Sequel falls short largely because of stasis -- even though its's a circus theme, the writers/producers kept ALL the action on Pee Wee's farm, unlike the original which was a road trip film. Like the original, many bizarre touches are present and Reuben's portrayal is amusing. Here he's a bit more seedy, including a very funny hair fetish. The romance is unbelievable, though, because unlike the original, here Pee Wee is coupled with two supermodel class ladies. Fine direction, decent acting, lots of freaks. Kristofferson is funny as the perpetual man who knows where everybody should go (he plays that one a lot) in this case with a midget wife who's very very small. Pleasing otherworldly atmosphere enhanced by the circus theme -- if only the producers had sprung for a TRAVELLING circus! Still, this one didn't deserve the acid reviews and fan neglect it received on initial release, and should be given a fair look by fans of Reubens' neo-vaudeville comedy.
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funkyfry4 October 2002
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Mr-Fusion11 May 2015Ah, the ignorance of being a kid. "Big Top Pee-Wee" had some decent play value back when I was too small to know better. But watching this through adult eyes was a huge letdown. The story's paper thin, the charm is nonexistent and . . . well it's all off. Most of the jokes are dead in the water, and there are long stretches where you hope for something funny, but the laughs just don't come. I kept asking myself if I'm just missing some brilliantly subversive art - but no, I'm pretty sure this is just driftwood. Kristofferson's seemingly wandered into the wrong production, and Reubens is just doing through the motions. Vance the Pig was funny, and the hot dog tree was cute.
But that's about it.
4/10 -
unzie16 April 2012...i thought it was hilarious! Silly, stupid, outlandish, and unbelievable. Exactly what any and all of Pee-Wee's adventures should be. Sure it is no "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure", but that one has been done already. We don't need the same old, same old, that's what kills most sequels. That's what kills most everything that comes out of Hollywood. "Hangover 2" anybody? "Basic Instinct 2", can I get a witness?! Or, the worst of the worst, the remakes of incredible foreign films, just because most Americans hate to read. If you are looking for a cinematic experience then rent yourself a Peter Greenaway film, but if you are looking to loose yourself in a fantastic fantasy land full of funny then look no further than "Big Top Pee-Wee".
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rooprect22 October 2013This is a very difficult movie to appreciate. Or it may be a very simple movie to appreciate, depending on who you are.
Have a look at the following movies, and if you see at least 1 that you really like from EACH category, then you'll probably enjoy "Big Top Pee-Wee".
CATEGORY A ----------------------------
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Edward Scissorhands
The Fall
Labyrinth
CATEGORY B ----------------------------
Free Willy
E.T.
Anything by Walt Disney
The Muppet Movie
Category A movies are fairy tales for adults. Category B movies are straightforward kid's movies. In order to appreciate "Big Top Pee-wee" you have to be ready for either. You have to expect some jokes & gags that only adults will recognize (mildly sexual, cynical or taboo: such as the cranky old lady's hilarious reference to bulimia), but overall the film takes the format of a kid's movie, with lots of cute animals, predictable slapstick and a cheerful approach, right down to the cheezy sing-song finale.
I think it's the latter--the category B "kid" content--that threw off a lot of fans. The original "Pee-wee" was an adult film packaged in a kid's presentation. But this is the opposite: a kid's film in adult clothing.
As such, the gags aren't as subtle & witty as adult comedies usually are. Like a Saturday morning kids show, "Big Top Pee-wee" comes on strong with exaggerated and hyper-enthusiastic dialogue, overt sight gags & corny action. This may turn off a lot of adults expecting the more biting, tongue-in-cheek comedy of the original Pee-wee.
All the same, there are some classic comedic moments that adults & kids alike will enjoy. The whole "I just wanted a cheese sandwich!" scene had me rolling. I also liked the 1st picnic with Winnie which could easily have been a deleted scene in the original Pee-wee. The creepy townsfolk in general, contrasted against Pee-wee's oblivious optimism, provided great entertainment. But be forewarned, these acidic gags are sparsely presented. Most of the film is straightforward silliness, suitable for kids & young minds.
