The 'Burbs has Tom Hanks looking to spend a quiet weekend at home with his family with wife Carrie Fisher and son Cory Danziger. But a strange new family has moved into the house next door and he spends his week trying to figure out what their story is.

Meet the Klopeks who have all the characteristics of a Charles Addams creation. When one of their neighbors, elderly Gale Gordon goes missing without an explanation imaginations run wild.

At least the imaginations of neighbors Bruce Dern and Rick Ducommon are stirred and they get Hanks involved. Dern has a real flair for comedy with his creation of this man who loves all things military. Ducommon is a man with a big imagination and no clue.

With the title I thought this would be a general satire on suburban living. It isn't but that's all right. It's a very funny film with a nice twist for an ending.

I also have to say Corey Feldman has one of his best roles though if the creators of The 'Burbs are giving some commentary on 80s American youth. He's kind of a Greek chorus of comment himself on the stupid goings on of the adults.

Very funny stuff, catch it if you can.

Like a lot of Joe Dante's output, THE 'BURBS is a film that's impossible to dislike. Yes, it may be cheesy, it may be obvious, and some of the characters in it may be more than a little irritating, but for the most part this is a fun-filled thrill ride tinged with Halloween chills and a healthy dose of paranoia.

Of course, the real joke is the supposedly ordinary neighbours who spend the movie spying on the newcomers inhabiting a ramshackle old house are far more bizarre than the would-be villains of the piece. Tom Hanks is the everyday Joe who's taken a week off work and becomes increasingly unhinged as the film progresses; Carrie Fisher is his ever-exasperated wife. Rick Ducommun, who bags one great gag-scene in which he threatens to eat his neighbours out of house and home, is the loudmouth conspiracy nut. Bruce Dern in a particularly inventive piece of casting is an ex-army loon with a fine line in gadgets, and Corey Feldman, who has grown up a lot since THE LOST BOYS, is good fun as a teenage slacker.

The creative casting alone is reason to keep watching, but Joe Dante brings a lot of life to Dana Olsen's script. Dante has a natural love of cinema in all its forms which makes even his clichés seem like a lot of fun. The ghoulish antics surrounding the creepy old house are often hilarious, like the scene involving the femur and the neighbourly house call. Henry Gibson steals his scenes as the sinister doctor and watch out for Dick Miller in a particularly engaging cameo. The climax is completely spectacular and ends the film on a real high, paying off on all the kooky tension that's come before it.

Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks) is staying home for a week of vacation. There are strange things going on next door at the Klopeks who moved in last month. His friend Art Weingartner (Rick Ducommun) has wild theories about them. Along with military vet Mark Rumsfield (Bruce Dern) and Ricky Butler (Corey Feldman),they try to convince him of the worst. Mark's wife Bonnie (Wendy Schaal) finds neighbor Walter Seznick's dog Queenie running loose. Walter is nowhere to be found. Ray's wife Carol (Carrie Fisher) insists on the best and drag the Rumsfields to visit the creepy Klopeks.

This is such a fun premise of nosy neighbors in the suburbs. Tom Hanks is a great everyman and he has a lot of fun. The guys are basically full grown boys and the Klopeks are the creepy neighborhood bogeymen. It's not suppose to be scary. It's a bit wacky. It's just a fun time.