March 1 . . .
VOLUNTEER FOR SOME LAUGHS
On this day in 1961 President John F. Kennedy created the Peace Corps by executive order. Within months, thousands of volunteers had signed up to go away to far-off ‘Third World’ countries to help with housing, medical and farming projects. The pay was minimal, but it was, and remains, one of JFK’s greatest legislative contributions.
Celebrate the anniversary of the Peace Corp with ‘Volunteers’ (1985) – one of Tom Hanks’ less-celebrated early comedies, but still a fun diversion. Hanks plays ne-er-do-well Ive League playboy and compulsive gambler Laurence Bourne III (his Boston accent is a bit dodgy), who tries to escape his bookie by boarding a plane full of Peace Corps volunteers heading for Thailand. Once there, he spends more time teaching the locals how to cheat at cards than how to plant crops. Hanks’ scenes with co-star John Candy (as Tom Tuttle of Tacoma) are the best in the film; this was the second time they worked together (the first time being 1984’s ‘Splash’). It was on the set of this movie that Hanks began a romance with leading lady Rita Wilson; they married the following year. Like the Peace Corps itself, ‘Volunteers’ is an uneven but worthwhile effort.
VOLUNTEER FOR SOME LAUGHS
On this day in 1961 President John F. Kennedy created the Peace Corps by executive order. Within months, thousands of volunteers had signed up to go away to far-off ‘Third World’ countries to help with housing, medical and farming projects. The pay was minimal, but it was, and remains, one of JFK’s greatest legislative contributions.
Celebrate the anniversary of the Peace Corp with ‘Volunteers’ (1985) – one of Tom Hanks’ less-celebrated early comedies, but still a fun diversion. Hanks plays ne-er-do-well Ive League playboy and compulsive gambler Laurence Bourne III (his Boston accent is a bit dodgy), who tries to escape his bookie by boarding a plane full of Peace Corps volunteers heading for Thailand. Once there, he spends more time teaching the locals how to cheat at cards than how to plant crops. Hanks’ scenes with co-star John Candy (as Tom Tuttle of Tacoma) are the best in the film; this was the second time they worked together (the first time being 1984’s ‘Splash’). It was on the set of this movie that Hanks began a romance with leading lady Rita Wilson; they married the following year. Like the Peace Corps itself, ‘Volunteers’ is an uneven but worthwhile effort.
Click here to see the trailer . . .
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