howyoodoon

I found this film extraordinary, and am so grateful it was made--as a "final testament" by this gifted, maligned and mistreated comic genius. Director Matt Wolf clearly had an ambivalent collaborator in Paul Reubens, but the way in which Wolf was able to craft such an incisive glimpse into the mind of this very private man is really remarkable.

With hindsight, it almost goes without saying that Paul Reubens got a raw deal, and his career ruination was, to say the least, undeserved. This documentary sheds light on the "second" career-damaging "scandal" to hit Reubens, when an ambitious city attorney for Los Angeles brought a patently false case against Reubens for possessing "obscene material." This excellent documentary succeeds in "humanizing" the late Reubens,, really, for the first time, publicly. His final recorded words are heartbreakingly sad and bring this beautiful tribute to a very moving close. If only Paul could have seen a tribute to him like this while he was alive. Short of that, this fine film serves as a well-deserved, heart-felt epitaph.

What could have been an amusing concept is ruined by the anachronistic, techno-70's songs that yank the viewer/listener straight from 1936 to 1976. Alan Parker keeps things generally under control, and there are some effective child performers. Luminous Jodie Foster has undeniable charisma and makes the most of her role--but, again, the music was truly abysmal. Composer/Lyricist Paul Williams was an enormously successful musician in the mid-70's. The choice of having Williams also singing many of the tunes himself was a major misfire. The film is certainly a curio--and, perhaps, children might find it more enjoyable than discerning adults.

This travesty is going to age like yesterday's horoscope, when Sad Affleck inevitably dumps this monster. She couldn't have made herself less appealing if she tried. If nothing else, in the five or so minutes in which he appears, anyone who wonders why he (allegedly) bought a camper to sleep in, rather than share the $60 million Bel-Air mansion with this insufferable gorgon now knows why. There is nothing "great" about a love story, where one of the lovers shares their partner's intimate love letters with the world, without their permission. More like, "THE MOST GRATING LOVE STORY THAT NEVER SOLD"--since she ended up financing this BOMB with her own dough,