The 'Burbs (1989) User Reviews (376)

One of the most underrated films of the 80's

[mjukr · 7/10 · 30 September 2004]

Commonly tossed aside as a predictable, poorly plotted film with few laughs, "The 'Burbs" has more to offer than most critics are willing to admit.

This film is not so much about the plot(which is admittedly thin and which the critics are too concerned with) as it is about the characters who become entangled within it. Included in this terrific cast are Tom Hanks, who plays the skeptical neighbor of the new family on the block (a bunch of oddballs who never leave the house); Rick Ducommun, who plays the gluttonous friend of Hanks, who is convinced that the new neighbors are brain sucking murderers; Bruce Dern, the ex-soldier who hasn't quite left his miilitary roots behind him; and last, but not least, Corey Feldman, who plays the dopey teenage neighbor who basically watches the events of the movie unfold from the comfort of his front porch. These characters are so well-acted and so downright wacky that you just have to believe there is a neighborhood somewhere with people like this. The chemistry between everyone of the characters is simply impressive, and much of the humor of the film can be found in the often ludicrous way the director portrays their interactions.

I urge anyone who has seen this film before to watch it again, this time paying little attention to the story and focusing on the superbly acted characters.

Satan is good. Satan is our pal.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 27 March 2017]

"The 'Burbs" is writer / co-producer / actor Dana Olsens' deliberately warped invention. The idea is to remove the picture perfect outer layer of average American suburban life and reveal what potential insanity could be bubbling underneath. In so doing, he also makes fun of suburbanites who seem to make it their business to know everybody elses' business.

Tom Hanks stars as Ray Peterson, your typical 'burb dweller, who ends up severely stressed out when his nutty neighbors - Bruce Dern as ex-military man Mark Rumsfield and the late comedian Rick Ducommun as nosey instigator Art Weingartner - spur him to action. They keep hearing weird noises, and seeing weird things, concerning the newcomers to the street, the Klopeks (Henry Gibson, Brother Theodore, Courtney Gains), and wonder just what the hell is going on inside the Klopek house. To make matters more interesting, their elderly neighbor Walter Seznick (Gale Gordon) goes missing. Could the Klopeks be responsible for his disappearance?

Ray tries his best to be rational and skeptical, but finds himself drawn in more and more by his kooky comrades and the things he witnesses. Acting as a genuine voice of reason is his understandably frustrated wife Carol (Carrie Fisher).

The whole thing becomes rather over the top, but then a sense of anarchy to his stories has always been filmmaker Joe Dantes' ("Piranha" '78, "The Howling", "Gremlins") strong suit. Olsen and Dante have fun with the dark comedy aspect to this yarn, and there are some quite funny bits along the way. Viewing the whole circus from the sidelines is neighborhood teen Ricky Butler (Corey Feldman), who tries to convince his peers that the goings on here are better than any movie they could watch. Among those who really get into the spirit of the material are production designer James Spencer and composer Jerry Goldsmith.

Hanks is terrific, and much like the legendary Gene Wilder, proves to be a master at freaking out in a comedic way. But the whole cast is great, with Ducommun often going to town on the scenery. The cast is filled with familiar faces: Wendy Schaal, Dick Miller (Dantes' good luck charm for many years), Robert Picardo, Franklyn Ajaye, Rance Howard, Nicky Katt, Kevin Gage, Patrika Darbo. Olsen himself appears as a cop.

While the story is ultimately rather predictable, it does keep you watching, and amused - and may make you wonder what goes on behind your own neighbors' doors.

Seven out of 10.

A Fun Romp Through Suburbia

[Krog__ · 7/10 · 19 August 2004]

Wanna' sit down and watch a movie that doesn't take itself seriously and stars Tom Hanks? Here ya' go!

The basic plot to this not-quite-funny comedy is that a group of suburbanites think that a family of creepy new neighbors are actually sick killers who offed another neighbor. They go through all sorts of adventures and situations, trying to get to the bottom of the mystery that, it seems, only exists within their minds.

