By Melissa Antoinette Garza
I love Paul Reubens. Growing up, PEE WEE HERMAN’S PLAYHOUSE (1986) was a staple, every Saturday morning, in my bedroom. I’d also watch his movies whenever they were on HBO. Though, BIG TOP PEE-WEE (1988) is enjoyable, it cannot compare to the original, nerd punk, cult classic that is PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE (1985).
The movie opens with Pee Wee dreaming about racing on his beautiful red customized bike. He treasures that two-wheel, sleek piece of metal, but he’s not the only one. His neighbor Francis Buxton (Mark Holton), who is apparently in his mid-twenties and lives off his rich daddy wants nothing more than to own it.
Pee-Wee laughs off Francis and makes it clear that he has no interest in selling it. Meanwhile, he goes to the bike shop where Dottie (Elizabeth Daily) works. I love Dottie so much. She’s so spunky and beautiful, strong and sweet. Both this character and her prior role in VALLEY GIRL (1983), Daily solidified herself as one of my earliest girl-crushes.
I love the way in which Dottie flirts with a seemingly irritated and uninterested Pee-Wee. Herman talks his way out of a date and leaves with the horn he came in for, only to find his precious bike stolen! As much as he pretends not to care about her, who is the first person he goes to when the cycle is missing? That would be, Dottie!
Poor Pee-Wee, depressed and beaten, is further tormented by different types of bicycles seemingly surrounding him, only making him long for his precious one more. He runs to the polices and tells them he suspects it may be the soviets, until he remembers, Francis! Damn that, Francis!
Herman sneaks in to confront his nemesis, who is swimming in a marvelous bath the size of a pool. I want that tub! This is one of my favorite scenes within the movie. Reubens and Holton are comedy gold, as they both act like little kids, fighting under water and nearly drowning each other. When the men are confronted by Mr. Buxton, Francis goes full on 8-year-old to maintain his father’s faith in him.
Mark Holton is a wonderfully versatile actor, who makes each of his performances memorable and compelling. Whether disturbing me as the titular role in GACY (2003), breaking my heart as Ozzie in LEPRECHAUN (1993) or making me laugh in TEEN WOLF (1985), Holton’s ability to reflect the humanity in his characters makes each one a captivating watch.
In the case of Francis, we have something particularly peculiar. Without question, PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE takes place in some sort of universe slightly different than ours. Some of the adults are adults and some are children. Only the way in which they act will tell you which is which, and sometimes it seems to go back and forth. Francis isn’t just a grown man, who happens to live with his parents. I’ve known plenty of adults, who live with their folks for many different reasons, but this isn’t that. Not only does Francis live with his dad, he acts like a he’s a little kid. This shouldn’t work and if not for Holton’s ability to be both simultaneously make himself both loved and hated, it wouldn’t. Francis is an evil, annoying jerk; but there’s also something very likable about him. Otherwise, the character would come across affected, and it doesn’t. It’s weird. It’s odd. It’s all the crazy things that I adore about these types of movies; but it’s not affected. It’s just strangely perfect.
The entire world presented, very much including Pee-Wee’s behavior is so bizarre and insane. Yet, it’s spectacularly crazy. It’s a movie that should be nonsensical, but somehow manages to have a cohesive and captivating plot about a missing bike.
The film follows Pee-Wee and Dottie as they go on the radio in efforts to locate it. The attention is enough for Francis to become nervous. He tells the thief (Ralph Seymour) to get rid of the bike, hoping that would clean his hands enough to stay above suspicion.
Meanwhile, Herman brings the entire neighborhood together, which reveals that the little sanity he began with is quickly unraveling. Dottie tries to be supportive, but Pee Wee becomes a straight-up, selfish jerk. He pushes his friends away and takes off in the rain. He’s also become so deranged that he can scare off gang members, with what seems to be a vampire’s hiss. He’s not a vampire, but it works, so good on him.
He goes to a fraud psychic, who tells him that his bike is at the Alamo. He hitchhikes and meets all sorts of crazy and fun characters. One is a crazy convict named Mickey (Judd Omen). When the cops pull Pee-Wee over, he quickly changes clothing and dresses like a woman. The officer is immediately taken with Herman’s wiles and Mickey appears to take notice, as well. The cop goes on his away and for a bit Herman and the criminal are riding free. Eventually the duo part as friends, when Mickey fears his trouble would put Pee-Wee in danger.
The next person to pick-up Pee-Wee is the trucker that scared 1980’s kids everywhere. Large Marge (Alice Nunn) lets Herman into her big rig, only to tell him a scary story, change into a horrifying creature and drop him off at a diner. When he tells the patrons that Marge sent him, he’s horrified to learn that the woman he took a ride from was a ghost! As a child, I loved this scene because I wasn’t afraid of it and a cousin of mine was. It made me feel like a little badass, which for all intents and purposes, I was.
He meets Simone (Diane Salinger), a kind waitress, who dreams of going to Paris, but dates Andy (Jon Harris), an abusive jerk. Andy overhears and misunderstands a conversation between Pee-Wee and Simone. He jumps to conclusions, becomes furious and on the attack.
When Pee-Wee does finally escape, he goes to the Alamo to find his bike. It is then that he finds out that the gypsy was a liar and the trip was a waste.
Distraught, he goes to the bus station, and after running into Simone again, he decides to finally do the right thing. He comes to his senses about Dottie and calls her. He apologizes and that beautiful saint forgives him. She doesn’t even make him work for it. Dottie is a stand-up dame, who deserves to be treated amazing. She has a classic hotness mixed with a minx style, the likes of Jennifer Tilly. Pee-Wee does eventually manages to overcome his narcissism long enough to recognize Dottie’s awesomeness, but he tries to deny her a date. I hate to say it, but there is something attractive about a man playing hard-to-get. The challenge of it all is very appealing, so to a degree, I get it.
Speaking of stand-up dames, Cassandra Peterson, has a cameo in this portraying someone other than the horror icon Elvira. Of course, she rocks the performance out. She portrays an owner of a biker bar who is about to kill Herman, until he breaks out, into the famous Tequila routine.
Some other notable appearances include Morgan Fairchild, Phil Hartman, Milton Berle and Twisted Sister. As a TS fan, it was fantastic to see them, even for the short time they were on. It’s an iconic moment of this comedy and one that always comes to mind when I think of the film.
In the end, Pee Wee steals his bike back from a Warner Bros set. He later has a film made about him and his experiences on the road. One of the funniest aspects of the production is them calling out Hollywood for casting those who meet conventional beauty standards, even when the reality they are trying to emulate definitely calls for the unique and eccentric. To put it into perspective, the movie shows James Brolin scoring the role of P.W. Herman. It’s just brilliant. Watching it now, I just think about the actors chosen in THE CONJURING (2013) to portray Lorraine and Ed Warren verses their real-life counterparts. That’s not to say the performers weren’t fantastic. They were. Still, I appreciate PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE for calling out the beauty-based casting back in 1985. Never let it go unsaid that Pee-Wee was an OG Truth Machine.
PEE-WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE is a spectacular production. There are enough eerie and off-the-wall moments to qualify this for a Halloween watch and enough of a comedic feel to make it good for any day.
It isn’t very often that cult mixes with the mainstream so well, but Paul Reubens perfected it with Pee-Wee Herman. I was so elated to see his comeback a few years ago and I’m happy that he’s still going strong after all these years. That man is an icon and Pee-Wee is a god damn Legend.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8.5/10
