Big Top Pee-wee

In this sequel to the classic Big Adventure film Pee Wee (for some reason) decides to move to a dusty old town that looks like a 1947 time-capsule and is inhabited by hateful, old farts. After a violent storm one night the circus (for some reason) washes up on his farm and from there the film just kind of shifts into idle and coasts blandly until the end, in a series of generic circus hi-jinks and weird romantic encounters. Frankly the films' problems exist at the script level. The whole concept was poorly thought out and executed. In Big Adventure Pee Wee's motivation was simple but effective; to get back his bike. The straight-forward premise then allowed the character to be taken from one place to another in fairly rapid succession, all the while letting each unique situation show a different side of him. The road story was also perfect for quickly establishing what Pee Wee is all about; a grown man who cherishes a bicycle more than anything else in his life. It's sweet, it's something we can relate to in one way or another, but it's also very bizarre. Pee Wee is all of those things. Big Top doesn't take him anywhere, it only thrusts him awkwardly into a love story that is completely unwarranted given his emphatic rejections of Dottie in the first movie. "I like you, Dottie, LIKE!... I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel." So whoever decided it would be a brilliant idea to build an entire narrative around Pee Wee Herman having a love-life was totally missing the point of the character.

This sequel has nothing to do with Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

Therefore, I wouldn't actually even say it's a sequel. First of all Pee-wee's back but not with his super cool bike or his super cool house with all the gadgets. Not even with the same people. Where were Dottie, Francis, Mario, Speck(his dog), the biker gang, or even Simone?? Noone but Pee-wee himself was in the second movie. That was a major let down. Pee-wee goes from living in California to living in a small farm in the middle of the suburbs. His pet is a talking pig and the rest of the movie is just blah. If they knew Pee-wee was for kids, I don't see why they had to put so much kissing in this movie. Even the woman Pee-wee falls in love with is boring and has the world's most annoying accent. I completely disliked it and I even ended up not liking Pee-wee anymore. Stick to the first one and that's it!! Unless you'd rather be let down, then watch the second one!! What a waste of time, film, money, etc.

I've tried watching this movie three times, and can never get all the way through it. Big Top Pee Wee is as bad as Pee Wee's Big Adventure was good. Other than some imaginative effects, Pee Wee looks like he fell out of the sky and landed in this movie. I think Bill Murray would have been better cast in a movie with this plotline, especially in the scenes where Pee Wee is acting like a dog in heat. Murray would make a convicing "hayseed" and slob on a farm. Reubens seems to strain in his attempt to make something of the unfunny material he's given...the characters around him are generally unfunny as well. How anyone came up with this farm, then circus plotline is beyond me. The film is generally devoid of laughs. An overall waste of the Pee Wee Herman character and one of the worst "comedies" I've ever seen.

Pee Wee Herman is a laid back farmer on his rather unusual farm in small town America. He looks after his animals and has a tight security lab where he develops wonderful new plants and treatments. One day a storm hits his town and he finds himself helping out the inhabitants of a travelling circus. When the town shuns the circus, Pee Wee offers to put them up at his farm. However the strange and wonderful folks in the circus completely change his life, not to mention the impact beautiful acrobat xxx has.

First of all, here's a simple yardstick – if you dislike Reubens' sense of humour, then you'll dislike this film intently. If you like him then this should be OK. For the rest of us who fall somewhere in the `indifferent' camp, then this is passable but not much more than that. To discuss plot is unfair as that is not what this film is about. However some degree of narrative would have been nice. Beyond this the film becomes a series of little sketches with a common theme.

Of these, some work well and some don't. There is just about enough off-beat, imaginative humour to keep the film going. The majority of the scenes are amusing in a weird way, some are laugh out loud funny and some just don't work and drag a bit. Even if your sense of humour is this way inclined it may be a little thin to satisfy.

Reubens is OK, doing his usual camp clowning thing in that same suit. I don't dislike him and found him funny when he was in a good scene. Kris Kristofferson is simply a novelty here, he has nothing of substance to do other than be a famous face in a film. Golino is pretty but doesn't have much humour to bring. The potentially funniest character was the pig, but he didn't get anywhere near enough in the way of lines.

Overall this is one for fans, but those who are OK with Herman's humour may get a few laughs. However, for many, this will be just amusing and may not be worth spending 90 minutes on.

Ah, the ignorance of being a kid. "Big Top Pee-Wee" had some decent play value back when I was too small to know better. But watching this through adult eyes was a huge letdown. The story's paper thin, the charm is nonexistent and . . . well it's all off. Most of the jokes are dead in the water, and there are long stretches where you hope for something funny, but the laughs just don't come. I kept asking myself if I'm just missing some brilliantly subversive art - but no, I'm pretty sure this is just driftwood. Kristofferson's seemingly wandered into the wrong production, and Reubens is just doing through the motions. Vance the Pig was funny, and the hot dog tree was cute.

But that's about it.

4/10