Tom Hanks and John Candy lead us on this shallow, silly tour of an unusually volatile Peace Corp mission to Thailand. Both play wacky caricatures - Hanks as a snooty Connecticut socialite in the wrong place, Candy a naive simpleton with two left feet - and that extra dash of color ultimately saves the picture from sliding into the deepest dregs. Though the plot revolves around the construction of a massive wooden bridge to benefit the natives, we spend most of the picture watching Hanks's Kennedy wannabe struggle to emerge from his loathsome, self-absorbed shell, largely inspired by the unrequited affections of fellow missionary Rita Wilson. The pair would actually spark a lifelong romance during filming (they're still together today, bucking the Hollywood norm) but the on-set chemistry doesn't translate to anything special on the screen. Lightly humorous in the spirit of an only-okay SNL sketch, it's inoffensive and flashy but not all that memorable.
Review of Volunteers
Volunteers
(1985)
Middle of the Road Character-Based Comedy That Stays Straight and Narrow
23 June 2014