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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 3300
Released: May 4, 1999 |
| Our Price: $7.62 |
| Used Price: $4.81 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Set in an average neighborhood that is anything but average, Tom Hanks portrays suburbanite Ray Peterson, who finally takes a much-needed week of vacation. However, Ray doesn't use the time to jet off to some exotic locale, there are no frolicsome adventures in his plans, all he wants is a week of mindless relaxation in his own comfortable suburban home. His wife Carol (Carrie Fisher) warns him that he's liable to go crazy from the boredom, but he refuses to listen. The nothingness finally does get to him, however, and he creates a little excitement for himself by spying on his neighbors - the Klopeks, a mysterious, oddball family that just moved in to a dilapidated home down the street. When the neighborhood grouch mysteriously disappears, Ray and a motley crew of other neighborhood crackpots begin to concoct wild theories about the strange, and perhaps murderous, goings on in the Klopek's creepy, old house. For one brief, shining moment their lives seem to have some meaning and purpose as Ray and his friends become consumed with the secrets of the bizarre family. Tom Hanks is hysterical as Ray, bring his own brand of boyish charm and zany slapstick comedy to the screen.
Description of The 'Burbs:
Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks) would like nothing better than to spend a quiet week's vacation in his suburban home, drinking beer and watching TV. But, spurred on by his two friends' spinning of boyish paranoid fantasies about their reclusive neighbors, the Klopeks, the usually down-to-earth Ray begins to suspect his idyllic neighborhood has been invaded by an evil force, to the point where he and his friends become psychotically nosey. You see where this is going, and you see it from a mile off. Only the general surface-thin plot is somewhat offset by director Joe Dante's fine sense of the absurd, and a host of engagingly played neighbor-types, namely Rick Ducommun as Ray's best friend who's always proposing bad ideas, and Bruce Dern as a sometimes wild-eyed ex-vet who'd love some action. Dante and crew seem to have a knack for keeping these broad characterizations light enough that you don't mind their superficiality. But the best jokes in this unprepossessing film come from composer Jerry Goldsmith's score; Bruce Dern's presence, for instance, is announced by the theme from Patton, and the boys' first approach to the Klopeks' for a meet-and-greet is buttressed by classic strains from Sergio Leone spaghetti Westerns. Kudos to the Klopeks, for their evil ways are ably embodied by Henry Gibson, Courtney Gains, and Brother Theodore. In particular, any suburb that finds it's inhabited by the likes of Brother Theodore is in dire need of new zoning laws. But Carrie Fisher's role as Ray's amiably long-suffering wife is thankless, and she deserves better. --Jim Gay
The 'Burbs Reviews:
all time favorite 
2009-11-09 - I love this movie. I watch it probably too much but I still laugh every time. Every character is hilarious an every scene.
Happy in Miami
2009-11-04 - This is an oldy, but a goody. Very funny and great acting. I would highly recommend it. Great service from Amazon.
The Trouble with Suburbia
2009-10-24 - Would you like to know what your neighbors really do in their spare time? Well, The Burbs may not be completely truthful, but it is hilarious to watch. Here's a dark comedy that pokes fun at suburbia and the people who live in it. It may not be laugh-out-loud funny, but it's funny nonetheless. The acting ensemble is first-rate: Hanks, Fisher, Ducommun, Dern, and Feldman played their parts perfectly. The silly horror gimmicks never get tiring after repeated viewings. This is one of director Joe Dante's better films, and it really is worth watching.
The Burbs
2009-09-28 - The tape was like new, exactly as described and came within a few days of order placement. It was for my sister-in-law who is in a nursing home with a brain tumor. All she has to look forward to every day is watching a movie on her VCR. The Burbs is her favorite movie. It makes us feel good to see her laugh. Thank you!
Excelent DVD
2009-09-17 - I always liked the movie and on a whim I thought maybe its on Amazon and of coarse it was and with choices of used or new so I ordered a used copy which was excellent got it in two days very satisfied with Amazon and seller
