Oh, 1985! Big hair, bigger shoulder pads, and Tom Hanks still honing his comedic talent before heading into full-blown Oscar territory. Volunteers has a pretty solid premise for this particular era – toss Hanks and John Candy into the Peace Corps, drop them into the jungles of Thailand, stir in a little Cold War absurdity and a dash of romance, and boom, instant comedy. It should have been comedy gold. Unfortunately, the movie barely scores bronze.
Hanks plays Lawrence Bourne III, a pampered, irresponsible Yale grad who has racked up $28,000 worth of gambling debt. When his father refuses to give him the money to pay his angry bookies, Lawrence bribes his roommate to switch identities with him. He boards a Peace Corps plane and flies to Thailand, where he’s expected to help build a bridge in a remote village while promoting democracy.
Lawrence quickly discovers he’s not cut out for physical labor and responsibility, but he befriends Tom Tuttle from Tacoma (John Candy), a flag-waving, overzealous volunteer who somehow manages to be both endearing and annoying, and Beth Wexler (Rita Wilson), a sharp, passionate idealist who actually believes in the work they’re doing, and immediately clocks Lawrence as everything she hates. Naturally, romance follows.
Their relationship is the classic opposites-attract setup: she’s grounded and focused, he’s entitled and coasting through life. Beth doesn’t have time for Lawrence’s smug one-liners and total lack of effort until, predictably, she does. As Lawrence fumbles his way through shallow attempts at self-improvement, Beth starts to see the guy underneath the polo shirts and privilege.
The chemistry between Hanks and Wilson works, which is not surprising, considering the two got married in real life just a few years later. They’ve got light, flirty banter that keeps things breezy. But the film doesn’t put in the work to really develop their connection. We go from insults to infatuation quickly, so there’s no heavy lifting in the romance department. Sure, it’s cute, but it has more surface-level charm than real emotional payoff.
Still, even as a smarmy rich kid, Hanks is watchable. He brings just enough wit and likability to keep Lawrence from being totally insufferable. His comedic timing is spot-on, and when the movie finally lets him show a hint of depth, you mostly buy it. My major criticism of Hanks’s performance is that his thick, rich boy vernacular lacks consistency and comes and goes frequently.
John Candy is, sadly, underused here. He brings his usual warmth and goofy charisma, but the script gives him very little to do beyond a subplot about brainwashing by the Communists. This was the most disappointing part of the movie for me. He does manage to sneak in a few solid laughs, but there’s simply not enough John Candy here, and the film suffers for it.
As for Rita Wilson, she does what she can with an underdeveloped character. Beth has a few sharp lines and moments of real presence, but the script mostly treats her as Lawrence’s moral compass. Wilson gives her a bit of spark, but she’s not given the space to do much more.
The biggest issue with Volunteers? The movie doesn’t know what it wants to be. Is it a screwball romantic comedy? Or maybe it’s a satire of American arrogance? One could say this is simply a Cold War parody. Oh! Maybe it’s just a fish-out-of-water adventure. Volunteers tries to do all of the above but doesn’t execute any of them all that well. The tone is inconsistent, resulting in a movie that feels unfocused and uneven.
And then there’s the cultural stuff, which hasn’t aged well. I understand the movie was released in 1985, so there’s some forgiveness here, but Thailand is mostly used as an exotic backdrop for American hijinks. The villagers are kind-hearted but barely fleshed out, and the villain (a cartoonish warlord named Chung Mee) is straight out of a parody skit. Today, the film’s attempt at political commentary comes off more tone-deaf than clever.
At the end of the day, Volunteers is one of those 80s comedies that probably played better in the moment than it does now. It has its charm and a few laughs, but it spreads itself too thin to really stick the landing. The romance feels more like a reward for Lawrence’s minimal growth than a believable evolution. The satire falls flat. The characters are likable but without much depth.
Watch it if you’re curious about early Tom Hanks, or just want a glimpse of the chemistry that sparked offscreen between him and Rita Wilson. Watch it for John Candy doing his best with what little he’s given. Watch it for the line “Bridge-building is my life now“. because that definitely earned a laugh!
But if you’re hoping for a hidden gem, you’ll be disappointed. This one is more of a historical curiosity than a classic.
