Neighbors (1981)

A quiet man's peaceful suburban lifestyle is threatened by the new, obnoxious couple that moves in next door.

Director:

John G. Avildsen

Writers:

Thomas Berger (novel), Larry Gelbart (screenplay)

Stars:

John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Kathryn Walker

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Belushi	...	Earl Keese
Kathryn Walker	...	Enid Keese
Cathy Moriarty	...	Ramona
Dan Aykroyd	...	Vic
Igors Gavon	...	Chic
Dru-Ann Chuckran	...	Chic's Wife
Tim Kazurinsky	...	Pa Greavy
Tino Insana	...	Perry Greavy
P.L. Brown	...	Police Officer #1
Henry Judd Baker	...	Police Officer #2
Lauren-Marie Taylor	...	Elaine Keese
Sherman G. Lloyd	...	Fireman #1 (DOC) (as Sherman Lloyd)
Bert Kittel	...	Fireman #2
J.B. Friend	...	Additional Fireman
Bernie Friedman	...	Additional Fireman

Storyline

One man's quiet suburban life takes a sickening lurch for the worse when a young couple move into the deserted house next door. From the word go it is obvious these are not the quiet professional types who *should* be living in such a nice street. As more and more unbelievable events unfold, our hero starts to question his own sanity... and those of his family.

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Plot Keywords:

night | cigarette smoking | drinking | arson | urban setting | 

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Taglines:

Lock the doors... here come the Neighbors

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Romona offers oral sex to Earl Keese, the chorus providing the soundtrack to the scene can be heard chanting the word "come" over and over again. However when Earl hears his wife the choir begins chanting "Oh no".

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Goofs

After Vic's dog Baby is heard barking in Enid and Earl's bedroom, we never hear or see the dog again, even after Vic, Ramona and Earl leave Bird Street.

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Quotes

Earl Keese: This is crazy... but there's something so right about it.

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Alternate Versions

The movie's original cut had a very dark ending with Earl getting killed, but the studio re-edited the film with a happy ending with Earl leaving home and joining Vic and Ramona on their adventures.

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Connections

Referenced in Keeping Up with the Joneses (2016)

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Soundtracks

Hello, I Love You
Written by Jim Morrison (uncredited), Robby Krieger (uncredited), Ray Manzarek (uncredited) and John Densmore (uncredited)
Performed by The Doors
Courtesy of Elektra Records

User Reviews

Despite the bad critical reception, a gem of a film

A plot synopsis here would be something of a waste of time, as one or more already appear on this site, but I felt some comments might attract another viewer to this unique film. The movie was very poorly received upon its release, by critics and audience alike. Many fans of Belushi and Aykroyd did not take to their reversal of what was typically their typecasts: here Belushi plays the straight man against Aykroyd's lunatic, which is what I beleive makes the movie so incredibly funny.

On another note: when watching this film, give some attention to the soundtrack, brilliantly done by Bill Conti. The soundtrack, which would probably not work with any other movie, fits Neighbors perfectly. Using the Wagnerian technique of leitmotives, Conti assigns themes to each character: Earl is portrayed by some "shlub" music on bass trombone, Vic gets an eerie theremin melody, Ramona's appearances are always underscored by a sultry saxophone, and native american drums accompany Earl's wife Enid. The way the music underlines the drama is hard to describe without sounding like it cheaply "mickey-mouses" the actions onscreen, so I will forgo an in-depth analysis.

Suffice to say: great movie, brilliant soundtrack.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

18 December 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die verrückten Nachbarn

Filming Locations:

Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,481,386, 20 December 1981

Gross USA:

$29,916,207

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$29,916,207

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1