Being a die-hard fan of the original film, and being a fan of adult fairy tales in general, I have a love-hate relationship with this movie and that's why I can't rate it. But I've seen it 4 times if that's any indication of how compelling it is. My gut says I shouldn't recommend it to everyone, but all the same, there will be a few of you out there who will really enjoy this flick. If you're a kid at heart, don't hesitate. -
Aaron137521 March 2007We somehow went from a rousing cross country adventure that was the first Pee Wee movie with lots of colorful characters and some really strange situations, but overall funny to a one town movie that is strange and not in a good way. We don't get the scenery and we do not get a very good or funny movie this time. Maybe it is because Phil Hartman did not help with the script or maybe because Tim Burton did not direct, but this movie is absolutely nothing like the first film and as I said before that is not a good thing. This time we have Pee Wee on a rather boring farm, where he has a talking pig and the towns folk are a bunch of bores. Then the circus gets blown into town and that shakes things up. That is about it, besides the odd love triangle involving Pee Wee...who for some reason goes from a loner and a rebel to kind of a perv. There are a couple of chuckles to be found near the beginning of the movie, but once the circus hits it is rather tedious to watch. Like I said you go from all the wacky stuff in big adventure to one setting and one setting only. You have a few stars in this one, but they don't add to the movie, only to the misery. The ending is so stupid I could not watch it again. All in all I would say skip this movie unless you are a die hard Pee Wee fan which I am not. He was amusing in the bizarre adventure world, but he comes across as rather embarrassing and even creepy in the Big Top.
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ccthemovieman-13 December 2006After enjoying the surprisingly-fun "Pee Wee's Big Adventure," I was happy to give this this a look. Well, one out of two ain't bad, I guess.
That first movie was good; this was not. However, the first 10-15 minutes was prime-time Pee Wee Herman weirdness with some very funny dialog and scenes. I thought I got lucky two times in a row but, alas, the story then concentrates on romance between Pee Wee and a circus lady (Valerie Golino). The romance with Golino takes up some much of the rest of the film that the humor goes by the wayside. Hey, the romance is sweet in a way and Golina is pretty woman but I watch this weirdo (Herman) for his outrageous humor not for his romantic stories. Puh-leeeeeze!
Speaking of beauty, Penelope Ann Miller also is in here. She and Golina both have beautiful faces, but what's with the teeth? Can't these actresses afford an orthodontist? -
jimmehford17 May 2018What I love most about Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, The Pee-Wee Herman Show, and Pee-Wee's Playhouse is the fact that the world he lives in is really unrealistic. His hyper, eccentric attitude is matched with how unrealistically realistic the world around him is. Because, as much as I love the character of Pee-Wee, the thought of having him as a neighbor or as a friend sounds annoying and tiring. He's a literal manchild, spoiled brat who makes a scene if things don't go his way. What makes Pee-Wee so funny is how the other characters react to his antics in exaggerated ways.
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure has scenes such as the normal acting "Satan's Helpers Biker Gang", but has a weird after reaction to him dancing to Tequila. It also has scenes of Mickey, the escaped convict, react to Pee-Wee's weird antics by going along with a disguise plan in the middle of a highway checkpoint. These are things that would never happen in real life and it works because Pee-Wee is never annoying to these characters. He makes up for it in the most unrealistic ways he can, and we end up loving him for it.
The reason why I bring up all of what makes Pee-Wee enjoyable in other movies is because it never worked here. Pee-Wee lives on a farm, away from suburban townsfolk, and has a fiancee that loves him. There is a scene in the movie where Pee-Wee literally harasses and causes a scene because he wants a pickle from a busy storekeeper. He literally cheats on his fiancee with another woman and sees no wrong in what he did. Even the circus people he meets are nowhere close to being as weird or interesting as Pee-Wee, and end up being more normal than he is, which makes the movie set in a realistic world where Pee-Wee is not an enjoyable person to be around.
The romance subplot just feels so out of place for a Pee-Wee story. It was funny for Dottie to be in love with Pee-Wee in Big Adventure because he has no interest in girls because he's a literal child. Two women love Pee-Wee and he returns those feelings at the same time, and it's so weird and out of place.
People openly show their annoyance with Pee-Wee, which does not help the audience view Pee-Wee any better. There is a rule in storytelling. If there is an annoying character, make them annoying to everyone else, but never the viewer. What makes Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck so endearing is how unrealistic the rest of their universe is whenever they do annoying things. When there is too much to compare to Pee-Wee's manchild behavior in a real world where I know I would want to avoid him, I can't help but want to stop watching. Almost no one likes him in this movie.
