THE ’BURBS 1989
53%
Directed by Joe Dante
Written by Dana Olsen
Starring Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Rick Ducommun, Henry Gibson, Carrie Fisher, Corey Feldman
Synopsis
Ray Peterson just wants to spend his week of vacation relaxing at home, but when his mysterious new neighbors begin acting suspiciously, he’s roped into a covert operation to discover exactly what they’re up to.
Why We Love It
Movies about the dark secrets of suburbia are a dime a dozen, but few of them have engaged the topic as playfully as The ’Burbs. That shouldn’t be too surprising, considering the man at the helm is Joe Dante, who tangled with similar themes and achieved great results in Gremlins. The ’Burbs is only slightly less sinister, but its goofy charms are nearly on par with those of Gizmo’s Christmas adventure, and it’s a perfect fit for someone of Dante’s talents and stylistic instincts.
Tom Hanks plays Ray Peterson as the sort of credulous everyman he’s now famous for portraying so effectively, but his career was still on the rise when The ’Burbs hit theaters in 1989. He was a star, to be sure, but his breakout hit Big had only come out the year before, and he was still a few more years away from A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, and the two films that would earn him Best Actor Oscars, Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. You can see flashes of his brilliance here in the way that he slowly transforms Ray from a normal family man into an obsessive armchair sleuth, all with that trademark twinkle in his eye.
Hanks isn’t the only big name to play his role to perfection, though. Bruce Dern is all ice and steel as military vet Mark Rumsfield, while Carrie Fisher brings a voice of reason to proceedings as Ray’s wife, Carol. Coming off a string of hits that included The Goonies, Stand by Me, and The Lost Boys, Corey Feldman adds some teenaged recklessness, and Henry Gibson, who worked with Dante on Innerspace, plays his ambiguous villain role with just the right amount of irony to keep you guessing.
It’s a bit too easy to pick apart the film and say it’s a horror-comedy that doesn’t commit enough to either genre. But doing so misses the point. Every street has that one house that’s a little run down and vaguely menacing, or neighbors who are a little peculiar, and every child has wondered what mysteries lie behind those closed doors, waiting to be discovered. This is pure fantasy wish fulfillment in that regard, and if it prompts a double-take the next time you see your neighbor lugging a heavy trash bag to the curb, it’s done its job.