Right Suburb. Wrong Planet.
Christ... I was FROZEN today!
—Charlie Wilcox
Suburban Commando is a 1991 sci-fi comedy film directed by Burt Kennedy and written by Frank Capello for professional wrestler Hulk Hogan. In it, Hogan plays Shep Ramsey (not to be confused with Chef Ramsay), an interstellar peacekeeper who loves justice but hates sitting around. After failing to thwart an evil plot by General Suitor (William Ball), Shep is contacted by his superior Zanuck (Roy Dotrice) while returning home in his ship. When Zanuck suggests he take a vacation, an annoyed Ramsey smashes his ship controls, discharging all of his ship's energy, forcing him to land on a planet and recharge his ship for six weeks. The planet? Earth. Hilarity ensues as he becomes neighbors with overall wimp Charlie Wilcox (Christopher Lloyd) and tries to understand Earthly customs... and contend with the forces of arch enemy General Suitor after Charlie fooled around with Ramsey's equipment, which had sent a signal to Suitor of Ramsey's location.
The film also stars Shelley Duvall as Jenny Wilcox, Larry Miller as Adrian Beltz, Jo Ann Dearing as Margie Tanen and Jack Elam as Colonel Dustin McHowell.
Burt Kennedy's last feature film.
Suburban Commando provides examples of:
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking:Deak: Do you have any idea what we are gonna do to you, if we find one itty, bitty scratch on 'em?Deak: What are you, nuts? This is the '90s. We're gonna SUE you.
- Badass Bystander: When Shep barges into the office and punches a clock to pieces, Margie the secretary gets to her feet, meets his eyes, and angrily tells him to take a seat. Later, when she sees him manhandling Charlie over Shep's missing suit, she pulls a gun out to make him stop. He was apparently impressed enough to want to get together with her offscreen.
- Big Bad: General Suitor.
- Blood Knight: Shep exhibits shades of this. He doesn't seem to like the idea of being off-duty for an extended period (though it ultimately does him good), preferring the most challenging mission he can get as soon as he can get it. And he's genuinely disappointed when the neighbors turn out to be threatening to sue rather than physically assault him. Maybe he just needs a vacation...
- Bounty Hunters: Hutch and Knuckles, the two thugs sent to track Ramsey down on Earth.
- Brick Joke: After falling off a kid's skateboard, Shep angrily throws it so far that it vanishes into the horizon. Several scenes later, the two bounty hunters see the skateboard flying past their ship as they approach Earth's atmosphere.
- Burger Fool: The space thugs stop at a fast food place called "Surfin' Burger", and even the drive-thru voice talks like a Surfer Dude.
- Butt-Monkey: Charlie Wilcox.
- The Cameo: A young Mark Calaway (The Undertaker), then new to WWE, makes a cameo as a minion of Suitor.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Shep, and how.
- Epic Fail: The first time Ramsey gets on a skateboard, he slips and falls on his back.
- Everyone Hates Mimes: Well, Shep doesn't seem to, since he really thinks he's helping out someone in trouble, but his violent attempts to "assist" a hapless street mime are nevertheless played for laughs.
- Extreme Doormat: Charlie Wilcox, but he gets better.
- Feet-First Introduction: In the opening, the first thing we see of Shep is his boots as he is shooting down Suitor's men.
- Groin Attack: During the climax, Charlie uses one of Shep's gloves to deliver one of these to Suitor, triggering his One-Winged Angel form.
- Harmless Freezing: Shep accidentally froze Charlie with his freezer weapon. He was able to thaw him with little ill effect, but Charlie was not happy about it.Charlie: CHRIST! I was FROZEN today!
- Human Aliens: There don't seem to be any other kinds. At least not 'til the final battle.
- I Take Offense to That Last One:President: I will not ask my people to give up everything they know, to serve a sadistic, egotistical, homicidal maniac!General Suitor: I don't think I'm egotistical! Proud, maybe...
- Insignificant Little Blue PlanetShep: Earth? I hate Earth.
- Intimidation Demonstration: The two bounty hunters show off their strength by bending a piece of rebar and straightening it back out. Not to be outdone, Shep bends it into the shape a bunny rabbit, then tosses it aside and knocks one of the villains through the floor.
- Lampshade Hanging: During the battle between two bounty hunters of Suitor, Shep asks...Shep: What is this... a TAG-TEAM?!
- Even more hilarious is the follow-up:Shep: [After hearing the bounty hunter's child-like voice for the first time] No wonder you guys never talk!
- Even more hilarious is the follow-up:
- Literal-Minded:Secretary: Leave a message or take a seat. (Shep smashes a scale on her desk. Secretary stands up.) I said TAKE A SEAT![Shep returns with a seat]Secretary: Funny! That's real funny!
- Lower-Class Lout: Subverted with the burly neighbors led by Deak, as despite their appearances and mannerisms, they instead inflict retaliation by reasonably threatening to sue instead of what Shep expects from people like what Deak initially appeared to be.
- No-Sell: Parodied, Shep delivers a two-handed chop to a bounty hunter's neck. The bounty hunter is completely unfazed. However a creaking noise is heard and both men look down to see that the force of Shep's attack transferred through the bounty hunter and compromised the floor underneath him. The bounty hunter has just enough time to give an Oh, Crap! face before falling through the ensuing hole.
- One-Winged Angel: General Suitor, but you don't see just how extreme it is until the climax. But you catch a glimpse of it at the beginning. It seems to happen only when he gets injured, as we saw him get his hand cut off and later stabbed in the chest.
- Pac Man Fever: Ramsey playing what is supposedly a space shooter at an arcade but is quite visibly After Burner (which has nothing to do with space and aliens, at all). The scene could have worked better had the producers licensed Sega's sci-fi arcade games like Galaxy Force or Space Harrier.
- Pointy-Haired Boss: Charlie Brewster has one that's the Glad I Thought of It-variety, with a generous helping of Professional Butt-Kisser to his Japanese clients, played by the trope's reigning master, Larry Miller.
- Running Gag: There are two...
- A girl with a cat up a tree;
- ... and Shep's encounters with a mime.
- Shout-Out: To quite a few sci-fi classics, such as when Ramsey asks if his next mission will be a "bug hunt with creatures that bleed acid."
- Smarter Than You Look: As shown in the Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking quote example above, Shep initially thought the three burly and nasty-looking neighbors who confront him were going to assault him for messing with their race car. However, in contrast to their Lower-Class Lout appearance, they state that they'd prefer to sue him for the damage to their vehicle rather than resort to violence.
- Those Two Guys: Two of the thugs that follow Ramsey to Earth.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Shep Ramsey, He nearly kills two teens for almost running over Charlie's son, unintentionally beats the crap out of a Mime under the belief that the Mime needs his help, and his general helping Charlie's family around the house.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: See the aforementioned Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking, Lower-Class Lout and Smarter Than You Look entries.
