Volunteers

Lawrence Bourne III is a wealthy Yale graduate whose gambling debts catch up with him in 1962. With his father refusing to cover what he owes, Lawrence takes a drastic way out: he swaps places with his roommate and joins the Peace Corps, hoping to disappear into a remote assignment in Thailand rather than face the people he owes money to.

In a village near the Golden Triangle, Lawrence is expected to help build a bridge alongside volunteer Tom Tuttle and fellow corps member Beth Wexler. His privileged, self-interested outlook fits badly with the work, and the bridge project turns out to sit at the centre of competing interests, including local communist forces and drug traders. The film is a comedy built around the mismatch between Lawrence's background and the situation he has fled into.

Nicholas Meyer directed, working from a screenplay by Ken Levine and David Isaacs. It followed Meyer's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and The Day After, and came before Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Tom Hanks plays Lawrence, John Candy plays Tom Tuttle, and Rita Wilson plays Beth Wexler, with Tim Thomerson, Gedde Watanabe and George Plimpton among the credited cast of 23; 60 crew members are credited. Made for about 10 million dollars, it took roughly 20 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 5.5 out of 10 from around 12,000 votes, and on TMDB 5.5 out of 10 from 187 votes.