56! 56 is what you are, Paul Reubens!
JA from MNPP here. The word of the day is: BIRTHDAY! Everybody scream! A very happy BIRTHDAY going out to Mr. Reubens today. I already threw him some Pee-Wee-less birthday love over at my blog, but... well, I can't help myself. It always comes back to Pee Wee. I know... if I love him so much, why don't I marry him? Oh I would. You hear me, Paul? Make an honest man out of me!
So... back to sanity. I don't think anyone can dispute that Pee Wee Herman is Paul Reubens' finest accomplishment. Whether we're talking the racier show he did on-stage in the early 80s, or Pee Wee's Big Adventure with Tim Burton, or The TV Show That Raised Me, Pee Wee's Playhouse... it's all gold, man.
But I think it's fair to say that Pee Wee's Big Adventure is what most of us think of first. Whether he was learning that there's no basement in the Alamo or the fateful tale of Large Marge or simply modeling a lovely little lady outfit for discerning gentleman police officer, PWBA is chock-filled with hilarity. Speck the dog! Francis! "I pity the foo' that don't eat Mr. T cereal!" I wanna hear what y'all's favorite part is. Give some love! If you need me, I'll be over here listening to reason. Shh!!! I'm listening to reason!
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15 comments:
If I can count as one big moment everything from the line "I"m trying to use the phone!" to the look on his face when he knocks over all the bikes to "I say we let him go." then I choose that as my favorite moment.
With your post I just realized that Paul Reubens played Prince Gerhardt Hapsburg!!! One of the best episodes ever..
It's a toss up between the way Pee-Wee proves he's in Texas, or the classic "Is there something you can share with the rest of us, Amazing Larry?"
Michael C... i almost never try to imitate celebrity voices (on account of: nerdy and overdone) but I must admit that I have tried to do Pee Wee's "i'm trying to use the phone!" properly my entire life.
it has to be one of the funniest movies ever made and it's still one of Tim Burton's crowning achievements (even if it was his first full length feature)
The line i like to use alot (sadly) is "I'm a loner dottie, a rebel, their's things you don't know about me, their's things you don't WANT to know about me..."
I love everything Paul Reubans does, but Pee Wee is of course his genius at full blossom. One of my favorite lines in Pee Wee's Big Adventure is when he's told Francis is taking a bath and he sayd, "Oh really, well where are they hosin' him down?" I LOVE THAT MOVIE!!!
the way mickey looks at pee-wee in his cute little outfit after the roadblock
and "merci blah-blah"
and, of course, the tour of the alamo
Best Part?
Easy:
"I'LL SAY!!! I'm going to start a paper route RIGHT NOW!"
--Pee Wee, dressed as a Nun, stealing his bike back from a prepubescent Wayne Arnold.
Dottie! His interactions with her are just priceless. I *heart* PWBA!
I'd have to go with the Amazing Larry bit...and knitting...and knitting...and knitting...
Oh, and all of Jan Hooks.
"...AAAND KNITTING! AAAND KNITTING! AAAND KNITTING!"
I need to take every opportunity to point out that much of the set design for Pee Wee's Playhouse was done by the incomparable Gary Panter, an amazing artist in painting, comics, toys, and design who deserves to be much better known. If you like Pee Wee, Panter's Jimbo in Purgatory is like a massive, dark mirror image, another crazed trip through a pop culture image of suburbia.
I love the part in the alley at night when a despondent and crazed Pee-Wee is coming into view from around a corner. His shadow appears first, extra large and menacing, then he arrives, little and skinny but still looking dangerous. (This is a great homage to German expressionist films of the silent era.) Some punks accost him, but he snarls like an animal and they all flee in terror!
I love the part where a despondent and crazed Pee Wee is staggering down an alley at night. First his shadow is visible on the alley wall, extra large and menacing, then he appears from around a corner, tiny and skinny but still dangerous. (This is a great tribute to German expressionist films from the silent era.) Some punks accost him, but he snarls like an animal and they flee in terror!
"I meant to do that."
And no one has mentioned...
"I know you are, but what am I? INFINITY! He he"
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