Few places in this world are as serene and terrifying as the American suburbs. Although the standard houses and bright green lawns may seem idyllic at first, poison can flow under the heart. Films like The is a graduate and Edward Scissorhands an attempt to criticize the obsession and consumerism that lives in the sprawling regions of America. A surprising number of certified classics have happened between sidewalks and trash cans, and if things had gone a little differently, another title might have joined them: “Burbs. Joe DanteThe black comedy about a man obsessed with his strange neighbors is clever in its satirical bits and maintains a funny balance of humor and horror throughout the film. However, what may be its most memorable component is its ending - and it’s something that still divides fans to this day.
The end of The Burbs as we know it
The main character Suburbs is a layman. Ray PetersonTom Hanks), just on vacation from work, really wants to just relax. His wife Carol intervenes in these plans (Carrie Fisher) who would rather go somewhere. And there’s an even bigger hitch - the area has just welcomed new nonconformist residents. The vaguely menacing Klopeks have moved in, seemingly overnight, and are behaving oddly, such as refusing to listen to small talk and taking their trash to the end of the driveway to hit it several times with a shovel. This hidden tension causes Ray to become more and more paranoid about their true nature for a week. Are they satanists? Cannibals? After all, they have accents and a mess in the yard.
But it’s not just Ray - his clumsy friend Art (Rick Dukomman) and war-obsessed neighbor Rumsfield (Bruce Dern) are obsessed with the idea of discovering Klopek’s secret. Interweaving of pastel nightmarish episodes and melodic melody Mister Roger’s area, we watch them clumsily conduct an amateur investigation. Ray is horrified by the inexplicable disappearance of the neighbors, while Art appears perversely aroused, a kind of robed personification of his surroundings. Soon enough, they find themselves dangerously close to what they see as a bloodthirsty family. It can’t end well - and it doesn’t. If you rent a movie in any traditional way, you end up with this ending: Ray, Art and Rumsfield are going too far. Klopek’s house burned down, and Ray comes to the conclusion that - maybe - they made something out of nothing. But, oddly enough, he was wrong. In fact, a strange family killed the inhabitants and burned their remains in a huge furnace. Strange digging at night? Terrifying sounds? They are all real. Ray is a nice guy and he was right when he was paranoid. It’s a heavy left turn, especially after Hanks’ monologue, and it makes sense to capture this dissonance - neither this ending, nor the other alternate ending released later on DVD, is original to the script. And while the film remains interesting - and it has a loyal fan base - perhaps that was one of the elements that kept it from becoming great.
Behind the stockade
“Suburbs” the long road to finding the ending began when Hanks was cast. While there seem to be some inconsistencies online, the film’s original script shows that its intended ending was to see Ray killed by one of the Klopeks, taken away in an ambulance, while life on the street goes on as usual. The rest of the neighbors are left to assume that the Klopeks are indeed innocent, and that Ray has lost her accordingly. It makes sense: Screenwriter Dana Olsen said he based the script on a childish morbid interest in small-town crime. After all, every neighborhood has an urban legend. But that darker ending wouldn’t work if Hanks was involved. After all, America wouldn’t want such a handsome guy to be killed.
The ending would have had to be changed - and the casting wasn’t the only thing that influenced the film’s ending. The Washington Post reported in 1988 that that year’s Writers Guild strike negatively impacted production. None of the “multiple endings” they wrote worked, and they couldn’t hire a screenwriter. Instead, the actors improvised their lines, hoping to choose an ending later. Olsen played a small role on set, presumably to offer advice. These changes, combined with the lack of a resolution, resulted in three endings being filmed. However, only two have been released so far - the final cut and the alternate ending on DVD. (His changes are mostly minor, except for a meaningful monologue by one of the Klopeks about the social problems inherent in the suburbs.) But the ending with an innocent Klopek or a dead Ray? So far, they are out of our reach.
We are Lunatics!
Near the end of the film, in all versions, Ray gives an explosive speech to his neighbors who are looking at him. Sleeplessly wandering through the burning ruins of the Klopek house, he becomes poetic. “We’re the ones throwing garbage out into the street and lighting the fires,” says Ray, his head burned and bandaged. “We’re the ones acting suspicious and paranoid, Art. We are crazy! We! It’s not them! This is an indictment of the suburbs, and also a kind of mockery that comes from the paranoia that the environment can generate. Spirit “Burbs” The original ending can best be seen in this fiery moment, Ray’s insistence that the pressures of conformist-obsessed ’80s America turned him into what he fears most.
“Remember what you said about people in the suburbs, Art? About people like Skip, about people who mow the lawn for the 800th time and then fall off? Well, that’s us,” Ray says. “It’s not them. This is us”. Hanks’ manic energy is put to full use here, leading to a performance that threatens to overshadow the burning house in the background. Not surprisingly, this scene became defining for the film. An argument was made that simply stopping the movie after Ray’s big speech would improve its conclusion, and perhaps it would miss out on some of the comedy derived from the proven reality of evil. But this moment can be seen as a fourth potential ending - and perhaps a more appropriate one.
Source: Collider
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