Who cares if the ending is cliche? Well, I do, but not in a movie like this where there is no underlying meaning or message and is just in existence to have a little bit of fun. Which is, by the way, what you'll have: a little bit of fun.

Yo Mr. Rumsfield!!!

[billybrown41 · 29 May 2001]

Okay, I know Tom Hanks has done some greater than great work. Forest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, and The Green Mile are truly American classics. For some reason (maybe I AM a weirdo) this is my favorite movie of his. It has a simple plot, a light tone, shades of horror, and some GREAT one-liners that have stayed in my memory since I was nine years old. This is one of those movies that never gets old. I especially like Corey Feldman as Ricky Butler. He played the best burn-out I have ever seen and he truly is an underrated actor. Rick Duccoman is great as the obnoxious neighbor, Art and his laid back manner continues to bring a smile to my face. Bruce Dern is flat-out awesome as the war-crazed vet who has all the right gizmos for the job, but always fails miserably. Almost every line out of his mouth is memorable and his response when he steps in a pile of dog crap is a classic quote.

Obviously this is a satire on Suburban life and nosey neighbors, but I could care less about all that. This is a classic that ranks (in my mind) with the likes of "The Goonies" and "Smokey and the Bandit".

If, for some reason, you missed this one, PLEASE see it. You have no clue what you're missing.

Tom Hanks - The formative years.

[Bing-18 · 7/10 · 28 May 1999]

This is a great example of what Tom Hanks was doing in his former career of a comedic actor, before he returned to serious acting.

The story follows three incredibly nosey suburbanites, spying on their new neighbours the Klopek's as they expect them to be murderers.

Winning performances all round, but especially from Hanks. He is well supported by the likes of Carrie Fisher, as his wife, and ex-army man Bruce Dern, with Henry Gibson giving his usual solid performance.

A greatly funny movie which leaves you wondering why Hanks ever turned his back on comedy.

Light dark comedy

[mrtimlarabee · 7/10 · 31 March 2008]

The 'burbs is a fun diversion from the usual neighborhood comedies. Joe Dante has a way of combining dark humor and outright horror and make it convincing to a mass audience (see 'Gremlins.') That this film has a lot of dark elements and remains just a light romp at the end is a feat unto itself. All credit goes to Hanks' good natured comedic performance and Dante's fun with the material.

Dante paints a portrait of the neighborhood at the very beginning. Hanks plays Ray, probably the most normal among the neighbors. Art is like a big kid and the first one to suspect the neighbors of foul play. Bruce Dern plays a war vet where Ricky Butler, played by Corey Feldman is the loud teenager. All is well in suburbia until clues pop up that might reveal the new neighbors, the Klopeks, as murderers.

With any other talent behind the film, this could have been a very dark comedy. But instead of playing up the horror, Dante has fun with it, playing up the comedy talents of his performers (notably Hanks and Dern, who take turns chewing scenery). Dante also has fun with visuals, notably in a hilarious dream sequence that Ray has.

Everything comes together to make this film work, including a great score by Jerry Goldsmith, that is part suburban comedy and part horror, complete with organs culled from a funeral march. This film is far from perfect, but it's fun diversional comedy and reminds of the great comic actor that Tom Hanks once was before becoming Oscar's golden boy.

Ducommun Delivers In One Of My All-Time Favorites

[ccthemovieman-1 · 10/10 · 6 March 2006]

Sometimes a bizarre comedy just hits the right notes with me and, despite none of my friends liking it, I love it. This is a premier example of such: one of my favorites in that category. The fact others don't share that opinion doesn't bother me, but I am glad to see reviewers on this site who appreciated this black, very underrated gem.

I always get a big kick out of this film, no matter how many times I see it.I credit a little-known actor for making this so entertaining to me: Rick Ducommun. I think he steals the show from well-known stars Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher and Corey Feldman.

Actually, I think this film is panned a lot because they didn't expect Hanks to be in something this goofy. Too bad, but I bet he had a lot fun making it, along with the rest of the cast.

Ducommun and Dern are the hilarious wackos who try to help straight-laced Hanks find out about the really-strange neighbors he has next door. Are these people some demented killers or just the figment of these nosy neighbors' imagination? Fisher is Hanks' always-complaining wife and Feldman is the teen across the street who watches all the lunacy from his porch, getting his getting nightly entertainment from these crazy adults.

