Review of Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016) by Rodney E — 20 Mar 2016

Pee-Wee/Paul Reubens has been a comedic hero of mine since childhood. I have been anticipating new PW since it was announced in 1999 or so and have followed all of its production stop starts since then.

The good news is that Pee-Wee is back, the bad to mediocre news is that it isn't totally classic. No big deal. Like The Force Awakens or any other reboot, this Pee-Wee adventure relies on call backs and in jokes instead of completely new material.

Seeing this from the beginning, it started off hilarious and creative but as Pee-Wee hit the road, it ran out of some steam. A lot of the jokes and supporting characters work but I think that there is one giant problem that I faced with this, the Joe Manganiello subplot.

I understand having a character come in to inspire PW to leave but aside from them being real life friends, I just didn't see the joke, nor did I think that his stature was enough to have going for that plot point.

So Pee-Wee wants to make it to New York for his birthday and keeps dreaming about their friendship? The secret word with that is half baked. Still, it was great to see the Pee-Wee that we all know and enjoy.

Reuben's mannerisms and comic timing are pure gold and his scene with the balloon, which was done on his newer stage show, worked as one of the better comedic scenes. I also liked the female robber subplot and the slight romance between the hot Alia Shawkat and Pee-Wee.

I almost feel that 3 stars or 2 1/2 is a all right rating for this. It is better than Big Top Pee-Wee and though it tries to ape it, it doesn't register nor is it as hilarious and classic as Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.