Volunteers (1985)

Lawrence is a rich kid with a bad accent and a large debt. After his father refuses to help him out, Lawrence escapes his angry debtors by jumping on a Peace Corp flight to Southeast Asia, ... See full summary »

Director:

Nicholas Meyer

Writers:

Keith Critchlow (story), Ken Levine (screenplay),

Stars:

Tom Hanks, John Candy, Rita Wilson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 (as Ji-Tu Cumbaka)
Guillermo Río	...	Sumo Guard (as Guillermo del Rio)
Jacqueline Evans	...	Aunt Eunice
Pamela Gual	...	Tammy the Stewardess
Philip Guilmant	...	Yale President (as Phillip Giulmant)
Chick Hearn	...	Announcer

Storyline

Lawrence is a rich kid with a bad accent and a large debt. After his father refuses to help him out, Lawrence escapes his angry debtors by jumping on a Peace Corp flight to Southeast Asia, where is assigned to build a bridge for the local villagers with American-As-Apple-Pie WSU Grad Tom Tuttle and the beautiful and down-to earth Beth Wexler. What they don't realize is that the bridge is coveted by the U.S. Army, a local Communist force, and a powerful drug lord. Together with the help of At Toon, the only English speaking native, they must fight off the three opposing forces and find out what is right for the villagers, as well as themselves.

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Plot Keywords:

bridge | peace corps | debt | southeast asia | communist | 

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Taglines:

The boys from "Splash" are back together!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 August 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alles hört auf mein Kommando

Filming Locations:

Mae Hong Son, Thailand

Company Credits

Production Co:

Home Box Office (HBO), Silver Screen Partners, TriStar Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When John Candy attempts to destroy the bridge he says "What have I done?" This is the same line Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) says before the bridge is destroyed in _Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)_.

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Goofs

During the poker game, Lawrence throws all his money into the pot, but when he looks at his hold card he still has money next to it.

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Quotes

Beth Wexler: [Lawrence is trying to talk Beth into bed] I thought we were becoming friends!
Lawrence Bourne III: This is what I do with my friends.

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Crazy Credits

Tom Hanks' character has firstname "Lawrence". Hanks saves the village. As film fades to black for credits, a large group of "volunteers" gather around Hanks. Just as black for start of credits shows, chants of "Lawrence, Lawrence, Lawrence..." are heard. Absolutely a tribute to scene of O'Toole as Lawrence of Arabia marching across traintop to chants of "Lawrence, Lawrence, Lawrence..."

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Connections

Spoofs The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

User Reviews

I cannot get this movie out of my head.

It's been 15 years since I've seen this film, but still; Everytime I hear Tom Hanks name, it's the first thing to pop into my head.

For those who have enjoyed Tom's more recent movies, it's a must see. You can really see the development in his career.

For those who have never really been interested in any of Tom's more recent "chick flicks", this movie will show you the old Tom, before he realized that... well... Chick Flicks = Oscars and $$$.

I'm surprised I don't see it more often on T.V.

(but I guess Oscars=money, or is it time=money.... no... Opium=money and money=power.... or is it Opium=power and.... No.. Power=mon...)

-=-Inside joke for those who've seen the movie-=-