Good concept, poorly executed.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Come on Hanks, Candy, and the entire cast couldn't have been picked better than they were to represent America and the Communists from 1962. The story includes greed, charity, companionship, technology and true love. Get with it this is a GREAT Flick that deserves a higher rating that shows it all and includes great comedic writing on top! It is important for everyone to see the workings of capitalism through drugs and get a handle on where it is sourced from and where the profits eventually end up. Here Hanks takes a snobbish wealthy no good selfish student whose life was going no where through gambling debts and re- routes his talents for making friends and creates a whole new life. It's a clean humorous yet still interesting view on America in the early 60's and yet it's closer to reality than some people are probably going to accept. Let's not forget John Candy once again in a role that really suited him in every possible aspect in culture and time.

Having visited Thailand many times since the year after this film was made, and having lived there, one of the first things I wanted to see was whether or not it was filmed in Thailand. From the scene where the plane lands in Bangkok -- Bangkok is not surrounded by mountains, but rather sits on a huge plain -- to the scenes in the jungle (which just don't look right)...the film is clearly not filmed in Thailand. Apparently it was filmed in Mexico. Which is alright...just sayin'. On the other hand, many of the villagers were actually Thai people, and you will hear some authentic Thai language in the film. However, the Thai with the largest speaking part...is actually of Japanese ancestry.In terms of the plot, it's okay. Just don't expect much of any reality. But it does a nice job of making retro fun. Chase scenes can be very funny...can be. And why couldn't the movie makers realize there are differences between Asian ethic groups, rather than mixing Thai and Chinese and Japanese stereotypes. Really, this is amateur hour.In terms of the acting. Well, this was that period of time when Tom Hanks was beginning to be a box office draw, but before he learned what real acting was. And in terms of John Candy, at this point in his career, his acting consisted of being a buffoon. He does it well. The remainder of the cast is okay. But this is pretty light fair, so don't expect much.In fact, that's the key to enjoying this film. Just sit back and prepare to laugh a bit. There's nothing intellectual about it.

Did you ever think to yourself, "Man, that Bridge on the River Kwai was okay, but it should have been a comedy!?" Me neither. Bad news: somehow, it exists. Tom Hanks, the star of this crap, has said that there are some movies he wishes he could remove from his resume. Volunteers should be one of them, but might not be since he met his long-time wife Rita Wilson through it - love shows up at the kookiest times, huh? John Candy is hands down the most irritating part with his lousy Tom Tuttle character, and it's quite embarrassing to see our precious Hanks act a fool and throw away lines in a lame "rich Harvard boy" stereotypical dialect. I honestly can't think of anything I'd call my favorite scene... I suppose it's when Hanks throws cigarettes and gum to the villagers. If you really want to see Hanks and Candy paired up in a much better film, see Splash. If you see Volunteers on the rental shelf, do me a favor: knock the display case to the ground and "splash" a loogie on it. Anyone with a brain won't care.

before they started winning oscars, struggling actors such as tom hanks and robin williams used to be... SURPRISE!! funny! volunteers is a great example of a movie that refuses to take its leading actors seriously and is all the better for it. this is not a "star vehicle" but is rather an irreverant tongue-in-cheek romp. it takes its cues from saturday night live, sctv, monty python, and cheesy off-broadway one-act plays. in return, it is spoofed by one particular hollywood blockbuster to follow, austin powers goldmember. mike myers must have been as impressed with the "reading the subtitles" joke, as well as the "asian guy on the toilet/being chased by sumo wrestler" schtick. but rather than beat the jokes to death, volunteers assumes we are smart enough to catch them on the fly. i bought this in a $5.00 dvd bin, and was reminded why i liked the movie so much in the first place. it is never particularly mean to any of its subjects, including the primitive thai villagers, the communist revolutionaries, yalies, jews, liberals, conservatives, or any of the other fringe elements put into play. as a result, volunteers doesn't insult me as an intelligent movie viewer. by the way, i had forgotten how humorously effective was the "lawrence's bar" scene where the local musician plinks out an oddly romantic version of "as time goes by" on an asian sitar. volunteers is the sort of movie actors must do just for fun. y'know... when they're not too busy trying to win oscars.