The 'Burbs

Ray Peterson

AKA

The Everyman

The Paranoid Neighbor

The Neighborhood Watchman

The Inquisitive Neighbor

The curious neighbor

Tom Hanks' character

Neighborhood Snooper

Character Profile

In the quaint suburbia of Mayfield Place, Ray Peterson is an emblematic figure of the American dream. Outwardly, he is an ordinary man who has settled into a repeatable routine. Yet beneath this façade simmers a profound paranoia that materializes amidst the mundane rituals of suburban life. Embodying the quintessential suburbanite, Ray grapples with his burgeoning unease as new neighbors, the Klopeks, intrude upon the established calm of his life.

His once casual curiosity morphs into an obsession, causing him to engage in increasingly absurd sleuthing endeavors, revealing the chaos that underlies the placid surface of his neighborhood. Ray's journey—to navigate the uncertain waters of suspicion and fear—stands as a microcosmic reflection of an ordinary man's existential crisis amid the absurdities of modern life. As he oscillates between the roles of a devoted husband and amateur detective, ultimately unveiling the complexities of human nature hidden behind white picket fences, Ray echoes the struggles of a generation caught between desires for normalcy and the whims of the bizarre.

Credits

Tom Hanks as Ray Peterson

Person The 'Burbs

Personality Traits

Curious yet increasingly paranoid.
Oddly relatable and down-to-earth.
Driven by a desire for normalcy yet intrigued by the macabre.
Fiercely loyal to family and friends, occasionally impulsive.
Emotionally vulnerable due to recent unemployment.

Key Roles

Protagonist in The 'Burbs.
Curious suburban husband to Carol Peterson.
Amateur detective investigating neighborhood oddities.
Voice of reason among his friends.

Relationships

Carol Peterson

Ray's supportive wife who tries to ground him amidst his overactive imagination and growing fixation on their mysterious neighbors.

Art Weingartner

Ray's adventurous neighbor who encourages his wild investigations and dubious theories, often magnifying Ray's paranoia.

Rumsfield

The neighborhood watch type who assists Ray in his observations but often adds to the chaos.

The Klopeks

Ray's enigmatic neighbors whose strange behavior fuels his inquiries, establishing the core conflict of the story.

Ricky Butler

The young neighbor whose participation adds an element of youthful recklessness to Ray's neighborhood exploits.

movie Comedy Horror Thriller

The 'Burbs

When secretive new neighbors move in next door, suburbanite Ray Peterson and his friends let their paranoia get the best of them as they start to suspect the newcomers of evildoings and commence an investigation. But it's hardly how Ray, who much prefers drinking beer, reading his newspaper and watching a ball game on the...

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