The 'Burbs

As someone who grew up in the Midwest Suburbs, I've always loved the movie The 'Burbs. Anyone who has lived on a suburban street or cul de sac has had the thoughts wondering who their neighbors are. The ones that are a little strange and keep to themselves. This film takes this universal feeling to it's most absurd levels. 

Overstressed suburbanite Ray Petersen (played by Tom Hanks) just wants to have a quiet weeks vacation at home with his wife, Carol (played by Carrie Fisher) and son Dave (played by Cory Danzinger). However, he gets pulled into looking into his mysterious neighbors, The Klopeks, by his neighbors Mark Rumsfield (played by Bruce Dern) and Art Weingartner (played by Rick Ducmommun). The three men's curiosity turns into an obsession as they witness such bizarre events as weird lights and noises from their basement, them digging in their backyard in the middle of the night, and one of them driving their garbage to the end of the driveway and beating it with a garden hoe into the can. They're watched over by local teen Ricky Butler (played by Corey Feldman), a teen home alone who is supposed to be painting his house but spends most of his time inviting his friends over to watch the neighborhood shenanigans with him, claiming it's better than TV (honestly, he's kinda right).

The more Ray, Art and Mark investigate, the more ghoulish the neighbors appear to be. Things got to another level when another neighbor, Walter (played by Gale Gordon), goes missing. Convinced the Klopeks had something to do with it, the three men prepare to launch a full scale investigation into their secretive and possibly ghoulish new neighbors. Meanwhile, Carol is trying to convince Ray to stay out of it and take her and Dave to a cabin by the lake for the week. He keeps turning her down, saying he wants to relax around the house, all the while actually plotting with Art and Mark. 

The 'Burbs is directed by Joe Dante and infuses with the same off kilter charm that he added to the likes of Gremlins and Explorers. This is more of a straight forward comedy than his other works, which were more humorous sci-fi or fantasy. But it has the same twisted sensibility and light parody of small town, Middle America suburbia that probably made his films so endearing to me as a kid, since I was secretly convinced no place could be this benign, there had to be something sinister lurking behind closed doors.

Tom Hanks, back when he was still making primarily straight comedies, headlines the film nicely in what is by and large an ensemble cast of assorted oddballs that populate this cul de sac as well as Dante mainstays Robert Picardo and Dick Miller as the two garbage men who pop up briefly to witness some of the insanity. In fact, one of the more interesting aspects of the film is the action of the film never leaves this tiny section of Midwest suburbia.  All of the film's action takes place in this one place and never ventures outside of it, which I think is a novel touch of the film.  

I hadn't see The 'Burbs in a few years but recently re-discovered it when it got added to Netflix and I have to admit I had forgotten how funny it really was. It is a true screwball comedy in every sense of the word, anchored by another memorable Jerry Goldsmith score and a great cast that are a hoot to watch as they dig themselves in deeper and deeper as they investigate their creepy and odd new neighbors. It's an underrated film in my book and one I've always enjoyed.