Director Joe Dante, of "Gremlins" fame, does a good job entertaining us in here, too, and providing some fun camera-work. Dante also used music to great advantage, mostly for humor.

This is one of those "not for all tastes" films, so chances are you won't like it and think it's stupid. For a number of reasons, I love it.

When there's something wrong in the neighborhood, don't call these guys

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 13 October 2019]

The 'Burbs has Tom Hanks looking to spend a quiet weekend at home with his family with wife Carrie Fisher and son Cory Danziger. But a strange new family has moved into the house next door and he spends his week trying to figure out what their story is.

Meet the Klopeks who have all the characteristics of a Charles Addams creation. When one of their neighbors, elderly Gale Gordon goes missing without an explanation imaginations run wild.

At least the imaginations of neighbors Bruce Dern and Rick Ducommon are stirred and they get Hanks involved. Dern has a real flair for comedy with his creation of this man who loves all things military. Ducommon is a man with a big imagination and no clue.

With the title I thought this would be a general satire on suburban living. It isn't but that's all right. It's a very funny film with a nice twist for an ending.

I also have to say Corey Feldman has one of his best roles though if the creators of The 'Burbs are giving some commentary on 80s American youth. He's kind of a Greek chorus of comment himself on the stupid goings on of the adults.

Very funny stuff, catch it if you can.

An all time favorite!

[UrbanElysium · 10/10 · 6 January 2023]

I've watched this so many times I know dialog by heart. No matter how many times I watch I still LMAO.

I watch when I'm in need of: 1) Comedic adventure.

2) I really need a pick me up from life.

3) I just want a fun flick.

The cast is GREAT. The writing borders genius. Direction perfect.

If you want a fun film about old school 'neighborhood shenanigans' this might fit. Give it a go.

This is kind of representative of those great madcap 80s films with a lot of great one-liners, and a lot of preposterous scenarios. But, this really works because of the cast, writing and direction- a trifecta of talent.

We have Gibson as a mad scientist trying to thwart Hanks/ Ducommun and Dern, while Brother Theodore and Gains stand as go-betweens of them all. Fisher and Schaal as THE voices of common sense, Fieldman as resident teen who just eggs everyone on and poor Gordon...even the dog is a character!

With 5 (!) of major cast members who've died it's a nostalgic trip that deserves some recognition and honor for work they put forth!

I truly hope no imbecile remakes this!

The burb's is a rarity...a black comedy I enjoyed.

[Aaron1375 · 7/10 · 9 July 2009]

I generally do not like the movie format and category of the black comedy. Usually, they become so dark that they cease to be funny or entertaining to me...a good example of this is "War of the Roses". There have been some that I enjoyed though and this is one of them. I usually like the ones that only really edge towards the dark side a bit and I would say this one does that. It kind of goes into horror at times, but still remains funny unlike another black horror/comedy "Parents" with Randy Quaid. This film features a new family moving into a very old and not so attractive house. These newcomers are under immediate scrutiny and suspicion as they move in the middle of the night, do not do anything to really fix up the place, and are generally strange looking when some of the people in the neighborhood pay them a visit. Tom Hanks character is not really suspicious at first till his crazy neighbor and a paranoid one convince there is something up with the new family in the burbs. You get many funny scenes as these guys try to find proof that the new family is as strange as they look and are in fact up to something as the poodle a man who lives in the neighborhood shows up dirty and the neighbor ends up missing. The movie plays out rather good and is funny for the most part, at times it becomes a bit to dark as most black comedies tend to do. The cast is very funny and I think this is like the only movie I have seen Carrie Fisher in besides the Star Wars trilogy. Bruce Dern to me steals the show in terms of comedy followed by the neighbor who deduces the bone is human. Not sure of his name or any other movies he has done prior to or since this one. Even Corey Feldman does a rather good job. So all in all this is a nice trip to the burbs.

Too self-consciously weird to be funny.