Pee-Wee Herman is supposed to be a static character who never changes in the end of his stories. Of course, he'll learn some moral, but overall, he stays the exact same in the very end. This is shown in Big Advnture, his two Broadway shows, and every episode of Playhouse. Here, it feels way too out of place for him to learn any lesson about his character.
Overall, the film reminds me about how annoying and not entertaining he would be in real life. I don't want to be reminded of that. I want to enjoy his character, not hate it.
The guy literally cheats on his future wife and starts a tantrum over a pickle. -
Dangevin7 July 2010I just saw this for the first time tonight, having wanted to see it since it was released in theaters back in the 80's. Talk about a long wait! I spent the entire movie flip-flopping between being shocked and awed. I was awed at the scenario Pee Wee is simply dumped into, having woken up from an over-the-top dream, into an even bigger and more unbelievable circumstance. Then I was summarily shocked by him jumping on Penelope Ann Miller! His talking pig, a circus literally blowing into town and the ringmaster's minuscule mate all provide a zany background to further contrast Pee Wee's oddly adult, "normal" behavior.
The movie plays upon all we know/knew about the character and goes out of its way to misdirect and surprise with virtually every scene. Pee Wee instantly matures into a tender lover (when meeting his true love and 'following his heart'), and ultimately Pee Wee gets engaged to be married. In the previous movie, the Pee Wee we all knew spurns Dottie's advances much as a twelve-year-old would. Pee Wee's late-bloom puberty is creepy but mostly benign, manifested by a hair fetish, the allegorical "hot dog tree" he's cultivating, and of course numerous obligatory references to intercourse (both verbal and visual).
After spending an hour and a half watching him chase his bike, I was ready for this change in pace. This sequel deserves credit at the very LEAST for breaking the sequel syndrome and refusing to poop out another silly romp. And at BEST it can be described as whirlwind hour-and-a-half search for Pee Wee Herman's masculine identity.
That's not to say that it was masterfully done. One must forgive the long cuts, boring "walking" scenes and unnecessary scenes which make this seem almost like an extended second unit director's cut of what could have been a nice hour-long movie. Still it was good fun, and some of the long cuts really worked...such as in the kissing scene by the waterfall. Pee Wee and Gina's snog stretches the premise past the point of shock, into humor, then into disbelief, and again back into humor at the sheer audacity of the cut length. But with other scenes, such as the cheese sandwich scene - the humor just never seems to gel.
It seemed Paul Reubens knew with this script that it would be his last shot at working a different angle of his definitive character. Paul had outgrown Pee Wee as an actor, and even if this movie was somehow destined to be a runaway success and more were commissioned, I'm sure he'd pass. What else is there to tell about Pee Wee after the man-child matures? I'm sure it was something of a metamorphosis for Paul, personally.
I was happy with this movie, and saw it with the same adult eyes as I had seen tapes of the old stage show: long AFTER having seen Playhouse and Big Adventure in my childhood. Even though the roots for the character were more bawdy back in Paul's improv days, my introduction to the character was at its most innocent on Saturday morning TV. This movie served to really complete and close a story to me, in a satisfying and FUNNY way.
Plus, Dustin Diamond. WTF? :) -
planktonrules19 July 2006This is a terrible film and that's really a shame, as I actually liked the first movie, PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE. I think the biggest problem about this film is that instead of the episodic style of the original that placed Pee Wee in so many different situations and meeting so many different types of people, this film is too static. With a more well-defined plot, you are left with the film resting purely on the character of Pee Wee--something I really can't stand for very long. It reminded me an awful lot of PEE WEE'S PLAYHOUSE, in that the going seemed very slow and I just needed a break from the character after a while. This was made worse by a lousy and unfunny script--so it forced Paul Rubens just to mug for the camera again and again! Uggh! Plus, without the wonderful direction of Tim Burton, the film just seems lost and aimless in its pacing and plot.
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Pee-wee's Big Adventure was an unparallelled cinematic delight. It brought to attention the previously unknown Tim Burton, who provided the perfect starring vehicle for oddball comedian Pee-wee Herman (in real life Paul Reubens).
The mingling of Burton's kitsch aesthetic with Reuben's bizarre persona turned out to be a perfect match. Big Adventure had a very simple story to go from. Pee-wee wanted to be reunited with his beloved bike. And that basic premise was all it needed. Burton infused the film with a beautiful colour scheme, oddball delights and kooky curiosities, all played to the hilt by the irrepressible Pee-wee.
