The 'Burbs

Starring: Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher, Bruce Dern, Corey Feldman, Rick Ducommun
Directed by: Joe Dante
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Box Office: $36,601,993
1989

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: In a small suburban community, everything is fine until some strange people move in to a seemingly haunted house across the street. The neighbors only come out at night and constantly dig in their background. A group of suburbanities (including Tom Hanks and Bruce Dern) decide to discover what exactly their new neighbors are up to.

Review:

Tim: Tom Hanks was easily the funniest man in the 1980s and this film, although not one of his best, is still pretty decent. The 'Burbs has an excellent blend between mystery and comedy. Joe Dante directs a film without much substance, but has enough going on at all times to keep us mildly interesting. The film doesn't have any heart, but that does not stop the actors from going forward with everything they have. This is really a good example of a bad movie made better because the cast simply didn't know they were in a bad movie.

Tom Hanks gets a chance to be charming and funny, and also to scream a little at Carrie Fisher and others, which is always hilarious to watch. He isn't incredibly funny, but does enough for us to like his performance. The rest of the cast is decent, but all take their roles very seriously.

This is a somewhat entertaining, not especially funny, but charming in a way that only a Tom Hanks comedy can be. The ending of the film is clever and pretty satisfying. I was very worried the end would fizzle off, but it concludes with a pretty big bang.

The 'Burbs is more of a footnote in the 1980s comedy films, but it is a decent film that is worth checking out. It is not extremely funny, but tries really hard to be.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Man With One Red Shoe, Dragnet, Turner & Hooch, Big, Splash