Volunteers

19851985
RR
1h 47min

Tom Hanks, John Candy, and Rita Wilson in Volunteers (1985)

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Adventure Comedy

1962, after Yale graduation, womanizing Lawrence flees a gambling debt that his rich dad won't pay. He takes his roomie's place as Peace Corps Volunteer in Thai Golden Triangle with 2 other PCVs. Will he survive 2 years?1962, after Yale graduation, womanizing Lawrence flees a gambling debt that his rich dad won't pay. He takes his roomie's place as Peace Corps Volunteer in Thai Golden Triangle with 2 other PCVs. Will he survive 2 years?1962, after Yale graduation, womanizing Lawrence flees a gambling debt that his rich dad won't pay. He takes his roomie's place as Peace Corps Volunteer in Thai Golden Triangle with 2 other PCVs. Will he survive 2 years?1962, after Yale graduation, womanizing Lawrence flees a gambling debt that his rich dad won't pay. He takes his roomie's place as Peace Corps Volunteer in Thai Golden Triangle with 2 other PCVs. Will he survive 2 years?1962, after Yale graduation, womanizing Lawrence flees a gambling debt that his rich dad won't pay. He takes his roomie's place as Peace Corps Volunteer in Thai Golden Triangle with 2 other PCVs. Will he survive 2 years?

Director
- Nicholas Meyer
Writers
- Keith Critchlow(story)
- Ken Levine(screenplay)
- David Isaacs(screenplay)
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See production, box office & company info

Videos1

Official Trailer

Official Trailer

Tom Hanks and John Candy in Volunteers (1985)

Tom Hanks and John Candy in Volunteers (1985)

Tom Hanks and John Candy in Volunteers (1985)

The Man with Two Brains (1983)

Tom Hanks, John Candy, and Rita Wilson in Volunteers (1985)

Tom Hanks and John Candy in Volunteers (1985)

Tom Hanks, John Candy, and Rita Wilson in Volunteers (1985)

Tom Hanks and Jude Mussetter in Volunteers (1985)

John Candy in Volunteers (1985)

Tom Hanks and Virginia Kiser in Volunteers (1985)

Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, and Tim Thomerson in Volunteers (1985)

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson in Volunteers (1985)

Director
- Nicholas Meyer
Writers
- Keith Critchlow(story)
- Ken Levine(screenplay)
- David Isaacs(screenplay)
All cast & crew

See production, box office, & company info

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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. —Michael Silva <silvamd@cleo.bc.edu>

product placement coca cola one word title laughing falling in love 34 more

Taglines
- Ready or not, here they come
Genres
- Adventure
- Comedy
Certificate
- R
Parents guide

Trivia
The film was mildly controversial for its Coca-Cola drink scene, which played like a very deliberate product placement. The movie was made by TriStar Pictures, which was a division of Columbia Pictures, which was owned by the Coca-Cola Company. Just recently, home video cassettes of "Ghostbusters (1984)" had been released with an advertisement for Coke on the tapes. The film's co-screenwriter Ken Levine has explained this on his blog by saying: "We wrote that Coke scene in the first draft, 1980. It stayed in every draft and wound up on the screen. Originally, the movie was set up at MGM. After a couple of years, it went into turnaround, finally landing at HBO Silver Screen in partnership with TriStar. This was 1984. TriStar was a division of Sony, as was the Coca-Cola Company. No one from the studio ever asked that that scene be in. No one from the studio ever mentioned that scene period. A year later, the film was released, and we walked into a major shitstorm. I look back and think, all of this could have so easily been avoided if he just offered her a joint".

Goofs
Early in the movie, after Lawrence boards the airliner and the cabin door is shut, one of the thugs chasing him tries to board the plane by jumping from the stairway. When he hits the side of the plane, the cabin door flexes and moves, revealing it to be a fake door.

Quotes
Chung Mee: Opium is my business. The bridge mean more traffic. More traffic mean more business. More business mean money. More money mean more power.
Lawrence Bourne III: Yeah, well, before I commit any of that to memory, would there be anything in this for me?
Chung Mee: Speed is important in business. Time is money.
Lawrence Bourne III: You said opium was money.
Chung Mee: Money is Money.
Lawrence Bourne III: Well then, what is time again?

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..."

Connections
Featured in Biography: To John with Love: A Tribute to John Candy (1995)

Soundtracks
Blue Moon
Performed by The Marcels
Written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart

Top review

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-=-

helpful•14

5

brent-11
May 3, 2001

Release date
- August 16, 1985 (United States)
Countries of origin
- United States
- Mexico
Language
- English
Also known as
- Alles hört auf mein Kommando
Filming locations
- Mae Hong Son, Thailand
Production companies
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Gross US & Canada
- $19,875,740
Opening weekend US & Canada
- $5,184,360
- Aug 18, 1985
Gross worldwide
- $19,875,740

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
- 1h 47min
Color
- Color
Sound mix
- Dolby SR
Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1

Ike Barinholtz

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