Volunteers

Directed by Nicholas Meyer, Volunteers follows Tom Hanks’ Lawrence Bourne III as he bribes his way into a Peace Corps mission in Thailand to escape mounting gambling debts – with the narrative subsequently detailing Lawrence and two cohorts’ (John Candy’s Tom Tuttle and Rita Wilson’s Beth Wexler) efforts at building a bridge. Filmmaker Meyer, armed with a script by Keith F. Critchlow, David Isaacs, and Ken Levine, delivers a meandering comedy that benefits substantially from the predictably agreeable work of its charismatic stars – with Hanks’ agreeable turn, despite a decidedly questionable accent, going a long way towards sustaining the viewer’s interest through the picture’s many less-than-enthralling stretches. (It’s clear, ultimately, that Candy’s scene-stealing turn remains an ongoing highlight within the rocky proceedings.) And while the picture is rarely as laugh-out-loud funny as one might’ve anticipated (and hoped), Volunteers‘ watchable vibe does, in the end, ensure that it never quite wears out its welcome over the course of its (palpably overlong) 107 minute running time.

**1/2 out of ****