Pee-wee's Big Adventure turned out to be a surprise box-office smash hit, cementing Burton's place among Hollywood's brightest and eccentric filmmakers.
It took three years for a further instalment to arrive on the big screen. In the interim, Pee-wee got his own TV show, Pee-wee's Playhouse, and dominated the ratings as the host of one of America's most popular children's shows. Reubens took time out from the show in 1988 to make one more film, Big Top Pee-wee.
Big Top came about a year before Reuben's career was damaged after he was caught masturbating in an X-rated movie theatre. The character was effectively retired after that, and although there is talk of a new Pee-wee Herman movie in the making, I'm still not entirely sure it will ever happen.
In the meantime, we do have two of his adventures to fall back on. But after seeing Big Top, you wonder if you really want to see another one. Because the Pee-wee Herman you see here is not quite the one you remember.
It seems that Pee-wee has done a bit of growing up. Where in the first he was content to potter about his pastel coloured mansion playing with Rube Goldberg breakfast making contraptions and copiously caring for his customized bike, here Pee-wee has settled into an almost normal life.
Don't forget...I said almost! Pee-wee's now a farmer. He cultivates hot dog trees, tends to cows that produce chocolate milk, and he even has a talking pig, Vance as a business partner!
He even has a personal life now. He's engaged to prim schoolmistress Winnie (Penelope Ann Miller), and lives in a normal town. Unfortunately, he's forced to share it with some not very nice townsfolk.
But one windy day, fate blows a circus right into Pee-wee's backyard, all filled with curious kooks. First there's ringmaster Mace Montana (Kris Kristofferson, excellent). His wife, Midge, 2 inches tall, with a voice much bigger than she is. And best of all, Gina (Valeria Golino), the beautiful acrobat and star attraction, the woman Pee-wee falls for.
I think the reason Big Top Pee-wee isn't as successful is because it doesn't have a director who's perfectly attuned to the material. The joy of the first film was Tim Burton provided an eccentric outsider's take on life. But this film's director, Randal Kleiser doesn't have that quality. He doesn't occupy Pee-wee's headspace the way Burton was able to.
And the more Pee-wee tries to fit in to our world, the more apart from it he seems. He has no place in our world. He lives in one of his own rules and devisings.
Also with foreknowledge of what was to come for Reubens, you do get a bit uncomfortable watching him 'nail' Winnie, engage in a bit of two-timing, and the film even implies that he loses his virginity to Gina. With him still hosting a children's show at the time of the film's release, that makes it seem all the more unpalatable.
There are occasions where Big Top shows some of the similar quirks that made the first film so endearing. Like Pee-wee's farm animals sleeping in beds. Pee-wee plucking a worm from an apple to feed birds. And all the animals gathered around a table for breakfast. Danny Elfman also provides another whimsical film score to enjoy.
But Big Top never really ignites. It never bursts out with the joy and exuberance that Burton brought to the first one. There is a good cast, but they somehow look a little awkward trying their best to connect with someone as alien as Pee-wee.
Kris Kristofferson probably comes off best by playing the sincerity perfectly straight. But the one real shining light is the underrated Valeria Golino. She brings a passionate charge to the role of Gina. She brings Pee-wee down to earth, but is wise enough not to leave him there for too long. Because she knows he's always at his best when filled with childlike whimsy. She reminds us of the Pee-wee we once knew.
Big Top Pee-wee never inhabits the bizarre, unreal world that made the first film such a treat. I think Pee-wee has become too domesticated. If there is to be another Pee-wee adventure, he can't be kept on a leash. He must be allowed to flourish. That way we can enjoy the company of the Pee-wee we remember so well. -
I love Pee Wee's Big Adventure, the one in which Pee Wee Herman travels to Texas and California in search of his stolen bike and I bought the DVD for that adorable and funny movie! I saw this sequel and it's just horrible and I think the only scene that was funny was the scene with Pee Wee feeding the worm to the baby bird even though it was so obvious it was candy, one of those gummy worms. Anyway this movie is not funny and is a major snore fest and I can see why the professional movie critics who I don't always agree with hated this movie. I very strongly agree with them on this one and I have read that even Paul Ruebens (Pee Wee Herman) has admitted he wasn't to pleased with this movie!
