BIG TOP PEE-WEE
Pee-wee's 2nd and so-called final movie recieved mixed reviews from critics.
Here is a listing of all reviews on the internet:
Peter van der Linden
Andrew Hicks
Roger Ebert
Lawrence E. Evans
Desson Howe
Hal Hinson
My Review
As you've read, Big Top Pee-wee is not your average Pee-wee movie. I was extremely surprised how serious in tone it actually was. The movie starts off great, with Pee-wee swooning in a sparkling gray suit hamming it up as a Sinatra-like swooner. When sneaking out from his fans, he's dressed up as Abe Lincoln (which I laughed out loud) and then when they notice who he really is, he jumps in the sky and flies off (This ending part confused me alot, but I just went a long with it.) Then Pee-wee's dream ends (similar to the first PW movie, just without a real point.) The movie cuts to Pee-wee walking up and saying good-morning to his pet...pig. (What??? Pee-wee has a dog named Speck!! NOT A PIG!!) Vance the pig wakes Pee-wee up and starts talking (this really annoyed me throughout the whole movie for 2 main reasons: 1. I found him very unappealing and 2. He had as much point as Jar Jar Binks in Episode 1.) We learn Pee-wee also works on a farm and Dottie has evolved into a naive woman named Winnie. Pee-wee has a picnic with Winnie and gets his groove on and jumps on her. (I hated this) Then Winnie says, "Not in front of the children!" (That really ticked me off, because PEE-WEE IS A CHILD!!!) Another thing I hated in this movie was the townspeople and their hostility. Pee-wee asks for a pickle and he gets dissed bad. Pee-wee walks back to his farm and a freak storm hits. A circus lands and to make a long story short, chaos ensues leading to Pee-wee imitating President Clinton and cheating on his fiancee'. Then he gets down with her, joins the circus, does the Tequilla dance on the high wire and then the movie ends. Sure I left out many key points, but that's how it mostly goes. Some parts are clever, some stupid, some POINTLESS, some funny and some weird. All in all, a disapointment.
Pictures!
Pee-wee getting it on
Pee-wee and Mase (No, not the rapper, the ringmaster)
Pee-wee on the tractor and face to face with the townsfolk
Facts!
Big Top Pee-wee began shooting in January 1988 and was released on July 22nd, 1988. A mere 6 1/2 months later, which is incredibly hasty for a major release.
Source: TV Guide
The director, Randal Kleiser, also directed Grease, The Blue Lagoon and Honey, I Blew Up The Kid. He also appears unbilled as the popcorn vendor.
Pee-wee knows how to get down.