Ricky Butler Quotes in The 'Burbs (1989)

Ricky Butler: Ya know, did you ever see the movie, "The Sentinel", Mr. Peterson? It's about the old guy who owned the apartment, which is kind of like the, uh, gateway to Hell?

Ray Peterson: No, I... I didn't see that.

Ricky Butler: Oh, well, I was doing some thinking. And, you know, being that their last house burnt down and all, it's like, maybe... somebody left the gate open.

[a generator starts up from the Klopek's basement]

Art Wiengartner: It's them. They're movin' around again. Ya know... it was a night just like this that it happened.

Ricky Butler: What happened, Mr. Weingartner?

Art Wiengartner: Oh, it was a long time ago, Ricky. Hinkley Hills was a lot smaller then... safer too! You never had to lock your doors. Everybody knew everybody. I must have been maybe oh nine - ten years-old. You know where the big mall is?

Ricky Butler: Yeah.

Art Wiengartner: Well, there used to be a big drugstore on the corner there, had a big soda fountain, remember?

Ray Peterson: Yeah.

Art Wiengartner: Yeah, and the guy who ran it was a - was a rotund guy, had glasses. His name was Skip. Lived over on Elm, had a wife, a couple of kids, ya know? Not too sharp, I mean, hey the guy's 40 years old, he's wearing a paper hat and he's makin' cherry Cokes, it's a cinch he's not runnin' for governor, right?

[Ricky chuckles]

Art Wiengartner: Anyway, it got hot that summer, I remember it got REAL hot. It was sweltering. Ya know that heat where your underwear sweats and it crawls up the... anyway, it's hot, okay? And they start... they start smellin' this... this really vile stench over on Elm and they figure it's comin' from Skip's place. And no one wants to say anything, I mean, what do you do, go knock on the guys door, "Hi, you're house stinks"? So - so people are trying to ignore it, right? They're trying to pretend it - it isn't happening. A-and you know those pine things? They're trying to cover up with those pine things that you can put in cars. People are hanging those on their porches.

[Ricky laughs]

Art Wiengartner: Oh, you think that's funny, Rick?

Ricky Butler: Well, yeah.

Art Wiengartner: Well yeah - let me tell you what happened next, OK. The state health inspector shows up. They go over, they talk to Skip, he says he's got a sump pump problem. They leave. Hey, they guy's got a sewer problem, he says he'll look after it, everything's okay, right?

Ricky Butler: Right.

Art Wiengartner: Wrong. A couple hours later there's smoke pouring out of the windows of Skip's house. The firemen show up, they go into Skip's house. Ya know what they find?

Ricky Butler: What?

Art Wiengartner: Skip's family, dead. Murdered... by Skip... weeks earlier... with an ice pick. Yeah, the guy killed his own family with an ice pick. Yeah... yeah just put 'em in the cool basement, covered 'em up with a sheet and went back to makin' ice cream treats for the townsfolk. Only thing... Skip didn't count on there being a big heat wave that summer. You know what that was that all those people were smelling over on Elm, Ricky?

Ricky Butler: What?

Art Wiengartner: Skip's family's bodies, decomposing in the summer heat

[Ricky whistles]

Art Wiengartner: . Yeah apparently, one day Skip made just made one too many lemon phosphates,

[snaps fingers]

Art Wiengartner: El snappo!

Ricky Butler: Green sky at morning, neighbor take warning.

Ray Peterson: Green sky at night?

Ricky Butler: Neighbor take flight?

[last lines]

Ricky Butler: God I love this street.

Mark Rumsfield: Ricky, get this lame-o out of your yard.

Ricky Butler: [puts his arm around his friend] Get out of my yard, Lame-o!

Ricky Butler: Hey, Mrs. Rumsfield, no tan lines. Looks nice.

Mark Rumsfield: That kid next door's a meatball.

Ricky Butler: Mr. Rumsfield. You guys managed to knock out the power on the entire block. Probably the whole south end of town.

Mark Rumsfield: Ricky, SHUT UP.

Ricky Butler: Oh, Mr. Rumsfield, be careful! Queenie...

Mark Rumsfield: [steps in poop] Goddamn it!

Bonnie Rumsfield: Uh-oh.

Mark Rumsfield: Walter. Walter! Walter!

Ricky Butler: I love that dude.