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tmarchi5914 August 2009I'm amazed by the negative reviews, this movie was outstanding! I think you have to appreciate Pee Wee humor, but if you do, then I think you'll agree this movie is brilliant, just like all of Paul Reubens' humor.
One thing to note, I had not watched Pee Wee's Big Adventure when I first saw Big Top, so maybe my expectations were different. And I had to watch Big Top (and Big Adventure) a number of times in order to catch and appreciate all of the subtleties.
Here is a perspective that might help: Pee Wee's movies basically show things from the standpoint of a little kid describing his world once he grows up. For example, a child might imagine that he will have a bicycle that can fly and do all sorts of "cool" things that in reality are impossible, but he doesn't have the cognitive skills to think about whether things like this are possible. He just makes up his story the way he wants it to be. Pee Wee's movies bring those types of childhood dreams to "reality" on the screen, with a bunch of unique grown-up humor and some often strange but appropriate music mixed in. Taken from that perspective, these movies are absolutely brilliant. -
While I had this movie on my recording device for months, I only decided to now watch it because of the recent passing of Paul Reubens. This was his second movie as Pee Wee Herman after Pee Wee's Big Adventure. This also came out when he was also doing his TV show "Pee Wee's Playhouse" which was a very popular Saturday morning program for kids. I recognized at the time that Pee Wee was a little more adult-like in some behavior (like what he does to the Penelope Ann Miller character during their picnic scene) and I also knew about the triangle that would develop when Valeria Golino would appear. Still, it's mostly a kiddie-vibe much of the time since in this one Pee Wee lives in a farm with animals he treats like friends and welcomes the circus after a storm brings them to his farm though the other townspeople (who seem mostly elderly) don't welcome them. The first 30 minutes provides plenty of hilarity while the rest of it is more leisurely with some amusements. The ending seemed anti-climatic but I enjoyed this for what it was. A few years after this, Paul Reubens would get scandalized when he got caught doing something in an adult film cinema causing him to be blacklisted for a while. Be that as it may, he was surely one of the most unique of comic minds, that's for sure! Rest in peace.
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Brett665 September 2010In this sequel to the classic Big Adventure film Pee Wee (for some reason) decides to move to a dusty old town that looks like a 1947 time-capsule and is inhabited by hateful, old farts. After a violent storm one night the circus (for some reason) washes up on his farm and from there the film just kind of shifts into idle and coasts blandly until the end, in a series of generic circus hi-jinks and weird romantic encounters. Frankly the films' problems exist at the script level. The whole concept was poorly thought out and executed. In Big Adventure Pee Wee's motivation was simple but effective; to get back his bike. The straight-forward premise then allowed the character to be taken from one place to another in fairly rapid succession, all the while letting each unique situation show a different side of him. The road story was also perfect for quickly establishing what Pee Wee is all about; a grown man who cherishes a bicycle more than anything else in his life. It's sweet, it's something we can relate to in one way or another, but it's also very bizarre. Pee Wee is all of those things. Big Top doesn't take him anywhere, it only thrusts him awkwardly into a love story that is completely unwarranted given his emphatic rejections of Dottie in the first movie. "I like you, Dottie, LIKE!... I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel." So whoever decided it would be a brilliant idea to build an entire narrative around Pee Wee Herman having a love-life was totally missing the point of the character.
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wsureck6 April 2002I've tried watching this movie three times, and can never get all the way through it. Big Top Pee Wee is as bad as Pee Wee's Big Adventure was good. Other than some imaginative effects, Pee Wee looks like he fell out of the sky and landed in this movie. I think Bill Murray would have been better cast in a movie with this plotline, especially in the scenes where Pee Wee is acting like a dog in heat. Murray would make a convicing "hayseed" and slob on a farm. Reubens seems to strain in his attempt to make something of the unfunny material he's given...the characters around him are generally unfunny as well. How anyone came up with this farm, then circus plotline is beyond me. The film is generally devoid of laughs. An overall waste of the Pee Wee Herman character and one of the worst "comedies" I've ever seen.
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Rio-75 August 1999It just goes to show that if Pee Wee can fall in love, anyone can.
