I like Nicholas Meyer, he directed the two best Star Trek movies, a cracking apocalyptic Steve Guttenberg thriller and this, fairly forgotten, Tom Hanks comedy. Volunteers is another movie that is never spoken of despite there being a few reasons for its notability. Firstly, it’s a spoof of the epic David Lean movies, with an epic score from James Horner. Also it reunites the comic duo from Splash, Hanks and Candy. And, most notably, it’s pretty damn funny.
Back in the 80’s Hanks reaped praise for Splash, Big and even The Money Pit becoming one of the biggest comedy names of the decade, however, he made a number of other lesser remembered movies in-between. Some great, like Dragnet, some not so, like The Man With One Red Shoe. Volunteers was one that landed with little applause and yet has so much potential. Delve a little deeper and there are so many moments you can’t help but think if the film might not be entirely finished.
Hanks plays a cocky yuppie playboy who flees a gambling debt by swapping places with a pal and hiding out with the Peace Corps in Thailand. Stationed with John Candy and Rita Wilson, Hanks must survive in an impoverished villain and quickly goes about installing his playboy ways. There he is charged with building a bridge to open up a trade route, however there is more interest in the bridge from local antagonists.
Hanks makes the film work single-handedly. The film is littered with solidly witty comments that Hanks nails perfectly for the audience. There are a couple of moments when the film becomes self-aware and whilst they amuse, might be used to keep the plot from taking over. Hanks plays cocky very well and we have seen his smart arse performance a few times by this stage, however, his character Laurence Bourne III is from a moneyed background to add a sense of invulnerability to his ego. George Plimpton (in an amusing, but short role) plays his father and they mirror each other rather well. A fun addition is Gedde Watanabe who plays the go between of the village and Hanks. Essentially the same role Watanabe played in Gung Ho but changing his nationality. Outer Limits creator Leslie Stevens’ 5th wife Shakti Chen has a memorable role as the hench-woman with the killer nails and speech impediment that leads to the required subtitles Watanabe and Hanks need to connect the plot together.
Ruth Wilson gives Hanks a real run for his money as the tough but humble Beth. Their relationship is somewhat standard for two incompatible people falling in love, however, the steps for which Hanks’ makes the decision to act more mature and win the heart of Beth are fairly obscure. Wilson’s accent and smile are standouts and she is utterly infectious on screen, there was a little controversy over the Coke sequence when released, however, Wilson’s reaction is utterly on point and believable. Candy plays Tom Tuttle from Tacoma, Washington, an emotionally inept idealist and the perfect character for Candy to play. Candy is hilarious if a little forgettable. It has been a good few years since the last time I watched this and really had forgotten most of what he did here. However, a treat to rediscover.
Being a fan of Tim Thomerson I got a bit of a kick out of this silver screen role at the time, as he had been known to me as the kick ass star of direct to video sci-fi action flicks like Trancers. The character progression became a little too ridiculous however, Thomerson carried it off quite well and kept the comedy moving. A scene that sees Thomerson present Wilson with an obscene ornamental statue stands out as a crass push to change Thomerson’s character from subtly nuts to maniac in an instant. The comedy writing in the film wildly veers from clever to desperate frequently.
Volunteers can look really rough from time to time, especially during the climax. The frame can be both muddy and out of focus. I also have the feeling that there were hasty re-shoots as some things don’t make sense. Candy explains that one charge planted strategically in the middle of a bridge will destroy it easily, only to cut to a length montage of characters rigging explosives across the span of the bridge, perhaps more spectacle was added to the ending and the line was missed when assembling the finished film. One might argue that this is just Tom Tuttle from Tacoma being stupid, as he can be, however, this is so late in the film that it just feels like a mistake.
This is a tough one to recommend. As a kid I thought it hilarious – “I cannot leave my bridge” “No, you can take it with you…” was a line that stayed in my mind for years and I giggled at, quietly. Most will see it as a dumb American comedy, which it certainly is and there are plenty of better ones. However, I always favour the underdog and prefer the pointlessness of this film over Hanks’ bigger hits like Big and Splash. It’s undemanding, witty and I like it a lot!
Original poster is, as usual, a beautiful 80’s piece. Video and DVD releases thereafter opted to change to photographic offerings that a far less inspiring.
Volunteers is out there on DVD and VHS. You can pick up a Blu Ray import from Europe with a few extra features, however, they might be in German.
