Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985): Dir: Tim Burton / Cast: Paul Reubens, Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger, Judd Omen: Pee-wee's Playhouse was a popular show for children featuring Paul Reubens as the title character whose demeanor is cheerful with the famous laugh. He dresses in a gray suit and red bow tie with childlike antics. This is early Tim Burton directing with colorful visual elements throughout. Plot regards Pee-wee in search of his prized bicycle when it goes missing. Structure is a series of road movie encounters that could be left out or not, depending on one's view on said subplot. For a film aimed at children much of the humour is clearly adult oriented. Reubens as Pee-wee will either annoy or endear viewers with his manic laugh. His views are simple and his passions are safe. He seems distant to the reactions of others. Other characters include Elizabeth Daily as Dottie, a female smitten with Pee-wee and works at a bike shop. Mark Holton plays an antagonist manchild Francis who covets Pee-wee's bike. Diane Salinger plays a friendly waitress with dreams of Paris but has a big jealous boyfriend. Finally we have a fugitive who picks up Pee- wee hitchhiking and decides that Pee-wee is too good for his lifestyle. The result is a corny advertizement for a popular TV show that takes a simple plot and exaggerates it into a colorful imaginative tale fit for the kid in us all. Score: 7 / 10
Review of Pee-wee's Big Adventure
