Pee-wee as Himself

As a kid growing up in the 1980s Pee-wee was a household name. His incredible film Pee-wee's Big Adventure is a classic. Not to mention the follow-up Big Top Pee-wee. The effort he put into entertaining the public was never appreciated by most except a few true fans. This documentary goes over his childhood, stage work and films. Very well done and a great tribute to one of my favorite people of all-time.

His brief roles in movies like Cheech & Chongs Next Movie, Blow and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are really interesting and show a dynamic of Paul Reubens that went mostly unnoticed. Thank you Paul for the years of laughter and smiles.

Despite being listed as an executive producer, Paul Reubens was apparently distrustful (and possibly contemptuous) of the making of this documentary about his life, his career, and his famous alter-ego, Pee-wee Herman. If so, he needn't have been so fearful as director Matt Wolf has whittled down some 40hrs of interview footage into a well-paced, well-narrated 3hr-22mns (separated into two parts for release on HBO and Max). Born Paul Reubenfeld in chilly Peekskill, NY, the children's TV show-loving Paul was happy to eventually relocate with his family to Sarasota, FL, where the local Ringling Bros. Circus activity sparked the theatrical performer in young Paul. As an incredibly ambitious, smart, self-aware young adult, Paul Reubens' flair for outré style in college turned "weird" into an art form, and he was never without admirers of both sexes. Joining an acting troupe in Los Angeles--eventually known as The Groundlings--Reubens tried out different characters on-stage before settling on his most popular creation, the child-like Pee-wee Herman. That's where this documentary really takes off, showing how a long-fought journey to fame paid off for Paul--and how stardom isn't always a fair trade for anonymity. For fans, this is a terrific summation of an iconic man--warts and all--who loved making people laugh but who was also a perfectionist and a bit of a diva. At one point, Reubens acknowledges that his entire focus was "Me, me, me", and he's defensive and bitter about the legal troubles that dogged him in his final years ("The public has a mind like a steel trap!"). Did Paul Reubens ever forgive some of his fans and former colleagues for turning their backs on him when times got rough? Maybe not--but he certainly wasn't regretful at the time of his death in 2023. He had nothing to feel sorry about. *** from ****

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.

Growing up in the 80s was fun, cartoon's on Saturday morning and Pee-week's playhouse what some people would say about Pee Wee would mean nothing because I know he bought joy to me as a kid. This documentary shows the real person he was and shown his passion for Pee Wee as a character. People say show your love and I truly believe Paul had his heart on his shoulder. When I heard he passed away I did cry and hearing his last word on this series broke my heart but in this series only shows his heart if you grew up in the 80s this is a must see even if you didn't grow up in the 80s 90s and love Pee Wee I would recommend watching this.

There's an astonishing honesty about this documentary that Pee-wee admits: Few of us get to make a final statement about their lives. The filmmakers were unaware that Paul Ruebens was battling cancer for several years before they made the film. In fact, Paul padded away a few months after it was completed. Like Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs, a person facing death finds honest self-revelation easier than a person still protecting their identity and public image. Through out the film, Paul Ruebens consistently reveals that he finds it difficult to separate his alter-ego Pee-wee from the person Paul. When he gets a star on the Hollywood walk of fame, he notes that it was Pee-wee whose name is on the star, not Paul's. There are many revelations about Pee-wee's creative process including how the storyline of Pee-we's Big Adventure came about. While he and writer-director Tim Burton were developing the screenplay on the Warner Brothers studio, he saw many actors riding the lot of bicycles, so he asked: How do I get a bicycle? The next day, a 1950s era Schwinn DX showed up outside his office. Pee-wee ran into the office and told Burton he knew the plot would center on Pee-wee's love for that bicycle, how it would be stolen and how his adventure would be getting to back. It's a beautiful film about a child-like actor who mixed his fantasies with life's realities.