Volunteers Reviews

This pleasant and often funny movie is a comic reminiscence of the 1960s, when John F. Kennedy was King of Camelot and young people were flocking to see what they could do for their country. Lawrence Bourne III (Tom Hanks) is a snooty rich youngster who has run up a considerable gambling debt that his father (George Plimpton) refuses to pay. In danger of having his face rearranged by thugs, Lawrence manages to talk himself aboard a plane filled with Peace Corps volunteers on their way to Thailand. Seated next to him is Tom Tuttle (John Candy). Once ensconced at their Thai location, their job is to construct a bridge, which is eagerly awaited by just about everyone in the area, including the local Communists, an opium warlord, and some CIA agents. Hanks is excellent and has a way with funny lines that marks him as one of the better droll comic actors, if given the right material. Here, writers Ken Levine and David Isaacs have provided the actors with solid jokes.