Review of The 'Burbs (1989) by Mr. B — 07 Feb 2014

Before Tom Hanks was serious, he was funny. A lot of his earlier stuff was when he first starred in a short-lived sitcom called 'Bosom Buddies' where he played an ad executive forced to dress as a woman in order to live in an inexpensive all-female hotel. This was because his character's apartment was recently demolished. Unfortunately, the series only lasted for two seasons, but that didn't deter Tom Hanks from pursuing roles in feature films. He would go through many comedic roles from 'Splash' to 'Bachelor Party' to 'The Money Pit' before starring in a little shaggy dog tale about a suburbanite who is suspicious of his odd neighbors.

In the quiet suburbs of Mayfield Place is a small group of neighbors who live within a cul-de-sac. You have the army vet with his smoking hot wife, the paranoid/delusional conspiracy theorist, the meatball teenage stoner and the underdog who is on his vacation. His name is Ray and he's just trying to relax while he can. That is until his buddy Art fills Ray's head with a bunch of theories that lead him to believer that his neighbors, The Klopeks, might very well be satanists! Yes. Ray could be living next door to the Manson Family and not even know it. What was going to be a nice, quiet vacation has now turned into a hardy boys mystery with the three stooges as the investigators. What ensues is a delightfully funny satire on suburbanites and their boring existence which can lead some of them into the nosey realm of snooping on their neighbors.

This film is a real gem and is a big piece of nostalgia for me. I Highly Recommend it!