1988 Directed by Randal Kleiser
Paul Reubens stars as Pee-wee Herman in his second full-length film about a farmer who joins the circus after a storm drops a big tent in his front yard. Pee-wee, along with an outlandish cast of animals and circus performers, puts on the best show ever.
Paul Reubens Penelope Ann Miller Kris Kristofferson Valeria Golino Benicio del Toro Wayne White Susan Tyrrell Albert Henderson Jack Murdock David Byrd Mary Jackson Frances Bay Leo Gordon Anne Seymour Kenneth Tobey Stephanie Hodge Franco Columbu Kevin Peter Hall Lynne Marie Stewart Dustin Diamond Jay Robinson Kevin B. Kaplowitz Jeffrey R. Shaw Marie Hawkins Shea Joachim Molly Ann Carter Myka Peck Patricia M. Peters Joey Arias Show All…
Sandina Bailo-Lape Trevor Jolly Cecelia Hall Rick Kline Donald O. Mitchell Kevin O’Connell Kirk Francis R.J. Palmer Dessie Markovsky Pamela Bentkowski Ronald Jacobs
UKU
USAPG
UK
USA
Well that was a lot hornier than I remembered. And it’s especially striking given how chaste Pee-wee’s Big Adventure is — where the last thing in the world Pee-wee wants is a trip to the drive-in with Dottie. This time Pee-wee is literally jumping on top of women out of pure (if naive) lust.
I actually found some of the scenes of Pee-wee pursuing Valeria Golino pretty hilarious (and extremely understandable; who wouldn’t pursue Valeria Golino?!?); it’s all the circus stuff that falls flat for me. I guess joining the circus is a very specific sort of old-fashioned childish fantasy, and Pee-wee has always been a very out-of-time character. But I don’t know, I just feel like Big Adventure taps into a richer vein of childhood dreams about freedom and bikes and Mr. T cereal.
He was Pee Wee, and he was amazing. RIP to someone who was genuinely original, and killed it.
Following up on the inspired lunacy of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure was certainly not going to be an easy task. And losing the unique style of director Tim Burton (and for my money the co-writer Phil Hartman) was going to hurt the effort as well. But the biggest sin of Big Top Pee-Wee is that it doesn't seem to understand the character of Pee-Wee Herman. By giving him a story that involves (oddly) infidelity, you've made a man out of a man-child. It's not as though Paul Reubens didn't have creative control over this project, so that makes it even weirder.
These complaints aside, the movie is still relatively enjoyable and has enough jokes that hit to make it bearable. Throw…
Can’t believe this isn’t as beloved as Big Adventure. Was it not everyone’s deepest desire and fantasy to see Pee-wee Herman making out with a woman for like five fucking minutes? I know when I was a little kid watching Pee-wee’s Playhouse, I was always like, “I wish this guy was HORNY.”
Ok, fine, you got me. Pee-wee aggressively pouncing on a lady is very weird and very misguided. But outside of that, I thought this was quite good. Loved the farm setting, and especially the talking pig. Some excellent pig acting here. And I loved all the circus stuff, especially my favorite actress Susan Tyrrell in a small role (her character is 1ft tall). Were it not held back by the weirdness, this would be a decent entry in the PWCU (Pee-wee Cinematic Universe).
For real. I mean sure, there is nostalgia involved, but even taking that into account, this is legitimately a great movie. Yes, it’s inane, and the plot is ridiculous, but if you liked Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, and Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, what’s not to love here? It plays by the same preposterous rules, it has a terrific, memorable Danny Elfman score (no small feat considering he was blocked from reusing any of the score from the first movie), it’s vibrant and original and funny and just an all-around blast.
Both this and Ghostbusters II are sequels I’ve loved my whole life that I never quite understood the hate for. No, they’re not the originals, but I’m also not saying they’re better than the originals.…
Finally, the burning question that’s been plaguing my mind since childhood has been answered thanks to Big Top Pee-Wee, a film I’ve somehow avoided all these years. A question that’s caused many sleepless nights and restless dreams, and haunted me on my dozens of rewatches of Big Adventure. And of course that question is… Does Pee-Wee Herman ever fuck? And our answer is yes, Pee-Wee Herman FUCKS! Hooray! Thanks movie, I was just dying to know, ugh...
This flick is weird, man. And not even in that innocent childish way that you’d expect from a Pee-Wee led caper. Dude’s a bit of an unlikable creep here. Cheating on his fiancée, his strange hair obsession, gropy elephant rides, that FIVE MINUTE…
I did tell my brother that this was a terrible movie. I said that if he loved Pee-wee's Big Adventure as much as he does, he should heed my warning to avoid the first sequel. Well, he convinced me to try it again with him, and oh man, let me tell you. What a dumpster fire.
In Big Top Pee-wee, it's like Paul Reubens decided to ignore everything that made the show, the first film and the character in general work so well. Pee-wee Herman has shifted from an innocent man-child to a horny jerk; it never makes any sense why he's in a love (?) triangle with schoolteacher Penelope Ann Miller and aerialist Valeria Golino, both of whom provide…
this was certainly bizarre and unexpectedly horny 😅 RIP Paul Reubens, thanks for being a part of my childhood 😢
#15 in my 80's Week marathon. (Isn't every week 80's week, really?)
So, the first Pee-wee was art. Where do you go after that? I don't know. But, wherever Big Top Pee-wee wound up, it's in another world- a world of... Does anyone else get the impression that a good chunk of this film was just "Pee-wee" trying to reassure the public, after becoming a household name, that a 35-year old man playing a giant, flamboyant child was 100% hetero? Well: maybe I'm not as gay as *I* thought then- because if I were casting 2 women to "be jealous over" me in a movie, Valeria Golino and Penelope Ann Miller would quite be on the shortlist.
(Why? I might…
"WHEN I FIRST MET THAT HIPPO, I WAS REALLY QUITE RUDE." - Vance the Talking Pig
Even though I love most things Pee-Wee, I hadn't watched this movie since I was a young'un. I remembered the movie being kind of boring, and the only scene that burned itself into my brain featured Pee-Wee and Winnie scarfing egg salad sandwiches on a picnic.
Revisiting Big Top Pee-Wee now, two things felt very off to me. First, this film takes place in some pseudo old fashioned time period (40s? 50s?) lacking many of the bizarre postmodern flourishes of Big Adventure or Playhouse I enjoyed as a kid. No wacky set design, or over the top absurd gags, or bite. Softball laughs are…