To be perfectly frank, the movie itself could have been slightly more realistic when it came to Pee Wee falling in love. Of course, it's a fantasy world. 3 out of 10. -
view_and_review2 March 2020Three years after Pee-Wee (Paul Reuben) burst on the scene with "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" he's back with "Big Top Pee-Wee." Big Top was slop. To begin with Pee-Wee was a farmer this time around. He was still donning his regular uniform, but he's traded in the city for a rural farm. Also different for Pee-Wee is that he's engaged and he was trying to get frisky with his fiance. That was strange to see from Pee-Wee. And even stranger was that he cheated on his fiance for the prettier and more exotic Gina (Valeria Golino). So, now we have Pee-Wee the player?
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SnoopyStyle26 January 2016Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) has a farm. EIEIO. His best friend is Vance the Pig and they have a secret lab. He is engaged to school teacher Winnie (Penelope Ann Miller). After a big storm, a traveling circus led by Mace Montana (Kris Kristofferson) arrives in town. The townspeople are hostile so Pee-Wee invites them to stay at his farm. He falls for trapeze artist Gina Piccolapupula (Valeria Golino).
Pee-Wee engenders some likability from the first movie. I never watched the TV show although I don't know how this ties into the playhouse. I like Pee-Wee but stepping out on Winnie is problematic. Winnie saves it for him. I like the pet pig but I don't think Pee-Wee should own a muddy farm. It's like somebody simply put a farm and circus together in a grab bag. -
BandSAboutMovies31 May 2020Everyone talks about Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, but nobody talks about this movie. I mean, it has Susan Tyrell - yes, from Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker and Forbidden Zone - as a miniature woman who is married to Kris Kristofferson. Why is nobody talking about this?
It's also directed by Randal Kleiser (Grease, The Blue Lagoon) and produced by Debra Hill, two people who I would also never think would have anything to do with a Pee Wee Herman movie. Sadly, this was the second and last of what could have been an entire series of these films.
It's also the debut of Benicio Del Toro, so why should any of these people make sense?
The idea of the film was that Pee Wee had become famous, due to the James Brolin and Morgan Fairchild film made from his last movie and now he is a Frank Sinatra-esque singer. Then, fame became a cruel beast and Pee Wee went away to live as a farmer. This is never explained other than an odd dream sequence, which is, I assume, all that remains.
Pee Wee and Vance the Pig (played by Wayne White, who helped with Pee-wee's Playhouse and art directed the videos for Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" and the Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight) were once content to make giant plants and romance a schoolteacher (Penelope Ann Miller) before the storm brings a carnival led by Mace Montana (Kristofferson).
Soon, our man - or boy - has fallen for Gina Piccolapupula (Valeria Golino), a trapeze artist who inspires him to be in the circus. When the town says no, Pee Wee uses a hot dog tree to turn them into children and...well, that's the whole movie.
The montage when Pee Wee and Gina finally make love is something that still makes me laugh to this day. This is so much stranger than the first film while seeming normal, yet it has less of the whimsy of Tim Burton, so that hurts it.
Lynne Marie Stewart - Ms. Yvonne! - is a bearded lady, the one-time Henry and Predator Kevin Peter Hall shows up as a tall man (what else could he be?), Matthias Hues is a lion tamer, former Bozo Vance Colvig is a clown (and he was also in Mortuary Academy), Terrence Mann (Ug from Critters) is another clown, Franco Columbu (Arnold's best man when he married Maria Shriver) is a strongman, Michu Meszaros (Hans from Waxwork and the man who played ALF) is a small person, Jay Robinson (Dr. Shrinker!) plays Cook, Kenneth Tobey (who shows up in plenty of Joe Dante films) is the sheriff, Leo Gordon (the Evil One in Saturday the 14th Strikes Back) plays the blacksmith, Frances Bay (Happy Gilmore's grandmother, plus Aunt Barbara in Blue Velvet) is Mrs. Haynes and former movie and kid host Jack Murdock is Otis.
You have to love that Pee Wee followed up his biggest career success with a movie about the circus filled with character actors. Of course, this made nowhere near its budget and that brings us back to today. No one ever talks about this movie. They should. -
peeweehoglie10 July 2001When I saw this movie, I didn't really like it that much because it didn't have a lot of funny parts and some of the jokes were not that funny. This movie sort of good and funny but not that good. Watch Pee-wee's Big Adventure instead because it is very funny and better than Big Top Pee-wee.
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Paul Reubens followed up the smash debut of his famous character with this interesting, somewhat muddled second adventure for Pee-wee. The character is now a happy farmer - with a talking pet pig - who's dating a cute schoolteacher (Penelope Ann Miller). Then one magical night a terrible storm just drops an ENTIRE CIRCUS onto Pee-wee's property. In no time, he develops circus fever, trying to come up with ways to become a part of the show.