[Howlin Wolf · 3/10 · 6 April 2001]

Weirdness can work in sketch format. This is because there is no setup or explanation required for what is going on; the humour is supposed to be instantaneous. We see something that is weird on screen, and we laugh because it is weird, also in the knowledge that whatever's on screen will go away shortly.

There is potential for comedy to be found in the premise of "The 'burbs", but unfortunately the script fails to extract any of it. I know the ineptitude of the film can be traced directly back to the quality (or lack thereof) of the script, because director Joe Dante is capable of crafting great entertainment given the right material ("Gremlins", "Innerspace"). There are also a number of usually reliable performers here struggling with the weakness of what they are given. The paucity of the end result that reaches our screens can be explained by the approach that the script tries to take.

This is a feature film, so some attempt should have been made to flesh out the main character, to make the audience relate to him. You have a basic plot here, USE IT! USE IT TO AT LEAST HALF OF ITS FULL POTENTIAL PLEASE!!! There is no need for the humour here to be instantaneous like a sketch show, because we're working from a much broader canvas where the plot can even be established before the humour arrives. The 'sketch' analogy that describes the approach of the movie presents various problems which dog the film throughout its running time.

In a sketch, we laugh because something is weird. In a film, we expect the comedy to originate from the situation that has been presented to us. Too often in this film, we are shown things that are strange, and are expected to laugh because of this, despite the fact that their importance to the situation is TOTALLY arbitrary. The situation would still be the same if they weren't there, they're just thrown in to make us laugh. I would say though, that if you can't develop the situation competently enough so that it makes us laugh on its own, without the aid of cheap gimmicks, then comedy isn't your forte. That's a message to the writers...

Also, as I said, we laugh at a sketch because we know it will be over shortly. It should be obvious that the funny parts of the sketch are not strong enough to be sustained over a longer period. One of the worst things about watching "The 'burbs" is that if you don't find the 'awkward' weirdness funny (as you can surmise I didn't), you know that the execution period won't be mercifully brief, unlike a sketch. It was an awful moment when I realised I had to sit through this unfunny tosh for AT LEAST another hour and twenty minutes...

If you like the idea of stupid events that don't sit well with the overall plot of the film, then you might like this. The rest of us will just scratch our heads in wonder at why anybody might enjoy a comedy that is otherwise laugh-free.

A movie you can relate to

[ffprick · 10/10 · 12 December 2004]

'The 'Burbs' is a great movie and I would recommend it to anyone. Tom Hanks does a great job at playing the role of an ordinary guy with ordinary problems. Every time I watch this movie, I can really feel like I am actually there. We all have weird neighbors and can relate to what Hanks is going through. It has also been a fantasy for many of us to try and find out exactly what our neighbors are up to, but we never have the guts to do it. Movies are made so that we can escape reality for a couple of hours and feel like we are doing things that we would most likely never get to do. This movie does it better than any other movie I have seen.

Most of the other people that I have talked to have agreed with me that 'The 'Burbs' is one of the most underrated comedies ever made. I don't believe that it was unsuccessful, but it definitely doesn't get the credit it deserves. If you want to see a movie that you can relate to, then watch this.

I hate cul-de-sacs. There's only one way out. (spoilers)

[vertigo_14 · 7/10 · 3 June 2004]

The 'burbs is classic 80s fare from director Joe Dante (it even features his two casting regulars, Dick Miller and Robert Picardo). It looked like a lot of fun to make.

Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks) and his neighbors live in the epitome of Suburbia. They're very neighborly folks (aka nosy) who spend most of their time primping their yards and spying on their neighbors, the reclusive Klopeks who just moved in next door to Ray. They live in the only desolate house on the block, the one with the dried up grass and lone, dead tree in the front yard. At night, when Ray walks his dog, he hears strange noises and sees weird things coming from the Klopek's house. So, everyone in the neighborhood assumes the only logical thing--that the Klopeks are murderers.

