The Burbs Reviews

An absolute classic. You really can't describe The 'Burbs, a bit of horror, a bit of suspense, a bit of action, adventure and a huge assortment of comedy glued together with slapstick and dark humour. Altogether, a great film, a great cast and a great script. This film has sadly been forgot but for the few people who actually appreciate this film it remain an all-time great forever. Full marks to the director Joe Dante. Buy this film, its EXCELLENT!!!

7.5

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie but even though this flick is now pretty much forgotten by the mainstram audience, it has still reached a somewhat cult status. It features one of this typical Tom Hanks performance from the 80's, you know, before he became a 'serious' actor. If you have seen one of those, you have seen all of them, but you have to admit, he was pretty good at this and it would be really fun to see him in such a comedy instead of his usual fare. Back then, Joe Dante made some pretty cool flicks ('Innerspace', 'Gremlins', 'The Howling') and this movie was sure one of those, even though I'm not sure if it was really a success when it was released. Basically, it is a pretty nice dark comedy which makes fun at the average American. However, even though it was fun and I mostly had a good time while watching it, I still think it didn't really reach its full potential. Indeed, in my opinion, at the end of the day, the whole thing is rather harmless and way too gentle for my taste. In my opinion, it should have been darker or weirder, at least more daring in its way of portraying the typical American suburbs. Still, it remains an entertaining dark comedy and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Watching this movie for the first time on DVD (have seen it before, many times), I was reminded of how much I loved watching the old Tom Hanks comedies---you know, all those movies he did BEFORE he started doing all the Oscar-worthy movies.

This is an entertaining movie from start to finish. Some of the residents of a suburban area start to wonder about a strange family no one has met in the month they have been living in the neighbourhood, and when an elderly neighbour disappears, the paranoid ideas start flying.

Meeting the strange neighbours---who truly are strange---doesn't help matters. Instead, Tom Hanks and two of his neighbours end up with a plan to find "evidence" that the Klopeks killed the old man.

I love this movie, and could watch it time and time again. It is a quotable movie. Oh, and Corey Feldman adds extra entertainment to the movie with his character, who brings all his friends out to watch the antics of the neighbourhood residents while trying to uncover "evidence" that the new residents are evil.

"Nobody knocks off an old man in my neighborhood and gets away with it." Such are the ramblings of paranoid suburban Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks) and the team of surrounding neighbors who plot to uncover the truth that the reclusive Klopek family killed a fellow neighbor. It is not only the comedy that surrounds the character development of Tom Hanks from suburban boredom to suburban paranoid, it is the quotable dialogue that allows me to watch this cult classic over and over again. "Remember what you were saying about people in the 'burbs, Art, people like Skip, people who mow their lawn for the 800th time, and then SNAP? WELL, THAT'S US. IT'S NOT THEM, THAT'S US. WE'RE the ones who are vaulting over the fences, and peeking in through people's windows. We're the ones who are THROWING GARBAGE IN THE STREET, AND LIGHTING FIRES. WE'RE THE ONES WHO ARE ACTING SUSPICIOUS AND PARANOID, ART. WE'RE THE LUNATICS. US. IT'S NOT THEM. It's us."