When a hypochondriac learns that he is dying, he accepts an offer to throw himself in a volcano at a tropical island, and along the way there, learns to truly live.
This story takes place in a typical American neighborhood, when some new neighbors come to live in the house next to Ray Peterson. These new people are really strange; nobody has ever seen them, their house is a real mess, and during the night you can hear weird noises from their basement. The only thing they know is their name: Klopeks. One day Walter (an old man of the neighborhood) suddenly disappears and everyone starts to suspect the Klopeks...Written by
Chris Makrozahopoulos <makzax@hotmail.com>
The Klopek's house address is 669. When ray and Art use the heavy door knocker on their door the 9 slides down changing the Klopek's house number to 666 which is foretold in the King James Holy Bible. Revelation 13:18 "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." A score is defined as 20 so threescore is 3 times 20. So the number of the Beast, some define this to mean the number of Satan, or the devil, is 666. See more »
Goofs
When Walter's family comes back at night, they run over the garbage that Art and Mark had taken out of the garbage truck the night before, and park at an angle. In the next shot when Walter gets out of the car, the car is in a different position in the driveway. See more »
Quotes
Vic, Garbageman #1:
The question here is garbage. Who picks up this mess?
Mr. Rumsfield:
Who picks up this mess? Well you're going to pick up the mess, because YOU are a garbage man.
Vic, Garbageman #1:
I pick up garbage from cans, not from the street!
See more »
Crazy Credits
At the end of the Universal Studios logo, the camera zooms into Earth and to where the film takes place. At the end of the film, the effect is played in reverse. See more »
Alternate Versions
A deleted scene has Ray cooking at the barbeque. It isn't the barbeque that he needs to fix though, it is a metal one that sits by his brick one. See more »
Commonly tossed aside as a predictable, poorly plotted film with few laughs, "The 'Burbs" has more to offer than most critics are willing to admit.
This film is not so much about the plot(which is admittedly thin and which the critics are too concerned with) as it is about the characters who become entangled within it. Included in this terrific cast are Tom Hanks, who plays the skeptical neighbor of the new family on the block (a bunch of oddballs who never leave the house); Rick Ducommun, who plays the gluttonous friend of Hanks, who is convinced that the new neighbors are brain sucking murderers; Bruce Dern, the ex-soldier who hasn't quite left his miilitary roots behind him; and last, but not least, Corey Feldman, who plays the dopey teenage neighbor who basically watches the events of the movie unfold from the comfort of his front porch. These characters are so well-acted and so downright wacky that you just have to believe there is a neighborhood somewhere with people like this. The chemistry between everyone of the characters is simply impressive, and much of the humor of the film can be found in the often ludicrous way the director portrays their interactions.
I urge anyone who has seen this film before to watch it again, this time paying little attention to the story and focusing on the superbly acted characters.
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Commonly tossed aside as a predictable, poorly plotted film with few laughs, "The 'Burbs" has more to offer than most critics are willing to admit.
This film is not so much about the plot(which is admittedly thin and which the critics are too concerned with) as it is about the characters who become entangled within it. Included in this terrific cast are Tom Hanks, who plays the skeptical neighbor of the new family on the block (a bunch of oddballs who never leave the house); Rick Ducommun, who plays the gluttonous friend of Hanks, who is convinced that the new neighbors are brain sucking murderers; Bruce Dern, the ex-soldier who hasn't quite left his miilitary roots behind him; and last, but not least, Corey Feldman, who plays the dopey teenage neighbor who basically watches the events of the movie unfold from the comfort of his front porch. These characters are so well-acted and so downright wacky that you just have to believe there is a neighborhood somewhere with people like this. The chemistry between everyone of the characters is simply impressive, and much of the humor of the film can be found in the often ludicrous way the director portrays their interactions.
I urge anyone who has seen this film before to watch it again, this time paying little attention to the story and focusing on the superbly acted characters.