Until now, I’d not formed a genuine thought about Joe Manganiello. Not having access to “True Blood” helps … as does the fact that Magic Mike films do nothing for me. Oh, HE was Big Dick Richie? Good for him. Now? Well, now, I will forever picture Pee-wee Herman and Joe Manganiello spending BFF QT in a Manhattan rooftop tree house.
Fairville has got to be the most white bread town in the United States. This is the mythical town politicians dream of when they talk about retro values. Everybody is white (including all four band members of “The Renegades”) and the most prominent city venues are the library, the hardware store and the diner where Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens, but listed here as “Pee-wee Herman,” I kid you not) is a short-order cook. This is a town where the strict rule-following guy in conservative grey suit and bowtie is considered an oddity.
Now, despite the distinctive vanilla flavor, Pee-wee’s Big Holiday strikes a note of mirthful enjoyment right of the bat with an extended three-minute Rube Goldberg-esque sequence from bed to grill. While popular with the home crowd, Pee-wee is in a rut; could he use another Big Adventure? Enter Joe Manganiello … as Joe Manganiello. Bonding over a love of the candy Root Beer Barrels (no, I’ve never had one, either), Joe and Pee-wee become besties and after the five-second tour of Fairville, Joe invites Pee-wee to his birthday. The party will take place five days henceforth in Manhattan – but Pee-wee is not allowed to fly commercial airlines to get there. Joe insists that P.W. “live a little.”
Hmmm, how to describe Pee-wee Herman to the Herman-challenged: imagine a short, benevolent, high-strung, very lawful, very playful grown man constantly stuck in an adolescent state – but a pleasant one with smiles and giggles and laughter; he’s capable of being sad, but never really angry. His life is one big skateboard ride from place to place, but he’s stuck. He’s stuck in a dead-end town; he’s stuck in dead-end relationships; he’s stuck in a dead-end look. He’s still wearing the same suit he had in Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. I kept wondering if Pee-wee ever changes out of the suit. Is it part of him, like in Eraserhead? Nobody denies this is a weird character.
The birthday excuse is a long way to go to get P.W. back on the road, but it’s cute; I have no idea if Mr. Manganiello is actually a decent actor, but I truly believed he wasn’t just going through the motions in this comical friendship. It can’t be easy working
opposite a live cartoon character, and that makeup has gotta go several layers deep these days. Paul Reubens was 33 for the original Tim Burton film. That was thirty (30!) years ago.
You’ll forgive me if I overrate Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, won’t you? After enduring original Netflix “comic” disasters The Ridiculous 6 and Hot Bot, perhaps I got excited at a film that was clearly far better. Pee-wee’s Big Holiday isn’t exactly genius and pales compared to the original, but I found myself wearing a smile throughout the bank heist, shotgun wedding, portable salon, flying car, Amish country, and lonely backwoods adventures. The highlight, however, remains Manganiello’s devotion to their relationship. I recommend you see the Tim Burton first if this character might hold any magic for you. However, if you’ve seen and enjoyed the Tim Burton, odds are you’ll like this one, too.
Excursion, expedition, voyage, spree
Away from Squares-ville marches goofy Pee-wee
Visiting pal Joe, his new friendship indenture
Whatever you do, don’t call it “Adventure”
Rated PG, 90 Minutes
D: John Lee
W: Paul Reubens, Paul Rust
Genre: Pee-wee
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Are you up for silly?
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Stoicists
