There Goes the Neighborhood (1992)

Willis Embry, who is a psychologist in a jail, was left by his girl-friend. He has no time to be sad about it because an old man, who is very ill, tells him something about a robbery and ... See full summary »

Director:

Bill Phillips

Writer:

Bill Phillips

Stars:

Jeff Daniels, Catherine O'Hara, Hector Elizondo

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Daniels	...	Willis Embry
Catherine O'Hara	...	Jessie Lodge
Hector Elizondo	...	Norman Rutledge
Rhea Perlman	...	Lydia Nunn
Judith Ivey	...	Peedi Rutledge
Harris Yulin	...	Marvin Boyd
Jonathan Banks	...	Handsome Harry
Dabney Coleman	...	Jeffrey Babitt
Chazz Palminteri	...	Lyle Corrente
Heidi Zeigler	...	Swan Babitt
Richard Portnow	...	Marty Rollins
Jeremy Piven	...	Albert Lodge
William Morgan Sheppard	...	Trick Bissell
Herb Mitchell	...	Mr. Bratesman
Mary Gross	...	Mrs. Bratesman

Storyline

Willis Embry, who is a psychologist in a jail, was left by his girl-friend. He has no time to be sad about it because an old man, who is very ill, tells him something about a robbery and the millions of dollars hidden somewhere. The old man asks Willis to find it and give a part of it to his relative, and he can keep the rest. In the next door some bad guy hears it and this causes the complications ...

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Plot Keywords:

basement | repairman | escaped convict | dying | convict | 

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Taglines:

In a cute little house on a quiet street a bunch of strangers are digging, blasting and clawing their way over each other for a piece of the action.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for one use of strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 October 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Balbúrdia no Bairro

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kings Road Entertainment, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
1st Burglar: [whispering] This one's unlocked.
Martha: [phone rings, answering machine picks up] Willis and Martha can't come to the phone right now. Please leave a message.
[beep]
Albert Lodge: Hey Willis... it's your wake up call. Willis, get up. Are you listening to me?
Willis Embry: [picks up] Huh?
Albert Lodge: See you in the bubble.
Willis Embry: Yeah, okay...
[hangs up and plays back his messages]
Martha: Willis, I'd tell you this in person, but as you always say, I have a fear of confrontation. I'm leaving you. I need to find my true self and I think traveling ...
[...]

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Connections

References The Last Picture Show (1971)

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Soundtracks

"It's Only Natural"
Written by Neil Finn and Tim Finn
Performed by Crowded House

User Reviews

Fun but not a classic

Dr. Willis Embry is a psychologist in New Jersey prison. His girlfriend just left him and he's not having a lot of success with the group of prisoners that includes Marvin, Lyle and Marty.

So when Trick Bissell, dying of cancer, confides in Embry about where his millions in stolen money is buried, Embry wants to take advantage. Of course, Lyle was in the next cell and got all the information ... well, almost all. He knows which Chicago suburb and the name of the street, but the house number is a little off.

The actual location of the money is the house of Albert and Jessie Lodge, who are going through a violent divorce. Jessie wants to sell the house and split everything with Albert. So there are prospective buyers coming in all through the movie, and what they see isn't always what they should see.

Embry sneaks into the house with tools and eventually convinces a reluctant Jessie to let him wreck her basement. Meanwhile, Lyle's gang terrorizes the Rutledges next door as they too turn that house into a disaster area. And the nosey neighbors Lydia and Jeffrey, and obnoxious teenager Swan, make trouble for everyone as well. And poor Lyle, though the toughest acting of the bunch, gets bossed around and ends up doing all the hard jobs.

It's not exactly "Ocean's Eleven" because the crooks are all bumbling idiots, but it's a fun movie and quite funny at times.

Hector Elizondo and Heidi Zeigler have some of the standout moments.

Apparently some language had to be cleaned up for TV, but the V-chip rating when I saw it was a plain-vanilla TV-PG. It's almost a family-friendly film in the version I saw. Almost. There's some violence but it's mostly of the slapstick variety.