Throwback Thursday: ‘The Burbs’

I can’t help but love Joe Dante. Sure, he’s done some less-than-favorable projects in recent years (Small Soldiers, Looney Tunes: Back in Action) but it’s the films he made that I grew up with that stick with me. Dante has a unique sense of dark humor that dwells in the circles of suburban life that is both twisted but family friendly, an off combination to work with. The strange thing is that Dante’s work started out well-rooted within the horror genre and has lightened up over the years. Dante’s earliest successes include ‘Piranha’ (1978) and ‘The Howling’ (1981). Both of which were great, fun films, followed by ‘Gremlins’ (1984) which was his initial baby step away from making strictly horror films.

In the eighties, ‘Explorers’ and ‘Innerspace’ became proof that Dante had the ability to venture out of his mold and still maintain his sense of humor and style while appealing to an audience large enough to result in box office stability. Both films are favorites of mine from the era and are followed up by ‘The ‘burbs’ which is probably his best film since ‘Gremlins’ and some may even say his last good movie. This is the epitome of Dante’s interest in the “darker” side of the suburban culture. Along the same vein of ‘Parents’ and ‘Neighbors’, this movie takes the happy-go-lucky visaed of the quaint little suburban neighborhood with the picket fences and cul-de-sacs and flips it on it’s head by adding an element of the bizarre.

The cast of ‘The ‘burbs’ alone should be enough for newcomers to jump on with full enthusiasm. Tom Hanks plays Ray Peterson, a stressed-out corporate worker bee who is spending the week at home on vacation. Carrie Fisher plays Ray’s wife Carol. Bruce Dern play’s their ex-marine uber-patriotic neighbor Mark Rumsfield married to Bonnie (Wendy Schaal), whom neighbor teenager Ricky Butler (Corey Feldman) holds a lustful crush for. The play between these characters and the elderly Walter Seznick and his free-pooping pooch are enjoyable as they are, but the story centers on the mysterious Klopek family who live in seclusion while their neighbors harbor wild and morbid fantasies about what goes on behind their closed doors. What ensues is a boredom-induced suburbanite mission to prove the the Klopek’s are a family of evil, Satan worshiping cannibals that are killing off neighbors.

‘The ‘burbs’ is one of several films from the 80’s that feature the comical Tom Hanks before he went and got all serious on us. I might even go so far as to say it was a golden age of Hanks, but that’s probably going too far. I do miss the good ole days of ‘Bosom Buddies’… wait, did I say that out loud? The mischief begins when the cranky elderly neighbor Walter turns up missing and the men of the suburban cul-de-sac begin spending too much time together and end up fabricating a conspiracy theory revolving around the Klopeks. The reluctant Ray initially resists the temptation to be drawn into their web of paranoia, but the powerfully alluring combination of conspiracy-theorist neighbor Art (Rick Ducomman) and the ever-eager to engage militarily neighbor Rumsfield eventually pulls him into their warped reality as they become determined to prove their suspicions.

From pop-culture references of the late 80’s including Jeopardy and Mister Roger’s Neighborhood to tongue-in-cheek jabs at suburban life, ‘The ‘burbs’ takes it’s funny stick and pokes at the fragile nature of “the simple life”. While the neighborhood men snoop around looking for evidence against the Klopeks, the “normal” citizens begin to look like the true wrong-doers picking on the odd but peaceful Addams Family. The delusions of this amateur motley crew of neighborhood sleuths are reinforced by the slightly saturated, contrast-rich cinematography of Robert Stevens, often used by John Waters, and the playfully sinister score by Jerry Goldsmith.

The end of the film does eventually turn around at the last minute to please those expecting the ever-typical Hollywood ending, but it’s the fun to be had on the journey to the end that makes this classic comedy of the 80’s such a twisted treasure. If you miss seeing Tom Hanks doing his classic 80’s “I’m pissed off and going to lose it while getting all animated and raising my voice” shtick, then you’ve got to check this one out again. Besides, it’s always worth re-watching any movie that stars Carrie Fisher and Corey Feldman is a blast to watch as a sort of unconventional narrator to the story.