The Burbs, according to the IMDB is about “An overstressed suburbanite and his paramilitaric neighbor struggle to prove their paranoid theory that the new family in town is a front for a cannibalistic cult.” Now, to me, that’s quite a mouthful. It’s like trying to show your friend a tongue twister you learned:
“Hey Bill, check out this tongue twister; An overstressed suburbanite and his paramilitaric neighbor struggle to prove their paranoid theory that the new family in town is a front for a cannibalistic cult. Bet you can’t say that three times fast.”
Directed by Joe Dante, of Gremlins fame, and starring Tom Hanks, The Burbs was a hilarious movie. It had all of the elements of a great 80s movie with its over-the-top special effects and campy plotline. It’s on my all time top 100 greatest 80s movies list, which by the way is a long list — among them; Sixteen Candles, Back to the Future, Splash, E.T., Jaws and Ghostbusters.
Part of the reason I was thinking of the Burbs was due to the fact I was originally thinking about old Tom Hanks movies (1980s). These include (with brief summaries):
- Turner and Hooch — man and dog.
- Splash — man and mermaid.
- Joe versus the Volcano — man and volcano.
- Dragnet (remake) — man and cop.
- Big — man as boy.
Hmm, makes you wonder.
That is a great movie. My favorite character is the guy who plays his neighbor, the one who seems to get him into all of the trouble. Definitely sums up what it can be like living in the burbs, as many of us know. But the dog crapping in his yard, that goes everywhere. My neighbors are about a quarter of a mile down the road, and their dog still comes and craps in my friggin yard!
We’ve had the same problem with dogs using our yard as their dropping grounds. I’m also thinking to myself, “Look buddy, you have your own lawn to do that in.” It’s a territorial thing for those mutts.
I could watch this movie over and over again and never get tired of it. I actually wrote a 12 page paper on it for one of my college film classes. Everyone else chose classics but I felt that this one would be a cult classic and deserved some love.