Volunteers

The Next Reel Film Podcast

“It’s not that I can’t help these people, it’s just that I don’t want to."

It’s time for some guilty pleasures! Yes, the two of us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — dig up some films that we love but are generally not considered the greatest of movies. This week, it’s Andy’s turn with his guilty pleasure — Nicholas Meyer’s 1985 Peace Corps comedy “Volunteers.” That’s right, more Tom Hanks action from Andy, proving he’s just about ready to go Annie Wilkes on ol’ Tom. In this week’s episode, we talk about what Andy loves in this movie while also looking at it through serious eyes, analyzing what in the film really is causing it to be generally considered a bad film. In this particular case, most of the burden falls on Hanks in his performance of the pompous rich boy Lawrence Bourne III. We compare that with what works well in the film, most notably John Candy in yet another hilarious turn from the 80s. We also look at the other actors in the film — Rita Wilson, Tim Thomerson, Gedde Watanabe, George Plimpton and more — and talk about what they bring to the table. We touch on comments Ken Levine, one of the writers, wrote on his 2009 blog about the scene that ruined the movie, and Andy takes the writer to task for possibly thinking too highly of his own script. And we chat about a few people behind the camera — Meyer at the helm and James Horner composing a wonderful score. It’s a fun romp, albeit problem laden, that is high on Andy’s list of fun movies to watch but not likely one Pete will be returning to, even if he did find a few things to enjoy in the movie. So check it out then tune in!

Film Sundries

• Original theatrical trailer
• Original poster artwork
• Flickchart

Trailers of the Week

• Andy’s Trailer: Goosebumps — “I love that they’re stepping out of the world of R.L. Stine’s books for this and instead are making R.L. Stine a character who has to battle his ‘demons’ with a group of kids. What a fun concept! This is definitely one I’ll be seeing with my daughter come October."
• Pete’s Trailer: Spectre Trailer 2 — “I’m frustrated by this trailer. It makes me think they’re slipping into Roger Moore territory and as I think you all know, Daniel Craig is no Roger Moore. Wait… switch that. There you go."

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