When their neighbor Walter goes missing, Ray and his idiot friend, Art (Rick Ducommun) are sure the Klopek's murdered him and buried him in the backyard. When the Klopek's leave their house to attend a University lecture for the day, Ray declares "I'm going over there and I'm not coming back until I find a dead body. Nobody knocks off an old man in my neighborhood and gets away with it." Ray's wife, Carol (Carrie Fisher) is fed up with Art and Ray, as they continuously seem to get into trouble in trying to prove their theory that the Klopeks are murderers. But, when the cat's away, the mice will play.

All the while, you're left wondering whether their paranoia has overtaken them, or whether the Klopeks really are capable of murder. It's always the quiet ones...

There's a lot to enjoy here in this stupid comedy. Bruce Dern, above all else, is my favorite character as Ray's neighbor, Mark Rumsfield who is usually hilariously wimpy despite being a former soldier. (During a break from the final invasion, Rumsfield sits atop his roof carefully nibbling the heads off of animal crackers). Or when Art has to climb up an electrical pole to cut the power to the Klopek's house, Ray asks Mark why he didn't climb up there. "It's very high," he says innocently. And I get the most laughs during the conversation Mark has with Uncle Rueben Klopek (Brother Theodore) when they all get together and pay the family a visit. "About a nine on the tension scale, eh Rub?" he asks the annoyed brother.

Art is pretty funny too because he's a giant idiot who is really responsible for the mess that he and Ray and Mark get in when they go snooping around the Klopek's house. And, 80s fans won't want to miss Corey Feldman who, despite previously being an annoying teenager in later films, is actually quite funny here as slacker neighbor Ricky Butler who "really knows how to throw a party." He knows that if Ray, Mark, and Art are up to something, then it's worth calling up all his rock n' roll stoner friends to come over and check out the action. "This is my life. This is my neighborhood," he says proudly. Says Mark Rumsfield to his wife about Ricky, "that kids a meatball."

Joe Dante really does a good job here and works with a fantastic cast of characters, especially the supporting cast, in this story that parodies Suburban life. It's a really funny movie that is best for 80s fans. Loosen up and give it a go.

Horrible horror comedy!

[OllieSuave-007 · 2/10 · 16 September 2015]

I was pretty excited for this movie since the plot summary about a suburban family worried that their reclusive and mysterious neighbors might be a cannibalistic cult sounded intriguing. However, what really resulted was just a comedic mess of overzealous and overly excited characters, corny and annoying acting and a slow-moving story.

Because of the forced humor that succumbed most of the movie, any suspense and thrills of the mysterious-neighbor plot device was lost. Rick Ducommun was one of the nosy suburbanites and created much of the annoyance and damage to the course of events, as did the childish, clownish and ridiculous Bruce Dern. Corey Feldman tried to pull off a bad boyish teenager look, who really didn't do anything in the film, and Tom Hanks acted like he was overly frustrated much of the time during the movie. I actually thought the mysterious neighbor characters had the best acting and chemistry.

There may be a tidbit of thrilling moments in and there, for example, the part where Tom Hanks sneaks into the neighbors' house at night to try to find incriminating evidence. But, don't let the horror genre label fool you - this movie is just a poor attempt at black comedy that even kids won't find funny.

Grade D---

a hilarious movie

[MichaelM24 · 22 July 2001]

The first time I saw THE 'BURBS, it was a special unannounced sneak preview following another film. Having heard nothing about this film and not even knowing of its existence until the film started, I was immediately worried I was about to see a horror film. Hey, I was only ten at the time, when I was still scared of horror movies. But what I ended up seeing was one of the most hilarious movies ever made, a movie that had the entire theater laughing all the way through. We later bought the video, and more recently the DVD, and over the years since it's release I've watched it countless times (the exact number probably somewhere in the 50s or so) and have never grown tired of it.

While managing to be both suspenseful and funny at the same time, the film also does a great job after capturing the day-to-day life of a small suburban street, with a variety of characters so simple and life-like, it seems like they could actually live on your own street. The grumpy old guy down the street, the teenager who likes to throw parties while his parents are gown, the guy next door who comes over all the time and mooches food, and the average Everyday Joe who experiences it all at his own pace. The cast is an excellent combination, with everybody working great together, particularly Bruce Dern as the Vietnam vet who always has the right tool for the job and Tom Hanks as the average guy who's curious about his strange new neighbors, but not enough to really want to bother finding out more about them. If you've never seen it, I suggest giving it a look. It really is quite funny and has many quotable lines.

