Volunteers (1985)

Image courtesy of IMDB.com

I bought this movie on DVD easily over 10 years ago. I cannot tell you how long its been since I actually watched it. Turns out there was very little that I even remembered, so it was basically like watching it for the first time all over again.

Can I just say how freaking stupid I am for not watching this ALL THE TIME?! It was so much funnier than I remembered and it made so happy that I started this blogging adventure.

The movie takes place in Thailand, so we decided to make some Pad Thai to go with it. And you know what? For being a white girl who doesn't know what the hell she's doing...it turned out pretty damn good! It was so good, in fact, that the two of us ate all 4 servings while we watched the movie, and in a food coma, I accidentally deleted the pictures I took of it. Derp.

So, Volunteers stars (obviously) Tom Hanks as the wealthy and arrogant Lawrence Bourne III, Rita Wilson as Beth Wexler, and John Candy as Tom Tuttle from Tacoma. This is Hanks and Candy's second movie together and they really do make a great pair. Hanks and Wilson first met on the set of the TV show Bosom Buddies, and met for the second time filming Volunteers. They married 3 years later and are still together today. Looking at them together too is sickeningly sweet. When Hanks was speaking at the Golden Globes, and they cut to Wilson, she had freakin stars in her eyes. They are so clearly still in love and damnit, it just gives you hope!

Image courtesy of IMDB.com

But enough of the mushy stuff. This movie was excellent. From the casting, to the writing, to the acting - even all the extras. Hanks has this godawful accent and is the most conceited, entitled SOB you've ever seen, but he still is so lovable! His character is in a pickle because he gambled away his father's wealth, and Daddy Moneybags isn't doing a thing to help him. He ends up taking his college roommate's place on a Peace Corps mission to Thailand in order to escape his gambling debts - a choice he immediately regrets when he gets on the plane and everyone is singing "Michael Row the Boat Ashore". Had I been in the same shoes, I would have jumped out the freakin emergency exit.

Of course, since he's charming as hell, he manages to schmooze all the villagers where they're working to build a bridge, he learns the language, bonds with the locals, almost gets his hands dirty, and really just ends up being the project manager for the build. All of this manages to win over Beth Wexler and just like us, she falls head over heels for him. Even when he's a pompous asshole, we just can't walk away.