The ‘Burbs (1989)

The Scene: Pretzels and Sardines

Why I Love This Scene: As of yesterday, this underrated gem is 25 years old. It’s also the last of the silly and raunchy Tom Hanks we all grew up knowing and loving. Joe Dante is at his usual awesome and hilarious shenanigans of mixing horror and comedy, with this movie about paranoia in a sleepy little sunny neighborhood, which now as a suburban homeowner hits all the better notes for me. Why this movie was so quickly forgotten is beyond me when its downright hysterical and features so many iconic suburban-living scenes, like Hans beating his garbage bags with a shovel late at night; Tom and his crazy neighbor (played by aplomb by Rick Ducommun) finding a femur in the yard and Tom Hank’s nightmare when he’s nearly roasted by his seemingly-satanic neighbors. But the scene I’m highlighting today is probably the best bit in the film and the most memorable for many reasons. Listing them all wouldn’t be doing the scene justice so here’s a link to the whole scene. (As usual YouTube is no help, unless you want the scene in German.)

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/an-dQvc2bnYmhYYJ/the_burbs_1989_eating_a_sardin/