Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Better Late Then Never

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

10/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/1010/10

The master of Italian Neorealism was undoubtedly and definitely Vittorio De Sica. He created important masterpieces such as "Ladri Di biciclette" or "Umberto D.". The master of parody is undoubtedly and definitely Terry Jones (along with the rest of the "Monty Python" team, of course). He created important masterpieces such as "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life" or "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". Tim Burton clearly understands both of them, and that can be seen in his comic masterpiece "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure".In "Ladri Di biciclette" De Sica delivers the story of a man, Antonio, who needs his bicycle to work, during the post-World War 2 financial crisis in Europe. With the help of his son, Antonio looks for the bicycle until despair, and asks a "psychic" woman for help. One of the aspects that made "Ladri Di biciclette" a great movie was the transformation of the protagonist of the story. At first he was angry at his wife for asking the "psychic" woman for help, but then, at his desperation does it. As if nothing really matters anymore.In "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" Burton makes a homage to this classic masterpiece. It is the story of a man, Pee-Wee (Paul Reubens, he's actually credited as "Pee-Wee Herman") who loves his bicycle more than anything else in the universe. One day it gets stolen. He looks and looks for it, but doesn't find it anywhere. He goes, and asks a "psychic" woman for help. At the end he finds it at "Warner Bros. Pictures" and causes a mess inside the studio.The film is both, a tribute and a parody to De Sica's work as a director, but that's not what makes "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" great. What does make it great is that Burton shows love and inspiration to the original cinematic source material. One of the things that many great filmmakers, since Hitchcock, to Bresson, have taught us through history is that you can't compare different kinds of art. But De Sica and Burton belong to the same art, and both of them transcend with their films. The movie also makes a very intelligent homage to Federico Fellini, and his "mockumentary", "I Clowns". When it comes to art, very few people are better than Vittorio De Sica. When it comes to making a perfect imitation of art, Tim Burton is by far the best.

Tim Burton's directorial movie debut is a film for acquired tastes. I remember seeing it on television when I was around 5 years old in the 1980s and thinking it was very funny; time hasn't been kind to it since then, however. Pee-wee Herman feels like an American version of Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean, although nowhere near as funny.Indeed, Paul Reubens gives such an over-the-top performance of constant mannerisms and tics - not to mention THAT laugh - that he becomes irritating after about, oh I don't know, five minutes. The resultant film, which follows a journey narrative as he goes on a nationwide hunt for his stolen bicycle, is therefore tiresome. For most of the running time I kept thinking about the various run-ins with the law that Reubens has had since, and for some reason I found THAT funnier than the supposed humour here.PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE isn't a complete mess. Burton's direction feels assured and confident even at this early stage of his career and he certainly puts in a lot more effort here than he did in something like the CGI monstrosity that was ALICE IN WONDERLAND. There are also a handful of funny moments along the way, like the bar dance, although my favourite moment is the excellent homage to the Japanese Godzilla series. A shame the rest of the movie couldn't have followed suit.

Gloriously goofy, vividly designed feature film vehicle for co-writer / star Paul Reubens' enduring character of Pee-wee Herman, a snazzily dressed man-child who lives in a world of his own. Pee-wees' world is subsequently shattered when his beloved, custom built, all- important bicycle is stolen from him, and he embarks on a cross country journey to find it again. Along the way, he will encounter escaped criminal Mickey (Judd Omen), wistful diner waitress Simone (Diane Salinger), an ominous sounding trucker named Large Marge (Alice Nunn), a gang of bikers known as the "Satan's Helpers", and runs amok at Warner Bros. Studios.This viewer can understand how a character such as Pee-wee wouldn't be to all tastes, but speaking personally, he has a blast with this amiable movie every single time. Debuting director Tim Burton, a former animator, was obviously the right choice to take the helm of such zany shenanigans. He and his production designer David L. Snyder have a great time with the material, which was conceived by Reubens, his fellow Groundlings member Phil Hartman (who has a bit as a reporter), and Michael Varhol. One good thing must be said, and that is that if one is seeing it for the first time, it has a gleefully unpredictable quality to it. The rich array of characters also helps to keep things interesting.The whole chase through Warner Bros. Studios provides what are far and away the brightest moments. Pee-wee rides his bike through the sets of a beach party movie, a Christmas movie, a Godzilla movie (!), and, most uproariously, a Twisted Sister video.Reubens is great fun as Pee-wee. Elizabeth Daily as Dottie and Ms. Salinger are endearing, and Mark Holton as Francis is a hilariously unsubtle villain. There are cameos for Morgan Fairchild, James Brolin, Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson, and Tony Bill, and bits by the likes of Lynne Marie Stewart, John Paragon, Susan Barnes, Professor Toru Tanaka, Jan Hooks, and Jason Hervey.Danny Elfmans' score is one of the heaviest assets. It's catchy and really sticks in your head.An enjoyable film for kids and young-at-heart adults, with some inspired moments of twisted nightmare imagery.Eight out of 10.