X
- 1989
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 42 m
- 1989
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 42 m
Summary An overstressed suburbanite and his fellow neighbors are convinced that the new family on the block are part of a murderous Satanic cult.
Directed By: Joe Dante
Written By: Dana Olsen
- 1989
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 42 m
- 1989
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 42 m
The 'Burbs
45
7.4
Where to Watch
Summary An overstressed suburbanite and his fellow neighbors are convinced that the new family on the block are part of a murderous Satanic cult.
Directed By: Joe Dante
Written By: Dana Olsen
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
45
30% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
30% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
40% Negative
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
45
30% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
30% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
40% Negative
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
So familiarity is certainly part of my outsized affection for this 1989 Joe Dante satire of suburban America. But I also think the movie has wider significance in the way it presents suburban expansion as a cheerier version of manifest destiny—an unstoppable force that gobbles up land and then quickly sets about circling the wagons.
One of Tom Hanks' overlooked performances because this bizarre thriller-comedy ends so strangely but there's much to like here.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 41 User Ratings
7.4
73% Positive
30 Ratings
30 Ratings
20% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
7% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 41 User Ratings
7.4
73% Positive
30 Ratings
30 Ratings
20% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
7% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
This is one of my go-to shows where I can rewatch and be entertained every damn time. This is one of my top 5 movies of all time. Burb's is one of those times when everything comes together and filmmaking magic happens. The script, the acting, the story. All so incredibly well done.
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I remember watching this movie at least a dozen times, the way it was set it one area was quite masterfully executed, you never leave the neighborhood, which helps keep your attention focused on the plot, and the quality of the actors, and the comedy, I know people did not like this movie back when it came out, but I loved it, the music was masterfully put together and unforgettable, the characters are introduced and you immediately feel like your part of the neighborhood, and you are watching the story unfold, the ending was sort of shocking, and there are many funny moments in the movie, and I like the dynamic that the actors have working off of each other in many of the comedic situations.
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This isn't a major Dante effort, but his ability to make a good-natured satire that allows an audience to read it several ways at once is as strong as ever, and many of the sidelong genre notations are especially funny.
The 'Burbs tries to position itself somewhere between Beetlejuice and The Twilight Zone, but it lacks the dementia of the first and the wicked intelligence of the second and turns instead into a long shaggy dog story.
'Burbs is a messy mix of Gremlins, Neighbors, Rear Window and Arsenic and Old Lace. [17 Feb 1989, p.6D]
So little goes on that it might be argued that The Burbs means to be a comment on the vacuity of popular entertainment in the television age, though it's much more an example of it. The film does nothing for the reputation of anyone connected with it, including Mr. Hanks, who deserves the Oscar nomination he has just received for his work in Big. This time he's attempting to act a role in a screenplay whose pages are blank.
Dante's movie is so helter-skelter, that he can't generate the uncomfortable mood the moment requires. It's the balloon principle. The 'Burbs is so full of hot air it simply blows up in its own face. [17 Feb 1989, p.6]
I have feelings about this movie. I like most of it. I thought it was a funny kind of dark comedy and some points and I really enjoyed themes about what if this weird people from the European regions are evil it just felt like a funny kind of movie but the ending took me completely out of it.I really like the characters. They feel like cartoon characters not very subtle at all. They feel like stereotypes, but in the funny way like I'm watching some cartoon of it and all the promises are spot on and a look of the movie is good I can almost feel the weird superb vibes from the **** the way it shot the way they do it the entry the feeling of slowly going insane. It's just really nice, but I last f** 10 minutes of the movie take me me just out of it. It's just so sad it took it from 7 out of 10 to 5 out of 10 to **** I would recommend it maybe you don't get pissed off by the ending like I did but I really do like the movie, but it's just sits in the sad place because of the last five minutes.
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In this film, situational comedy reigns as a trio of crazy neighbours get together to discover what is going on with a family that has just arrived and no one knows yet, but that totally clashes with them. They get to the point of ridicule, entering each other's houses, rummaging through personal possessions and stirring up the most absurd theories about new neighbours. It is a film that it's not for me and I did not find it funny, but rather a little offensive. I do not belong to that culture. I will never understand the American suburban mentality with open lawns, open doors, neighbours who strangely see themselves present at the door of newcomers, with welcome gifts and who seem willing to, amicably, meddle in each other's lives under cover of the friendliest and most well-intentioned thoughts.
Starting from this premise of natural cultural difference, I look at this film with some incredulity and, sometimes, shock. A welcome commission on arriving at a new home? It seems absurd to me. Have the worry of introducing myself to my new neighbours? I was never going to do it in my life. Seeing a neighbour invade my home or my private life because they think something strange is going on? Poor guy, he signed his death sentence! For me, situations like those in this film, even the simplest ones, seem unbelievable. For me, an open lawn is an invitation to enter, so the higher the wall and the sharper the barbs on top of it, the better. And a good neighbour is the one who gives me the least trouble. I don't care if I don't know his name or he doesn't give me the good days, as long as he stays in his corner and leaves me in peace and quiet in my corner. It's my culture, it's the world where I was raised, and where that neighbourhood culture doesn't exist. But this film is all about it and shows the sense of community that exists in some American neighbourhoods, where hypocrisy goes hand-in-hand with mutual assistance, as can be seen in the way everyone is concerned about the disappearance of an older character, the same they used to be angry with when his dog poop on their lawn. A sense of community that creates patterns and makes everyone follow similar lives, ostracizing or taxing as “weirdos” all those who choose to put themselves out, live a more reserved life or simply adopt different habits. The film stinks of satire, in fact, and it seems a harsh criticism of that way of thinking, but it is a criticism that is not funny to me.
Tom Hanks is the main actor, and literally carries the film on his shoulders as he is the best and most talented in the cast. In any case, the characters are stereotypes or just pure comedy figures. There is no depth or complexity, and the work of each actor is simplified to a minimum: saying the lines, making laugh and looking funny. Next to Hanks is a good supporting cast, with strong comedy figures like Rick Ducommun, Bruce Dern and Bruce Dern, as well as a more restrained but very effective Carrie Fisher. Everyone did a good job. The film is not notable for its technical aspects or production values, but the sets and special effects worked very well and helped a lot in the comic effect.
For those who like silly comedies and cardboard characters, just to spend some time, this film should work very well. I had a lot of difficulties with this film, I felt the culture and mental clash but I recognize that its not a bad film, although it is totally forgettable.
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Only seen this film once, Tom Hanks gives a good performance in The Burbs and so do a few others. The problem for me is this films storyline could of been better and it could of been funnier and more entertaining. It's a weak film with a weak formula that doesn't really work aswell as it could have.
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