Funny movie.

[Kdosda_Hegen · 7/10 · 11 April 2020]

This movie may be dated, but this old fart still has something going. It's based on those truly 80s jokes, it's pretty good.

Red Rover, Red Rover, let Dante's career not be over...

[DapperDanbo · 7/10 · 7 July 2004]

The 'Burbs isn't one of the greatest movies ever made, but I think movies like this definitely have a place in the world of film because it's fun. Sure, it's not very sophisticated or artistic, but it wasn't just made to earn a buck, either. I appreciate the time that it took Joe Dante to figure this film out and make it.

The cast is excellent. Tom Hanks is a little underplayed, even though he has his moments of fun. Rick Ducommun is the great boob of a neighbor that resembles a leech more than a man (we all know those kind of people). Finally, Bruce Dern is sweet as the Vietnam vet living out the rest of the war on his front lawn, while eating animal crackers. The other roles are fairly downplayed, not really offering the characteristics or foibles that stand out as much as our three heroes.

The crew is made up of one of my favorite teams: Dante and Goldsmith. Joe Dante directs and Jerry Goldsmith writes music for it. Dante includes all his trademarks in this film: cameos by Dick Miller and Robert "The Doctor" Picardo, numerous homages to other films, and whimsy you can cut with a knife. Goldsmith takes the film to another level beyond the visual elements of the storytelling and adds the musical elements, which subtly shape the feel of the movie. Without the organ motif, the Klopeks wouldn't be as creepy or mysterious. Why would their neighbors suspect them of anything? Without PATTON motif, would Dern's character have been as likable or tough?

Overall, "The 'burbs" inspires me, as a filmmaker (an amateur one at that), to go out and make a whimsical movie that's fun for the audience and shows them a fun time for an hour and a half. I'm inspired by the gags, the eccentric performances, and the music. I recommend everyone see this, just so you don't sound so lame for seeing only the popular movies that all your friends and neighbors have seen. STICK IT TO THE MAN! Oh wait...I'm one of them!

Cult favourite

[nicholls905-280-546911 · 10/10 · 6 June 2019]

Great cast with a one joke premise that works. Dante is the key ingredient here and he doesn't take the easy road. Hybrid genre films are tough and this film was met with negativity from the critics, the fans are the ones who gave life to this cult gem. Dark, weird and Dante, if you can't jump on the same page you'll miss a great film.

Unpredictable, witty, and charming!

[jeremywraymond · 7/10 · 20 October 2019]

This 80's cult classic is often overlooked because of the other title released during this year for the audience. Although this is a PG movie, the themes are quite dark, but in a friendly and comedic matter. This film follows a traditional Hollywood style of plot, however it is arranged in such a way to make the entire movie feel mysterious and suspenseful while remaining very warm and welcoming. Characters are always critical, and here, the minor character are very stereotypical however the way they react to the rather natural main character Ray, played by Tom Hanks, is comedic and interesting while they are shoved into this plot driven narrative. The main character acts like a window with a revelation of the audience and he acts very predictable in all scenarios. That being said, the scenarios and plot is very unpredictable which gives this movie the perfect balance.

Over all this movie is hilarious, spooky, mysterious, and fantastic for any audience grouping.

A deliciously black comedy...

[mastac-1 · 8/10 · 17 August 2004]

The world of black comedies has seen few truly classic entries in the past few years. It's a very specific sub genre of comedy that is extremely hard to do well as films like Very Bad Things frequently signify. Too many of Hollywood's more recent offerings feature truly tasteless gags that poke fun at subjects that should simply be left well enough alone. Well I have to say that Hollywood could learn a thing or two from its own past in this department. I recently rediscovered a childhood favourite of mine, The Burbs, and I have to admit that age has not in the least bit dulled the film's razor sharp wit and acid tongued dialogue

Tom Hanks plays Ray Peterson, an overstressed suburbanite who's decided to spend his vacation lounging around the house in a vain effort to relax. Of course he finds his efforts hindered by the constant presence of his somewhat excitable neighbors Art Weingartner (Rick Ducommun) and Mark Rumsfield (Bruce Dern) who suspect the new family in the neighbourhood, the Klopeks, of being mass murderers. Together these three decide to look into the suspicious nature of their new neighbors and just what exactly it is they get up to at night, the time when the otherwise reclusive Klopeks seem to be at their most active.

