Volunteers

I liked this picture, but I didn’t love it the way I thought (and hoped) I would. It is really a question of continuity; the movie does tell a story, but it is constructed like a series of “Saturday Night Live” vignettes (though a lot funnier than most of the SNL vignettes I’ve seen recently). There are really funny bits here; they made me laugh. But it is very obvious that they were put in only for laughs, and stretched out, even though they didn’t contribute much to the picture as a whole. They were almost like sideshows, except that they became the main reason for watching the film after a while. One example is the bit with John Candy (after brainwashing) with the Red Colonel. They had an idea for a bit, and it was funny, so they ran with it, never mind that it added not a whit to the picture as a whole. I guess it was inevitable though, with the thing constructed as a complete farce, after a while abandoning any attempts at any kind of reality. For example, they conjure up a nemesis in the form of a Chinese warlord who inhabits a castle that looks like it came straight out of Transylvania. In fact, they conjure up several nemeses to add some buzz to the story, all of whom want a particular bridge for their own purposes, so that our heroes can have a heck of a time outwitting them all.

Alas, for a comedy, it provides curious moral perspective; namely, that being devious, sly, and underhanded is the way to succeed, and that it is even correct provided that you are charming and witty at the same time. Nobody can hate a loveable sleaze; naturally the heroine, initially outraged, realizes what a great guy the hero is, and falls for him, even if he only looks great compared to another character who is like a Rambo gone berserk. The funny thing is that at the end, when the good guys have won, and true love has triumphed, the hero has not changed at all. He doesn’t show the moral turnaround that we expect. He is still out for himself first, and oh yes, by the way, he has fallen in love with a terrific gal. He winds up with every boy’s fantasy—he is king of his own primitive country, complete with his own club, modestly named Lawrence’s (a real Rick’s Café Americain of Thailand. True “Casablanca” role-playing here, kind of like “The Man Who Would Be King” with a happy ending.

The picture also leaves you with the impression that all you need is an Ivy League education (specifically a Yale education—and how could I not like this picture? Some of the early scenes used actual Yale graduation footage as background) to be master of whatever situation in which you find yourself, whether it be playing poker with a group of subliterate thugs, tossing candy to the primitives, or making a pass at the dedicated JAP on the plane. (Also, having a lot of money doesn’t hurt.) Never mind if you don’t always succeed; the point is you are smooth enough to look good trying, and egotistical enough to not care if you fail. Although, on the other hand, you are so in command that you never really do fail. (Of course, we in the Ivy League, and specifically Yale, know that this is all true.)

So our hero, Lawrence Bourne III, winds up outwitting the enemy, saving the day, acquiring a worshipful tribe, winning the girl, and even snaring a devoted number one son—an Asian Man Friday—all by virtue of being cocky, arrogant, egotistical, and self-centered. Hmmm. Not to mention well-bred, well-educated, and rich. As the hero, Tom Hanks is quite good, and quite self-possessed, even if his accent—which sounds like a parody of William F. Buckley, Jr.—falters a bit at times. I like Hanks. I think he’s very natural, though I’ve heard him described as a second-rate Bill Murray. He also has some terrific lines (“It’s not that I can’t help these people. It’s that I don’t want to.” “Well I certainly think I’ve put in the hours, don’t you?”) and was often quite funny. But he never undergoes a change that would have made the picture rewarding (even comedies can be rewarding), that would have given it a point, so it winds up just being a series of funny bits strung together for laughs (which, granted, isn’t all bad).

Another curious thing is that there are a few lines which are mock snubs of Asians (“Sometimes you Asian people just slay me.” “You’re awfully heavy for an Asian.”) presented with a sort of “we’re all hip enough to know this really isn’t prejudiced, despite how it sounds” attitude. The problem is that after a few times it does start to sound prejudiced. It’s like someone who says, “Some of my best friends are Black, so that entitles me to make jokes about them.” And while it doesn’t present the natives as buffoons, it comes close at times (mainly the villains are presented as buffoons). It’s an intelligently written comedy for the most part; maybe that’s why this aspect of it struck me so bluntly. In any event, there are some hilarious things in the picture (great bit with the heroine trying to explain to the natives in their own language why we use boiling water, and it comes out—via subtitles—as “Boiling water can kill you, germs. Germs cause disease. That’s why we want to kill you.”). Anyway.

I’m really beginning to think that John Candy is a terrific character comedian. He is really funny as Tom Tuttle from Tacoma—a typical specialty role for him—but done with such great good humor that it’s fresh each time. He really has good timing too. And the picture is well-made, and neatly directed by a personal idol of mine, Nicholas Meyer, who has made an apparently effortless leap from novel writing (“The Seven-Percent Solution” and others) to screenwriting (ditto) to directing (“Time After Time” and “Star Trek II”). The physical production is very nice. It is just a shame that they couldn’t pull all this talent together to give the picture a little bit more of a cohesive point of view. Maybe a little more sweetness would have helped. “Splash” comes to mind as a picture that did this well (and no coincidence, since it also starred Candy and Hanks). Had it done so, it might have been a minor comedy classic, since the possibilities for humor are vast. As it is, it just misses. Funny, but no more.