The Burbs (film) : a decent Hanks comedy to round out the 80's
During the 80's it was far more common for Tom Hanks to be involved in comedies than any other genre. I realize that for the most part that has changed over the years but unless I am mistaken I believe Hanks was one of the more successful comedy actors of the 80's. This film, like a vast majority of his other 80's comedy-films turned a reasonable profit.
The story is one that almost anyone who has ever been an adult in an suburban area can relate to. Whether you want to or not, there always ends up being some sort of "cliques" that form in any community. There are insiders and outsiders and there is always going to be at least one family that is downright weird in the neighborhood.
The "Klopeks"are precisely this family. In stark contrast to the other residents they don't look after their property, don't socialize with any of the neighbors, and are downright creepy. This rouses suspicion on the part of the "normal" members of the neighborhood especially on the part of Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks) and his group of quirky insiders.
They start to spy on them and believe more and more that they Klopeks are actually murderers. After the police can do nothing (no real surprise there) they neighbors take it upon themselves to expose this new family for the evil that they are.
This is a (primarily) slapstick comedy with tinges of horror (in a very family-friendly sense) and for the most part I think it is still entertaining today. Plus many people are unaware of the fact that Carrie Fisher (Princess Lea) is in this movie as well.
This trailer is actually pretty terrible, and it was right around the time that the guy who did all the voiceovers for seemingly every film trailer was getting a lot of word (seriously, every movie trailer has that voice in it!) The Burbs certainly isn't the best film ever, but it showcases a lot of what Hanks was doing at the time before he fully transitioned over to doing blockbuster drama movies. I think this movie is worth a look or a rewatch if you got 1.5 hours to spare.
Pissed my pants watching this movie.
Its one of these movies you fast rewind your VCR tape for funny scenes.
The 80's seriously had some of the best movies. Personally, my two favorites of Hanks would have to be Splash or Joe vs the volcano. That one was so underrated... I do wish I had watched Bosom Buddies more when I was younger. It probably gave a real glimpse into what Hanks was going to become. Much like George Clooney's start on The Facts of Life.
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