Plot: Problems with his rocket compel space-traveling vigilante Shep Ramsey (Hulk Hogan) to spend some time on Earth. Plunking himself down in the middle of suburbia, he rents a room from Charlie (Christopher Lloyd) and Jenny Wilcox (Shelley Duvall). Shep attempts to acclimate himself — he skateboards, he accosts a mail carrier — but he’s destined to be a fish out of water. But when his outer space enemies arrive and pick a fight with his new friends, Shep is ready to prove his mettle.
In Suburban Commando Hulk Hogan plays Shep Ramsey, an intergalactic warrior who has to take some time off on Earth to repair his ship; he rents an apartment from a family and rapidly becomes a part of their lives. Christopher Lloyd plays the put-upon Charlie who is pushed around by nearly everyone (including his wife), but when he meets Shep he is initially suspicious of him, however the two eventually become allies and Charlie finally learns to stand up for himself.
Although this is more of a kid’s movie, I forgot how funny it was and it still has several moments that make me laugh. My favourite has to be the car alarm scene as Hogan starts to destroy it and it says, “maybe we can talk about this” as it is smashed to pieces. The cat in the tree gag never gets old either and it was only recently where I found out that little girl was played by Elizabeth Moss.
There is one scene which just doesn’t quite go the way you expect and that’s when Shep faces off Charlie’s douche neighbours who prevent him from getting into his driveway; you’re waiting for Shep to beat them all up in true action hero fashion, but instead they threaten to sue him, and they are never seen or heard of again; I hope he just killed them all off screen instead…
In the action department we get some fight scenes especially the finale where Shep has to face off against two bounty hunters (one of which is The Undertaker himself) and the opening scene is lifted straight from Star Wars.
Action music legend David Michael Frank provides the score which is pure cornball heroism and I love every second of it. I miss heroic music in movies and wish it would make a comeback.
Hulk Hogan movies were rarely meant to be taken seriously and Suburban Commando is one such film with a light tone, so things never get too serious. Larry Miller was perfect as Charlie’s boss Adrian Beltz; I particularly like when he’s talking to Japanese investors about Godzilla to waste time while he waits for Charlie.
Overall, Suburban Commando may be a kid’s movie, but it’s still fun with some genuinely humorous moments and a few fight scenes to keep things interesting. It’s hardly great cinema, but it’s an entertaining 90 minutes with a game cast making it an easy watch.
