Volunteers (1985)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Nicholas Meyer

Writers:

Keith Critchlow (story)
David Isaacs (writer)

Release Date:

16 August 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Ready or not, here they come

Plot:

Lawrence is a rich kid with a bad accent and a large debt. After his father refuses to help him out...

Plot Keywords:

Bridge | Peace Corps | Southeast Asia | Bookie | Gambler

Cast

Tom Hanks	...	Lawrence Whatley Bourne III
John Candy	...	Tom Tuttle
Rita Wilson	...	Beth Wexler
Tim Thomerson	...	John Reynolds
Gedde Watanabe	...	At Toon
George Plimpton	...	Lawrence Bourne Jr.
Ernest Harada	...	Chung Mee
Allan Arbus	...	Albert Bardenaro
Xander Berkeley	...	Kent Sutcliffe
Ji-Tu Cumbuka	...	Cicero
Guillermo Río	...	Sumo Guard
Jacqueline Evans	...	Aunt Eunice
Pamela Gual	...	Tammy the Stewardess
Philip Guilmant	...	Yale President
Chick Hearn	...	Announcer

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Spain:T | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Venezuela

Company:

Home Box Office (HBO)

Trivia:

Tom Hanks and 'Rita Wilson' met while filming this movie and married three years later. Rita Wilson originally met Tom Hanks in 1981 on the set of "Bosom Buddies" (1980) when she guest-starred as Peter Scolari's Satan-worshiping girlfriend. But their relationship wasn't kindled until they were reunited on the set of this movie

Goofs:

Anachronisms: During the climatic scene on the bridge, Lawrence is able to distract John by pretending to hear the sound of a Russian MiG-25 fighter jet. While the movie is set in 1962, the first prototype MiG-25 did not fly until 1964 and the aircraft did not enter service until 1970.

Quotes:

Lawrence Bourne III: It's not that I can't help these people. It's just I don't want to.

Movie Connections:

References Casablanca (1942)

Tom Tuttle(from Tacoma!)

I liked this one, it's heart was in the right place, I esp enjoyed John Candy as 'Tom Tuttle' from Tacoma. He was a fun guy. And the self-effacing humour-where they read the subtitles and such, goes a long ways towards making this one work.

The plot is shallow and derivative, the performances alright but nothing special. I still have fond memories of 'Volunteers'-and think that they did a decent job overall.

**1/2 outta **** , not bad.