"Big Top Pee-wee" is definitely a curiosity. It's not going to appeal to people who enjoyed the sometimes darker, more subversive tone of the first Pee-wee film. It plays more like a standard family film, complete with endearing animals. That said, it has its very offbeat, more adult moments, like an old lady making a reference to bulimia, or Pee-wee making "train through the tunnel" comments, etc. Add to this the conventional romantic subplot with Pee-wee becoming seriously smitten with star trapeze artist Gina (the very sexy Valeria Golino, in the role that officially introduced her), and you have a comedy with something of an identity crisis. Like this viewer said, it's certainly odd enough to maintain some viewer interest, but it is most assuredly NOT for everyone.
It's the talents of a truly wonderful supporting cast that make it worth sitting through. Kris Kristofferson has a charismatic, automatically ingratiating presence as the circus headmaster. The striking cult actress Susan Tyrrell is his minuscule wife, who fits in the palm of his hand. An eclectic bunch of actors were assembled for this: Terrence Mann, Albert Henderson, Mary Jackson, Frances Bay, Leo Gordon, Kenneth Tobey, Jay Robinson, Franco Columbu, Matthias Hues, Benicio del Toro (making his film debut, buried under dog-face makeup by Greg Cannom), Kevin Peter Hall, Lynne Marie Stewart. Amusingly enough, a very young Dustin Diamond is also in this.
Reubens also wrote the script (with George McGrath), and produced (with Debra Hill). It's not as inspired as the one he wrote with Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol for "Big Adventure", failing to come up with many truly good laughs. There IS one truly gut busting moment, however, when he recalls a famous sequence from "Big Adventure" quite late in the picture.
Not all that "good", but hard to just dismiss offhand, just the same.
Six out of 10. -
blainedayo21 May 2006This is the sequel of Tim Burton's spectacular "PeeWee's Big Adventure". Watch this movie if you are a fan of PeeWee. This movie is not a very good sequel, never the less an entertaining PeeWee movie. One of the most noticeable aspects of this movie is the use of animals for comedic effect. Examples are the talking pig, the sleeping horse, and the hippo in love. The important thing is to not take it seriously. It's a comedy.
And a PeeWee comedy at that. Never the less bad writing and silly plot make for a uncomfortable sitting.
But good PeeWee fun. My rating 5/10. -
MrsKat389 November 2019Ive watched all of the pee wee Herman movies and shows. This one is my 2nd favorite out of all of them. I actually have this movie on my tablet so I can watch it where ever I go. Lol If you give this movie a chance you will like it. It's a Very good movie.
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fntstcplnt4 May 2020Directed by Randal Kleiser. Starring Paul Reubens, Kris Kristofferson, Valeria Golino, Penelope Ann Miller, Albert Henderson, Susan Tyrrell, Frances Bay, Mary Jackson. (PG)
Listless second outing for Paul Reubens' popular character finds Pee-wee Herman living on a farm now (and engaged!), but then his idyllic life is interrupted when a storm literally blows the circus onto his property, and he pursues an amorous connection with lovely trapeze artist Golino. Here's a film that's so thoroughly misguided on several levels--placing Pee-wee in "real world" situations, severely tempering his juvenile absurdity, giving him sexual appetites, having him commit infidelity, and so on--that it's hard to appreciate the few times it's actually amusing ("That was so funny I forgot to laugh," indeed). Kleiser, taking over for Tim Burton, can't bring much pizzazz to the production, failing even to make the climactic circus show remotely engaging; Danny Elfman did return, but he phoned in the music. Hard to believe that in a Pee-wee Herman movie, the best moment--a dry line reading of the word "no"--would belong to Kristofferson as the oddly low-key and agreeable ringmaster. Underneath the makeup, that's Benicio del Toro playing the Dog-Faced Boy in his film debut.
39/100 -
Jim-50011 April 2003I thought Pee-Wee's first movie, Big Adventure, was brilliant. But this one had none of its magic and spunk. Pee-Wee didn't even seem to be himself. The only remotely funny part was when he dredged up the "I know you are but what am I" routine. But even when he did that, he didn't seem that interested. The only thing I remember about this flick was him lying under a tree with his girlfriend. Yawn.
I think Paul Reubens is a genius. But not in this movie.