I don't think there is any proper way to describe the impact that "The 'burbs" has had on me. As ridiculous as I'm sure it sounds, it's true. This is one of the movies of my childhood that I rediscovered as an adult and it is also one of the most underrated movies of all time. I get laughed at a lot when I talk about this movie, but there are many reasons that this movie is great. While it may not go down in history as one of the best films ever made, it is certainly one of the most entertaining.
When I was a kid, I didn't have a ton of friends. This isn't the time for me to call a pity party into order for myself, I only say this to set up the rest of the story. My best friend as a kid (and it has carried over into adulthood) was George. George lived across the street from me. We were basically inseparable. To this day, we have only had one argument and I think it was over a toy of mine that I wouldn't let him borrow back in third grade.
One of the traditions that we kept in place every summer before school started was watching "The 'burbs". But it wasn't just the watching, it was having to go get it. Up until a few years ago, there was a video rental place only two blocks from where I lived. The late and great Red's Video. There was something about that place that was indescribable. There was an atmosphere about it. Above the place were apartments and I'm pretty sure they had a leak from one of the toilets because it always smelled like soap scum.
This was where I got part of my education with movies. I didn't know a lot about the movies, but there was something fascinating about going to a store and looking at the backs of all these different VHS tapes. Didn't matter how good or bad the movie was, it was just a great feeling to be looking at the backs of these movies. It was probably because I was still in my stages of discovery. Now I look at the backs of movies and expect to see what I see. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when I would first go into that store, it was like a kid in a candy shop. And I was a fat kid so candy was quite important to me.
I'm not exactly sure what it was that drew us to "The 'burbs" at first. Now that I think of it, it's possible that we rented it because there was this other video store that didn't last too long that was below another more popular store in Midtown Plaza in Oswego. In this store was a cardboard cutout of Tom Hanks, standing with garden hose in tow. It was large and it left an impression.
The thing about "The 'burbs", aside from the obvious nostalgia, is that it, at it's very core, is a summer movie. It delves into gossip in a way I haven't really seen in a movie. It perfectly captures the paranoia and thoughts of this tight knit group of neighbors who share property lines in a cul de sac. I've heard exchanges like these mainly because I live in Oswego, NY.
For those of you who are not from Oswego or who are unfamiliar with it, Oswego just happens to be about the worst town for gossip. This place is really too big to be called a town and too small to be called a city. We're like this city with a chip on it's shoulder. We want to maintain our small town goodness but we want to act like this big, bad wolf of a city. It makes no sense. I pooled a lot of gossip as a child because my father was a cop.
There are a lot of things that get said about policemen. Some of them are true, some of them not so much. I know for a fact that in Oswego currently we have a lot of younger cops that seem to be trying to make a name for themselves over actually protecting and serving. When my father was a cop, he was cut from a different cloth. And no, I'm not just saying that because he was my dad. I say that because it's the truth.
Wow, nice tangent Adam.
The point being there was a ton of gossip in Oswego. Real neighbors talk like the characters in "The 'burbs". Granted, the people in the movie end up being right so it may be a comment on gossip sometimes being true. I'm not sure what movie it is (I think it may be "Enemy of the State") but a character says that being paranoid is beneficial because you only have to be right once for it all to be worth it. Or something like that. I mean, if I can't remember what movie it's from, you can't expect a completely accurate quote.
For those of you who don't know the story of "The 'burbs", it goes something like this: Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks) has taken a week off work to relax. His wife Carol (Carrie Fisher) keeps telling him that he should be doing some kind of work because otherwise he'll just drive himself insane doing nothing. Quickly, their breakfast is disrupted by their next door neighbor Art (Rick Ducommun) using a rifle to shoot crows. After almost killing Ray, he comes in for breakfast, eating more than the entire family combined. Once inside, the rumors start.
Without getting too much farther into the plot, let's just say things get out of hand because of how everyone thinks the Klopeks are closet murderers. People go missing, go into other people's houses, fall off roofs and get blown up. And you'd think a movie like this would be a horror movie. If you didn't know that Tom Hanks was in it and it was still in the era he still made comedies, you'd probably think that this was a horror movie. Most younger folks out there probably still do think it's a horror movie because Tom Hanks is known for his dramas.
