Tuesday, February 13, 2018

The Burbs 1989 Movie Review - Spoiler Free





From the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy, It's Retro Nerd Girl with a quick film review for you.

Today I'll be reviewing the movie The Burbs released in 1989.

Starring:
Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher

Directed by:
Joe Dante

Genre:
Comedy, Mystery, Thriller

Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Rating:
PG

Budget:
N/A

Current IMDb Rating When Reviewed:
6.9


I am actually doing this one as a special request to tkdkenny.  It took nearly a year but this one is for you!

The Synopsis is:
Ray Peterson wants to spend his vacation lounging around the house “relaxing” in his suburban neighborhood.  Unfortunately, he gets completely obsessed with the new neighbors next door, the Klopecs, and ruins everything.

This is pretty much a star-studded black comedy that is really beloved by its fans.  Nearly every fan of the film has at least 5 quotes that they’ve got in their back pocket.

I suppose, I never really got into this film before because I was not brought up in the suburbs, but still after revisiting the film years later, you don’t have to in order to enjoy this.  It's really a film for everyone.

Things start out pretty normal as all of the unique characters of the neighborhood carry out their normal lives with comedic inklings that there may be something going on in the house next door to Ray’s house.

Hilarious paranoia, bad dreams, and lots of snooping around Ray takes things too far which leads to incredibly immature hi-jinx using creepy music and horror movie cinematic visuals.

There is a trifecta of male head of households that get together like naughty little boys almost reliving their immature adolescent and it’s cute and endearing.  There is even a scene where the two neighbors are asking Ray’s wife if he can come out and play… so to speak.

The Klopecks are awesome.  They are a mix between The Munsters and the Addams Family shrouded in mystery and fueling their neighbors with suspicion based on their odd behavior and eccentricity.  I love those guys!

The biggest highlight of the film are the phenomenal performances that help you to accept the situation in this film and helps to make it feel more authentic. We have Tom Hanks killing it as Ray Peterson.  Wow, what intensity.  He plays it over the top many times, but somehow, he’s so likable that you still feel that Ray is a real character.

You just gotta love Bruce Dern as the neighborhood veteran Mark Rumsfield.   His character really plays up the suspicion that Ray has along with stories and his questionable military background.

We’ve got appearances from an amazing cast: Carrie Fisher, Corey Feldman, Wendy Schaal, Henry Gibson, Brother Theodore, Courtney Gains, Gale Gordon, Dick Miller and Robert Picardo.

Great cast.  Great music.

At the end of the film, it almost makes a profound statement about we shouldn’t make judgement on people who appear to be different than the norm… and then snatches it away to provide a twist for the audience.  At first I was upset that the film didn’t go down the deeper message route, which would have made the film more of a tragic cautionary tale.  And in a way it’s still a tragedy that the message left for the audience was shallow and confirms bias behavior.

And the truth is no one making this film thought that it would be taken seriously because is was an adventure fantasy.

None of it is meant to be taken seriously so they are hoping that their audience is mature enough and fully aware of that.

Why do I like this film?  There is a fun plucky juvenile humor that actually works! And I feel that it does because of the incredible performances and the way that the film is shot in a playful homage to classic old school horror is quite yummy.  It’s definitely a hidden gem!


My Rating:
7.3


That sums up my quick review.  This is Retro Nerd Girl signing off!  Take care movie lovers!  I'm off to the next review!



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