Setting the Stage
On a very fundamental level, art of any kind, especially in a visual medium, is about escaping to another time and place. After a hard day working and juggling responsibilities, it’s not surprising that you’d want to kick back and, for an hour or so at a time, re-capture the magic of a simpler time. This is the core reason why Netflix’s Stranger Things, which debuted in 2016, took off in a big way. Squarely aimed at an audience that actually grew up with ‘80s and ‘90s pop culture, the groundbreaking sci-fi show perfectly distilled films such as The Goonies, ET, and The Monster Squad and re-packaged them with its very own pulpy sci-fi flavor.
The neon-drenched building blocks that the Duffer Brothers were playing with were by no means new. However, thanks to its whip-smart writing, along with an endearing pint-sized cast, the show not only connected with its audience but became instantly cemented in the zeitgeist. Soon, many other shows and films tried to re-create this with various degrees of success. Bottom line: the market wanted – no, demanded – that sweet dopamine of nostalgia. This cycle of looking back with rose colored glasses at a beautiful and seemingly innocent time is nothing new. Indeed, in the ‘80s the previous generation was looking back fondly at the ‘50s and ‘60s.
The ’Burbs and Looking Back
While Joe Dante’s pitch perfect black comedy The ‘Burbs is not set in the ‘50s-60s, it is very much is about adult men longing for the adventure filled days not unlike the kids of Hawkins. The film follows Ray (played by a young Tom Hanks), a stressed-out suburbanite who just wants to relax on his vacation despite his fellow neighborhood friends trying to convince him something sinister is going on with the new neighbors, the Klopek’s. Two directors whose tapes made a regular rotation in my house were Tim Burton and Joe Dante. Indeed, it’s the latter’s films that hold a very special place for me. It was Gremlins that both frightened me and made me fall madly in love with creature features. The now cult-classic The ‘Burbs was another childhood favorite that very much holds up today. Looking back, The ‘Burbs seems like a strange film for a kid to enjoy. However, I have a theory why the film can resonate with kids and adults alike.
When you strip The ‘Burbs from its absurd spooky-humor (which very much feels at home with an episode HBO’s of Tales from the Crypt) the movie is about middle-aged men bored and frustrated with life. They use the weird neighbors as an excuse to break out their walkie-talkies and other gear to have one last thrilling adventure. This is, of course, something that I never really noticed until I became around the same age as the lead character. Clearly, these men are finding life unsatisfying which leads them to notice something odd going on beyond their well-maintained lawns and white fences. Cleverly, Dante visually sets up the classic trope of the creepy old neighborhood house that every kid is sure is haunted. Though, now middle-aged men are out in sunbaked mystery and wacky hijinks ensues. Hell, the only thing missing is the pack riding their bikes with some wistful music playing the background.
To hit the point home even further, Dante adds another rich layer in the form of Ray and Art recounting an impactful moment in their childhood. A soda-jerk (term for a man that served soda/ice cream) named Skip snapped one summer day and killed his entire family. He then put them under his crawlspace a la John Wayne Gacy. On a surface level, this story highlights the fact that sometimes when you peel back the beauty and peace of suburbia, something rotten and blood soaked can be pulsating underneath. However, what is brilliant is, on a meta-textual level the story seems to be a pin-point when Ray and his buddy’s childhood ended. Skip’s grisly crimes were uncovered, the soda-shop was destroyed and so was a piece of their innocence.
Dante seems to be having fun playing with this idea of grown men having a Goonies style adventure with delightfully morbid stakes. For example, there is a scene in which the oldest member of the gang Mark (Bruce Dern) asks Ray’s wife Carol (Carrie Fisher) if Ray can, “come out and play.” She flatly denies this request to which Mark playfully pouts and kicks the ground in a child-like manner. I think what attracted me to The ‘Burbs was its dark comedy and the fact that it played like Goonies or Monster Squad, but from a new viewpoint. Now, as an adult myself, I think that, yes, the movie has its flaws. But I think it speaks to something deeper in me because the movie really is about men in the middle of their lives somewhat discontent and looking back at their once care-free live, especially during the summer.
In Summary:
This is a piece that has been stewing around in my gray matter for some time now. It seemed fitting to finally write it seeing how Stranger Things has just premiered its fourth and penultimate season. The brilliant thing about The ‘Burbs outside of its offbeat charms is how it subverts the nostalgic trappings into a parable for mid-life crisis. That is something that I don’t think I’ve seen done quite the same way before or since.
Big film nerd and TCM Obsessed. Author of The Ultimate Guide to Strange Cinema from Schiffer Publishing. Resume includes: AMC’s The Bite, Scream Magazine etc. Love all kinds of movies and television and have interviewed a wide range of actors, writers, producers and directors. I currently am a regular co-host on the podcast The Humanoids from the Deep Dive and have a second book in the works from Bear Manor.