In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Friday, 26 August 2016

THE 'BURBS [1989]

Director Joe Dante does his darndest to create zany mayhem in the Tom Hanks led comedy The 'Burbs.  
A group of nosy neighbors believe the strange new folks in the neighborhood are murderers and go out of their way to come up with some bloody evidence.
The movie tries to be deranged but it isn't.  It also attempts to be witty but it simply isn't.  There's a few minor chuckles here and there but it mostly falls flat in predictability and too many out of place moments that never quite adds up to anything meaningful.

2 satanic pâtés out of 5

3 comments:

Dr Faustus said...

I watched it on VHS in the early 90s.
I know a lot of people consider it a cult classic, but I thought it was just average and haven't ever felt compelled to revisit or reassess it.

Borderline said...

I consider this film to be an utter classic and I watch it quite a few times a year. Maybe this film only sings to Americans who grew up in middle class suburbia. I don't know, but I relate to the characters and the situation. I love the scene where they visit the Klopeks home the most. 4 sardines out of 5 from me.

cuckoo said...

Yeah...I saw it a long time ago on VHS too and realize it's a cult classic to many other as well.
I enjoyed it back then.

I was there when they were filming it in Universal Studios.
I never got to see The Munsters House because of it. :(
...and then they hid that house in the film to top it all of because it might have been too distracting with it in the background. However if you pay careful attention you'll catch glimpses of the house "hiding" behind tree branches and various other clever ways to cover it up.