The premise is basically the set up for another of Joe Dante's (who directed both Gremlins and its remake in all but name, Small Soldiers) bedlam filled romps through suburbs in which he casts a sideways glance at all things American dream.

Quite frankly, my nostalgia for this movie makes it hard to find fault with it. Hanks is as funny as ever, playing it relatively straight compared to his other performances of the period and bringing a lovely shade of deep seated unease to an otherwise grounded character. Bruce Dern fills his role wonderfully, as the military obsessed Rumsfield, a character surprisingly reminiscent of survivalist Burt Gummer from the Tremors movies in both his nature and ability to steal scenes. The only weak link in the leading trio is Ducommun, which is a shame as it is really Art that drives the story more than any other character in the movie. Sure, Art has to be slightly obnoxious and a little irritating but Ducommun overplays these aspects so much that I began to find it painful to watch him as the end of the movie approached. It's hardly a surprise when Hanks tries to kill him. I can't help but feel that perhaps the late John Candy would have fit the role slightly better, bringing some more human and likable qualities to the character.

At times however, The Burbs can feel a little uneasy in its pacing and sense of humour. Scenes like the screaming at the bone, although funny, seem out of place in what is otherwise a movie with a very dry sense of humour. Meanwhile the Klopeks are unveiled as characters perhaps a little too late in the story for the audience to truly develop any kind of opinions about them.

Despite some small problems however, The Burbs remains an extremely funny movie with some terrific dialogue and almost universally good performances from its cast. I defy anyone not to laugh at Rumsfield's fall from the roof of his house or every man Ray's furious rant at the movie's close. For fans of black comedies, The Burbs is a perfect antidote to the current glut of obnoxious Hollywood gross out comedies and the Farrelly Brothers increasingly desperate to offend pieces.

Thinly plotted parody, boosted by clever performances and an atmosphere of suspenseful paranoia.

[barnabyrudge · 7/10 · 27 December 2006]

Joe Dante is exactly the right director for this kind of parody about suburban paranoia. His ability to put a humorous slant on dark and twisted stories is put to good effect in The 'Burbs, a light-hearted tale of sinister goings-on in small-town America. While the story itself is thin and inconsequential, the clever playing by the cast of oddball character actors is a joy to watch and compensates for a lot. It's particularly interesting to see pre-superstardom Tom Hanks in another of the roles that nudged him up the star ladder, plus Carrie Fisher doing something other than Princess Leia, and of course Bruce Dern as an intimidating ex-soldier struggling to adapt to a quiet life in the suburbs.

Mayfield Place is a small cul-de-sac in an unspecified town in America. It resembles any one of a million streets all over the country. Pretty much the most normal residents on the street are the Petersons - Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks), his wife Carol (Carries Fisher), and their young son (Cory Danziger). They are surrounded by wackos and oddballs such as paranoid Art Weingartner (Rick Ducommun), ex-military man Mark Rumsfield (Bruce Dern) and his flirtatious young wife Bonnie (Wendy Schaal), dumb teenager Ricky Butler (Corey Feldman) and unsociable old timer Walter (Gale Gordon). But the oddest family of all lives next door to the Petersons. The Klopeks are reclusive Eastern Europeans who live in a run-down house that comes straight from the world of nightmares. No-one ever sees them out and about, but strange noises come from their basement in the middle of the night and they have a strange habit of digging holes in their back yard under the cover of darkness. During a week off work, Ray gradually convinces himself – with a little help from his OTT neighbours – that the Klopeks are mass murderers. When old Walter mysteriously vanishes, Ray is sure that he's the latest victims of the Klopek killing spree so he hatches a plan to break into their house and find the corpse…..

