The good and bad news is that the big screen return of Pee Wee Herman has nothing to do with his groundbreaking kids show. It’s yet another phantasmagorical road trip movie that’s nearly impossible to pin down. It’s meta, satirical, tongue in cheek, and embraces the absurdity and absolute nonsensical comedy from Pee Wee Herman. Sometimes it misses and often times it hits. But only if you’re one of the people familiar with Pee Wee Herman’s brand of unique comedy. “Pee Wee’s Big Holiday” is a subtle message to the audience that Paul Reubens is trying to put his character in to new realms and situations. With Pee Wee being in a rut, Reubens tries his hardest to introduce the character to unusual scenarios and it works as a spiritual successor to “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.”
Pee Wee is still living in his own house filled with Rube Goldbergian machines that pretty much fill his day for him. He lives in the small quaint town of Fairville where he’s a well known local and is a much loved chef working for a small diner. Pee Wee begins to realize that the world around him is changing, and his friends and confidants are all moving on without him and seeking greener pastures. His world is ultimately shaken to the core when celebrity Joe Mangeniello rides in to town on his motorcycle, and gains an instant bond with Pee Wee Herman. Like everyone else, Joe loves Pee Wee almost instantly, and the two discover they’re cut out of the same cloth, just in two different worlds. Joe Mangeniello has always had a wonderful sense of humor and his self awareness adds a lot to his meeting Pee Wee Herman. Pee Wee is so down to Earth he has never seen Joe in any of his more adult movies, and has a difficult time pronouncing his name. When Joe invites Pee Wee to his birthday party in New York, he encourages Pee Wee to take to the open road rather than simply hopping on an airplane.
Pee Wee takes the chance of going out to New York and seemingly gets in to a ton of unusual and surreal adventures that are just too off the wall to describe at times. He is taken hostage by a trio of bank robbing vixens, all of whom apparently jumped out of the sixties, he’s terrorized by a farmer and his nine lonely daughters, he meets a quaint community of amish folk, and even makes friends with hair stylists sporting ridiculous hair dos. A lot of the comedy is admittedly nonsensical and seemingly sports zero purpose, but it can sure be fun and even inspires a few amused eye rolls. Folks that know what Pee Wee the comedian is all about will appreciate his embracing of his non-formulaic comedy. There’s a pretty funny visit to a very literal snake farm/tourist trap, and a consistent running gag where a frightened Pee Wee screeches in a high pitched holler.
I’m also not sure why he dreams in Spanish, but the constant outrageous dreams of he and Joe celebrating his birthday are absolutely hysterical. Reubens can land almost any joke and he does it with sheer unapologetic absurdity from staging a tongue in cheek musical number while exploring New York, to a shockingly hilarious sequence where he manipulates a large deflating balloon to screech and moan with the flick of his fingers. Scenes like the latter have absolutely zero point to the overall arc, but it still ends up being funny. Overall, “Pee Wee’s Big Holiday” is a fine addition to Pee Wee Herman’s series of cinematic adventures that embraces modern comedy without going overboard or trying too hard to pander to younger audiences. I enjoyed the mix of nostalgia, surrealism, and genuine nuts storytelling that Reubens and director Lee provide long time fans.
Now Showing on Netflix.