
Joe also has a hand in taking care of Jenny's young daughter and the two of them build a nice relationship. When Jenny goes out of town with her abusive boyfriend she asks Joe to watch her daughter. The scenes with Joe and the daughter lead to some of the most moving moments in the film. Jenny comes back with bruises on her face and she knows she will never be able to get away from this man. Of course as in all movies with women in abusive relationships we wonder why this nice and attractive woman would even be with this jerk.
When Jenny is beaten again and has to be hospitalized she finally decides to move but knows that eventually this violent man will track her down. Joe decides to take matters into his own hands, I don't want to spoil the ending but let me just stay Joe accomplishes what he wanted to do. Feeling that he is nothing but an ailing two bit loser he has one last shot to leave the world a better place and do good and his actions get him more respect than anything he has ever done before. This is a little gem of a picture.
