Last night my eight-year-old daughter and I enjoyed Pee-wee's Big Holiday. This is a fantastic return for Pee-wee Herman, and Paul Reubens has done a masterful job. Pee-wee's charm, innocence, and awesome moral compass are still keeping him out of trouble, despite a cast of delightfully troublesome characters that pop up along the way.
This is another Pee-wee Herman road movie. Pee-wee is loving his life in Fairville, and hasn't left since the events of his last feature film. When phenomenally cool stranger and well-known actor Joe Manganiello (portrayed by himself) comes to town, the two become instant friends. Manganiello invites everyone's favorite adorable man-child to his birthday party, which happens to be in just five days and in glamorous New York City. The invitation rekindles Pee-wee's sense of adventure, and he takes to the open road. Raucous hilarity ensues.
My daughter told me she really likes Pee-wee. He is cute, very nice, and oh so funny. I have to agree. This film is was great fun for us both! Pee-wee's playful innocence and charming smirk are in perfect tune. Interesting and sometimes slightly creepy characters appear with every scene change. Rube Goldberg machines, silly disguises, crazy locations, and improbable events abound.
Big Holiday is a reprise of Pee-wee's Big Adventure, one of the most hilarious films of all time. The new Netflix feature is not the same adventure you remember from the 1985 cult classic, but close enough to press all your happy nostalgia buttons. Paul Reubens exudes 100% of the boyish charm and delight we expect in Pee-wee. His high-pitched scream still pierces even after 30 years. His smile and giggle are still infectious. Director John Lee manages to get the rest of the cast to play along with Reubens perfectly, while dropping easter egg after easter egg for longtime fans. Mark Mothersbaugh did an amazing job with the soundtrack–absolutely reminiscent of Danny Elfman's work for Big Adventure, but stand-alone wonderful.
Pee-wee's Big Holiday, via Netflix
