by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Pee-Wee Herman is one of the most notable characters in my childhood. Between Pee-Wee’s Playhouse on television and Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure and Big Top Pee–Wee on the big screen, Pee-Wee Herman was everywhere in my household. I always assumed that he was a regular guy who was eccentric and fun to be around. It wasn’t until much later that I realized there was actually a real person behind the character, and even now, I’m still learning more about him.
Pee-Wee as Himself features tons of footage from Paul Reubens, the man behind the legendary character. In the doc, the late Reubens, who was notoriously private, shares so much of his experiences, his thought processes, his dreams, and his nightmares. Reubens passed away not long after the interviews from a long battle with cancer. This document represents a candid look at the man, the character, and the toll that fame took on both.
There were several things I saw about Reubens that, as a fan, I should have learned a while ago. First, I didn’t know he was so difficult to work with. As the creator, writer, and performer of Pee-Wee, Reubens sought a lot of creative control over all his productions, and tried to be collaborative. Unfortunately, his drive for perfection turned some people away, and soured relationships all over Hollywood. Even throughout the interview, he comes off as challenging to work with. I can understand Reubens’ thinking, that he merely wanted a seat at the table, but I can also understand how he could be perceived as difficult.
His creativity and drive are explored extensively through his childhood and early days of performing. We learn about his life in Florida, and how he developed his love of performance through the circus. Reubens also loved to create characters during his tenure at school and improv. There was at least some hindsight that some of his characters weren’t the most culturally appropriate. In the end, perhaps the most fascinating thing about Reubens’ journey to Hollywood is that he originally strived to be a dramatic actor. It wasn’t until later in his early career that he figured out there was more opportunity in comedy. This was so eye-opening, because it represents one of the pivotal turning points in his life.
Once Pee-Wee the character was developed, we see several clips of him being performed on stage as a late-night show. This makes total sense, because Pee-Wee’s Playhouse felt a lot more like sketch comedy, rather than a children’s show. I also didn’t know how involved the late Phil Hartman was in the creation of the stage performance and Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. Their estrangement is discussed as Hartman’s going to Saturday Night Live soured his and Reubens’ relationship (SNL is a sore spot for Reubens, as he was not accepted into the show when he tried out). The relationship suffered a lot also after Reubens’ arrest.
The arrest was a turning point for me as a fan of Pee-Wee Herman. My mom had to talk to me about it, and then his show was banned in my house. I didn’t realize how big of a deal it was, yet it also led to an investigation into allegations of child pornography that destroyed Reubens. His sexuality, long speculated by the media, is discussed at length in the documentary, as it was weaponized to demonize him in the 1990s. Reubens also talks about how isolated his arrest made him, as several people abandoned him, while others stuck by his side through thick and thin. The child pornography case was one that I was not aware of, and the toll it took on Reubens led him to some changes in his life professionally.
The main change was the separation of Pee-Wee and Reubens, meaning Reubens started to do more interviews as himself, and introduce more of himself to the public. This isn’t to say he distanced himself from Pee-Wee Herman, but instead, he was more comfortable with himself during press tours and interviews. He had to defend himself in the news, but also spent a lot of time going on late-night talk shows and taking on roles that would be different from Pee-Wee.
The most eye-opening piece of the documentary involved his movies. One of my guilty pleasures is Big Top Pee-Wee, but I didn’t know how badly it did at the box office. It also represents a turning point where it was one of the things Reubens failed at that stung the most. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure also went through many revisions with a studio that didn’t have a lot of faith in it to begin with. Tim Burton wasn’t the original choice for director, but his partnership with Reubens shepherded a classic into the pop culture lexicon.
Pee–Wee as Himself is eye-opening and captivating. Reubens shows a vulnerability I’d never seen from him, which helped me understand his motivations and creative process. He knew he wasn’t perfect, but he put everything into his work. This doesn’t change Pee-Wee’s impact on my childhood, but it changes the perception of Reubens, which is more critical for the documentary.
Rating: Liked It
Pee-Wee as Himself is currently streaming on Max
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