But the thing is, this is not a horror movie. It has horror elements, but it's pretty much just a comedy. There is a lot of slapstick. There are a lot of black comedies that fail to be able to dance the line between the two genres. This is the perfect example of a black comedy. I mean, a lot of people might mention "Man Bites Dog" or possibly "Drag Me to Hell", but "Man Bites Dog" is extremely disturbing and "Drag Me to Hell" is more a horror with comedic elements. For my money, there is not a better black comedy out there.
The other thing to mention about the movie is the performances. All the actors are at the top of their game. I really don't understand how Rick Ducommun didn't have more of a career after this movie. All the performances make you feel at home. Make you feel like you're having old friends over for breakfast. There isn't a hell of a lot of nuance to the performances, but then again, it's not really necessary.
Another stand out is Bruce Dern. Bruce Dern epitomizes "gun nut". His character, Mark Rumsfeld a former military man, is introduced into most scenes with echoes of the "Patton" theme. All this talk of a murder in his neighborhood gives him a charge. I really am starting to believe that Rainn Wilson based parts of Dwight from "The Office" on Rumsfeld. His relationship with his next door neighbor Ricky (Corey Feldman) is a strained one. The neighborhood is almost like a family. They fight and yell, but at the end of the day, they need someone to help them pick them up off the ground and help them solve a murder.
Joe Dante ("Gremlins", "Gremlins 2-The New Batch", "Small Soldiers") has always been able to deftly juggle horror and comedy. This is just him at the peak of his powers. A lot of people take cues from the second "Gremlins" movie which, while a great movie on it's own, cannot really hold a candle to "The 'burbs". Dante has always been one of my favorite directors. He's sorta like a more subdued Sam Raimi. He makes very good popcorn movies and I know that somewhere down the line, he'll find his way into an Oscar.
Another thing that should be mentioned is the score. I know I'm kind of a freak when it comes to movie scores. Most people haven't seen the movies I own the soundtracks to. The thing is, I've always been this way. My father would tell me that when my brother was a child that he and my father would march around the house, listening to the "Patton" soundtrack on record. See? Being a dork runs in my family. I must have gotten it from my dad. And something that should come as no surprise is that I am a fan of Jerry Goldsmith.
Jerry Goldsmith started his work on TV. He created iconic themes to many movies and TV shows. More so than Hans Zimmer. (That's right, Mike. You heard me.) The one thing about Goldsmith that seems a bit strange is the fact that once the 80s hit, he pretty much did anything that came his way. Mike would say this was Goldsmith going for a paycheck. But I don't think that's what it was. I think a man of as much talent as Goldsmith was looking for ways that he could constantly try challenging himself. I think him doing movies like "Leviathan" and "Supergirl" were mostly because he wanted to keep working. If you look at the list of movies he did, it's a very impressive body of work.
And with Goldsmith, if the movie he scored is terrible, it's likely to be elevated by his score. This can be seen evidently in "Hollow Man" and the remake of "The Haunting". His musical work is so recognizable (for me anyway) that you don't really have to get too many notes in before you realize it's him. A lot of people may consider this to be somewhat derivative, but John Williams is the same way. I rank Goldsmith right up there with Williams. He's in a class of his own.
The score to this film is, in short, amazing. What he throws into this movie is genius. You hear everything from serious horror music to just goofy music. I'm pretty sure that it's either a shoe squeaking or the Flipper sound when the neighbors are sneaking around, trying to figure out what's going on across the street. Oh yeah, and a shot of a dog running is scored with a dog barking in beat with the music. Pretty amazing stuff. If you don't believe me, try downloading it. The soundtrack is about as rare as they get so it's fairly expensive. But if you're a fan of movie scores, it's definitely worth it.
That being said, the movie is amazing. Anyone that hasn't seen it really should take the time out of their schedule to find it. It's not hard to find. I know there is a three pack of that, "The Money Pit" and something else. While "The Money Pit" kinda sucks, you'll be paying for "The 'burbs" which I'm convinced will go down as a modern cult classic.
Another quick thing: the movie will always make you feel like it's summer time. I would have thought the movie would have been released in the summer, but it was released in February of 1989. While watching it, you almost feel the heat. That's how good the movie is.
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