Dante creates a very believable atmosphere of paranoia, where the resident's prejudice against the Klopeks seems intentionally absurd, yet at the same time suspenseful. We laugh at these nosy neighbours because their actions against the Klopek family are outrageous, but at the same time the Klopeks appear so wonderfully weird and creepy that we find ourselves believing that they might be mass murderers. Hanks plays the normal family man caught up in what might be a non-existent adventure with fabulous skill, upstaged only by Dern, who is hilarious as the demented army freak. Dern manages to make even the straightest of lines amusing with his acerbic delivery – at one point he tells an interfering teenage neighbour to "shut up and paint your goddamn house!" and succeeds in making this simplest of lines hysterically funny. The film is deceptively simple, with much less going on than actually seems to be the case, but generally-speaking it works very well. If you've ever had suspicions that your neighbours are up to no good, it's definitely a film that will plant some outrageous thoughts in your head!

Stay out of these burbs

[videorama-759-859391 · 4/10 · 27 November 2014]

The Burbs is an oddball comedy, and you can hardly call it that, but it's quite dark too with it's cannibalistic themes, but as I see it, is patently a misfire, where it borrows a little from other films. This is not the first time, we've been around this course of story. We suspect our new neighbors aren't what they seem scenario, where they're cannibals if to add some spice, and dark spice at that. When people, animals, start to go missing, there goes the neighborhood. Paranoid neighbors, Hanks, and his real paranoid eccentric neighbor, (a marvelous Bruce Dern) are determined to get to the bottom of this. Just check out Hank's "C'mon, you want to f..k with me, I'll take you on" expression on the cover. The Burbs, sadly wastes some bloody good actors, though we're glad to have them in this mess of suburbia, where in the end, The Burbs don't add up to much, in a sort of ho hum way. Courtney Gains is great as the head weirdo, Hans, the best thing about this flick, but you can't forget Dern either.

I Love This Movie

[ReelCheese · 9/10 · 10 October 2006]

Originality can go a long way in movieland, as THE 'BURBS so perfectly illustrates. Tom Hanks is Ray Peterson, an average schmuck not sure what to do with his at-home vacation. He soon finds his excitement when he and his paranoid neighbors convince themselves the weirdos on the block are responsible for the strange disappearance of the neighborhood's beloved old man. So they do what any of us would do... break into their home to find proof of the dastardly deed.

So many critics charged that Hanks tarnished his reputation with this effort. But for the umpteenth time, the critics were just being overly critical. THE 'BURBS is a hilarious, well-written and wonderfully creative piece of work. It's the kind of movie Joe Dante (GREMLINS, Matinée) does best. He takes a situation we can all basically relate to, turns it upside down and shakes the hell out of it like a snow globe.

An unnecessarily heavy-handed ending is all that stands between THE 'BURBS and a 10-star rating. All of a sudden a fun little ride is derailed by an angry outburst and contrived syringe battle. If Dante had it to do over again, he surely would have come up with something more suitable (and humorous).

Of course THE 'BURBS is not for all tastes, but if you like the pre-PHILADELPHIA Hanks and are in the mood for something completely different, you won't want to mi

This movie cracked me up!

[tonysharp · 7/10 · 20 August 2007]

The Burbs is just as funny as it was when it originally came out in 1989. Some of the humor breaches over into the realm of the cartoonish, but the contagious enthusiasm of the actors and the director keep you locked in despite a few over the top moments.

Tom Hanks really gives it his all in this film. The whole cast gives top notch performances, but I was really taken back particularly by Hanks, especially during the last scenes. You can literally see his star forming. The subtle details in his acting which have become his trademarks are all here.

If you're tired of the raunchy, explicit, and talentless jokes written into many of today's films, check out The Burbs. Its a classic.

Suburban comedy/horror that's not funny or scary? Sign me up!

[werdnaoslek · 3/10 · 26 July 2018]

It seems that for some reason this great premise was best put to use as an hour and a half of boring, dull fluff with unlikeable characters and then 2 minutes of fun antics at the end. The humor is childish but likely wouldn't make a child laugh.