The 'BurbsWhat's life like in the suburbs? Mowing the lawn, waxing the car, digging up bodies in the yard of your Satanic neighbors. Wait, what? The 'Burbs is a comedy about a small cul-de-sac called Mayfield Place, somewhere in the town of Hinkley Hills, where the weary Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks) is drawn into a conspiracy of spying on and infiltrating the home of his new neighbors, the Klopeks, despite his best efforts to do nothing at all on his stay-cation. Originally the skeptic among his nosy neighbors, Art Weingartner (Rick Ducommun) and Lt. Mark Rumsfield (Bruce Dern), he soon finds himself leading the vanguard to discover what secrets the Klopeks have buried in their ominous basement.
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The 'Burbs introduces us to most of the key players in our semi-neurotic drama--about a street that eventually plays host to a calamity of raging fires and skulls--innocuously enough by a boy delivering newspapers to the residents, including Ray, Mark, and even the less-favored Walter Seznick (Gale Gordon), whose little Bichon Frise named Queenie runs amok on Mark Rumsfield's lawn. These are all moments which would be right at home in any small town, suburban locale; but there is that looming homestead of the Klopeks, formerly the home of a family named Knapp, where none of the other residents have dared to tread. The grass has all withered away, a decrepit tree hangs like death over the house which hosts a bee's nest nestled into the disintegrating porch. (One wonder's why the city counsel doesn't say something about it?) It is a recipe for disaster when the trio of nosy men get together to investigate, and the inevitable fireworks are obvious to another neighbor, Ricky Butler (Corey Feldman), who invites his friends over in increasing numbers to witness the spectacle, even ordering pizza, acting as a kind of emcee to the festivities. All of this anticipation of something dreadful wears on the already tense Ray, who jumps when Art shares the story of a soda fountain jerk who slew his family with an ice pick, only for their decomposing bodies to emanate a terrible odor during a record heatwave, leading to their discovery. It is the kind of urban (or suburban) legend which The 'Burbs is about--the myth of a family of creepy, kooky (and altogether ooky) people who appear suddenly and keep themselves secluded away. So immersed is Ray in this local drama, that his dreams become drenched in visions of devilish sacrifices and chainsaw-wielding maniacs. When they are confronted by Ray, Mark, and their wives, under the auspices of a friendly meeting, Hans (Courtney Gains) is visibly uneasy and Uncle Reuben (Brother Theodore) is curt. The most amiable of the family is Dr. Werner Klopek (Henry Gibson), who is still unsettling, especially when he shakes Ray's hand, only to leave a red, moist blotch behind, something he later observes is paint. But while the Klopeks are portrayed as weird, even potentially dangerous, from the audience's standpoint, there is the sense that the Klopeks being murderers exists solely in the minds of Ray, Art, and Mark, and their efforts to unmask their neighbors presumed atrocities is an increasingly ratcheted up misunderstanding. But what if they're right?
