Les Banlieusards

Wanna' sit down and watch a movie that doesn't take itself seriously and stars Tom Hanks? Here ya' go!

The basic plot to this not-quite-funny comedy is that a group of suburbanites think that a family of creepy new neighbors are actually sick killers who offed another neighbor. They go through all sorts of adventures and situations, trying to get to the bottom of the mystery that, it seems, only exists within their minds.

Who cares if the ending is cliche? Well, I do, but not in a movie like this where there is no underlying meaning or message and is just in existence to have a little bit of fun. Which is, by the way, what you'll have: a little bit of fun.

"The 'Burbs" is writer / co-producer / actor Dana Olsens' deliberately warped invention. The idea is to remove the picture perfect outer layer of average American suburban life and reveal what potential insanity could be bubbling underneath. In so doing, he also makes fun of suburbanites who seem to make it their business to know everybody elses' business.

Tom Hanks stars as Ray Peterson, your typical 'burb dweller, who ends up severely stressed out when his nutty neighbors - Bruce Dern as ex-military man Mark Rumsfield and the late comedian Rick Ducommun as nosey instigator Art Weingartner - spur him to action. They keep hearing weird noises, and seeing weird things, concerning the newcomers to the street, the Klopeks (Henry Gibson, Brother Theodore, Courtney Gains), and wonder just what the hell is going on inside the Klopek house. To make matters more interesting, their elderly neighbor Walter Seznick (Gale Gordon) goes missing. Could the Klopeks be responsible for his disappearance?

Ray tries his best to be rational and skeptical, but finds himself drawn in more and more by his kooky comrades and the things he witnesses. Acting as a genuine voice of reason is his understandably frustrated wife Carol (Carrie Fisher).

The whole thing becomes rather over the top, but then a sense of anarchy to his stories has always been filmmaker Joe Dantes' ("Piranha" '78, "The Howling", "Gremlins") strong suit. Olsen and Dante have fun with the dark comedy aspect to this yarn, and there are some quite funny bits along the way. Viewing the whole circus from the sidelines is neighborhood teen Ricky Butler (Corey Feldman), who tries to convince his peers that the goings on here are better than any movie they could watch. Among those who really get into the spirit of the material are production designer James Spencer and composer Jerry Goldsmith.

Hanks is terrific, and much like the legendary Gene Wilder, proves to be a master at freaking out in a comedic way. But the whole cast is great, with Ducommun often going to town on the scenery. The cast is filled with familiar faces: Wendy Schaal, Dick Miller (Dantes' good luck charm for many years), Robert Picardo, Franklyn Ajaye, Rance Howard, Nicky Katt, Kevin Gage, Patrika Darbo. Olsen himself appears as a cop.

While the story is ultimately rather predictable, it does keep you watching, and amused - and may make you wonder what goes on behind your own neighbors' doors.

Seven out of 10.

Okay, I know Tom Hanks has done some greater than great work. Forest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, and The Green Mile are truly American classics. For some reason (maybe I AM a weirdo) this is my favorite movie of his. It has a simple plot, a light tone, shades of horror, and some GREAT one-liners that have stayed in my memory since I was nine years old. This is one of those movies that never gets old. I especially like Corey Feldman as Ricky Butler. He played the best burn-out I have ever seen and he truly is an underrated actor. Rick Duccoman is great as the obnoxious neighbor, Art and his laid back manner continues to bring a smile to my face. Bruce Dern is flat-out awesome as the war-crazed vet who has all the right gizmos for the job, but always fails miserably. Almost every line out of his mouth is memorable and his response when he steps in a pile of dog crap is a classic quote.

Obviously this is a satire on Suburban life and nosey neighbors, but I could care less about all that. This is a classic that ranks (in my mind) with the likes of "The Goonies" and "Smokey and the Bandit".

If, for some reason, you missed this one, PLEASE see it. You have no clue what you're missing.

I generally do not like the movie format and category of the black comedy. Usually, they become so dark that they cease to be funny or entertaining to me...a good example of this is "War of the Roses". There have been some that I enjoyed though and this is one of them. I usually like the ones that only really edge towards the dark side a bit and I would say this one does that. It kind of goes into horror at times, but still remains funny unlike another black horror/comedy "Parents" with Randy Quaid. This film features a new family moving into a very old and not so attractive house. These newcomers are under immediate scrutiny and suspicion as they move in the middle of the night, do not do anything to really fix up the place, and are generally strange looking when some of the people in the neighborhood pay them a visit. Tom Hanks character is not really suspicious at first till his crazy neighbor and a paranoid one convince there is something up with the new family in the burbs. You get many funny scenes as these guys try to find proof that the new family is as strange as they look and are in fact up to something as the poodle a man who lives in the neighborhood shows up dirty and the neighbor ends up missing. The movie plays out rather good and is funny for the most part, at times it becomes a bit to dark as most black comedies tend to do. The cast is very funny and I think this is like the only movie I have seen Carrie Fisher in besides the Star Wars trilogy. Bruce Dern to me steals the show in terms of comedy followed by the neighbor who deduces the bone is human. Not sure of his name or any other movies he has done prior to or since this one. Even Corey Feldman does a rather good job. So all in all this is a nice trip to the burbs.

One of the most underrated and funniest movies of the 80's.