The 'Burbs is the kind of comedy one could envision were one to find themselves in the same kind of situation as Ray, someone whose suspicions are based on his snooping into his neighbors business from his porch. His comment about his stomach giving him trouble reveals the kind of man who secretly worries too much about the details, which suggests that his need for a vacation from work was no doubt due to his same quiet obsessiveness. Ray has a mild tendency toward voyeurism; it's innocent enough at first that he hears noises and sees strange lights emanating from the Klopek's basement in the middle of the night, but when he stares out his window to watch them digging holes in their yard in the rain, one suspects he relishes the chance to snoop, just as Art and Mark do. It has often been observed that one of Tom Hanks' attributes as an actor is that he personifies an "everyman" quality, much like actor James Stewart. Coincidentally, James Stewart starred in Rear Window, where he snooped on his neighbors from afar out of boredom, and was convinced of foul play among his fellow tenants as well. Although Ray might have decided to take matters into his own hands with the Klopeks eventually, it really is Art who provokes his unspoken anxiety, pressing him with dares and horror stories about quiet neighbors secretly being serial killers or cultists, his mania stoking the flames in Ray. And Lt. Rumsfield certainly looks to capitalize on the action; one can sense he is so pent up in the quiet suburbs that any sign of potential action is appreciated. The 'Burbs excels at creating the sense that this kind of scenario is plausible when people let their imaginations run rampant, but remains funny throughout by highlighting the absurdity of their investigation. There are loads of great moments with clever sight gags, like when Art falls through a shed after nearly electrocuting himself, leaving an Art-sized hole behind, or when Ray has been all but blown up in the climactic resolution, and wants to go to the hospital, grabbing the gurney and throwing it into the back of the ambulance for him to leap on. Or when virtually every time Lt. Rumsfield emerges onto the field of battle, the theme from Patton plays. That The 'Burbs is set exclusively in the cul-de-sac gives the film a kind of claustrophobic feel, as though regardless of characters like Ray's wife, Carol (Carrie Fisher) leaving for her sister's, or the mention of the lake house Ray is adamant he doesn't want to visit, it is like there really is no other world out there than this microcosm. Of course a creative use of the Universal Studios logo at the beginning suggests that places like Hinkley Hills and streets like Mayfield Place could be anywhere in the world, and such a strange goings on as what occurs on Ray's vacation could strike at anytime, wherever events can escalate when bored neighbors let their imaginations run wild.
Recommended for: Fans of a funny black comedy about the microcosm of suburban life run amok following a cross between cabin fever and boredom, confronted with the presence of a neighbor who conjures up the image of a serial killer, and a man's fight to keep his sanity during his vacation.
The 'Burbs is the kind of comedy one could envision were one to find themselves in the same kind of situation as Ray, someone whose suspicions are based on his snooping into his neighbors business from his porch. His comment about his stomach giving him trouble reveals the kind of man who secretly worries too much about the details, which suggests that his need for a vacation from work was no doubt due to his same quiet obsessiveness. Ray has a mild tendency toward voyeurism; it's innocent enough at first that he hears noises and sees strange lights emanating from the Klopek's basement in the middle of the night, but when he stares out his window to watch them digging holes in their yard in the rain, one suspects he relishes the chance to snoop, just as Art and Mark do. It has often been observed that one of Tom Hanks' attributes as an actor is that he personifies an "everyman" quality, much like actor James Stewart. Coincidentally, James Stewart starred in Rear Window, where he snooped on his neighbors from afar out of boredom, and was convinced of foul play among his fellow tenants as well. Although Ray might have decided to take matters into his own hands with the Klopeks eventually, it really is Art who provokes his unspoken anxiety, pressing him with dares and horror stories about quiet neighbors secretly being serial killers or cultists, his mania stoking the flames in Ray. And Lt. Rumsfield certainly looks to capitalize on the action; one can sense he is so pent up in the quiet suburbs that any sign of potential action is appreciated. The 'Burbs excels at creating the sense that this kind of scenario is plausible when people let their imaginations run rampant, but remains funny throughout by highlighting the absurdity of their investigation. There are loads of great moments with clever sight gags, like when Art falls through a shed after nearly electrocuting himself, leaving an Art-sized hole behind, or when Ray has been all but blown up in the climactic resolution, and wants to go to the hospital, grabbing the gurney and throwing it into the back of the ambulance for him to leap on. Or when virtually every time Lt. Rumsfield emerges onto the field of battle, the theme from Patton plays. That The 'Burbs is set exclusively in the cul-de-sac gives the film a kind of claustrophobic feel, as though regardless of characters like Ray's wife, Carol (Carrie Fisher) leaving for her sister's, or the mention of the lake house Ray is adamant he doesn't want to visit, it is like there really is no other world out there than this microcosm. Of course a creative use of the Universal Studios logo at the beginning suggests that places like Hinkley Hills and streets like Mayfield Place could be anywhere in the world, and such a strange goings on as what occurs on Ray's vacation could strike at anytime, wherever events can escalate when bored neighbors let their imaginations run wild.
Recommended for: Fans of a funny black comedy about the microcosm of suburban life run amok following a cross between cabin fever and boredom, confronted with the presence of a neighbor who conjures up the image of a serial killer, and a man's fight to keep his sanity during his vacation.