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Big Top Pee-wee

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Big Top Pee-wee
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRandal Kleiser
Written byPaul Reubens
George McGrath
Produced byPaul Reubens
Debra Hill
Starring
CinematographySteven Poster
Edited byJeff Gourson
Music byDanny Elfman
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • July 22, 1988(1988-07-22)
Running time
85 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[2]
Box office$15.1 million[3]

Big Top Pee-weeis a 1988 Americancomedy filmdirected byRandal Kleiser.Astandalone sequeltoPee-wee's Big Adventure(1985), the film starsPaul Reubensreprising his role asPee-wee Herman,withSusan Tyrrell,Kris Kristofferson,Penelope Ann MillerandValeria Golinoin supporting roles. The originalmusic scoreis composed byDanny Elfman,who could not re-use themes from hisPee-wee's Big Adventurescore, due to contractual restrictions.[citation needed]The film was released on July 22, 1988, and grossed $15 million against a $20 million budget. Another standalone sequel,Pee-wee's Big Holiday,was released in 2016.

Plot

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Pee-wee Hermanlives an idyllic life on a farm with his assistant Vance, a talking pig. There he grows vegetables, dreams of being a famous singer, has a daily lunch with his fiancée, school teacher Winnie Johnson, and conductsagronomicalexperiments in a secure greenhouse. One day after lunch with Winnie, he walks into Mr. Ryan's general store to order a sandwich; however, his quirky personality is barely tolerated by the townsfolk. The localsheriffarrives at the store and warns of a large storm approaching town. Pee-wee rushes home and puts his farm animals into shelter.

After the storm ends, Pee-wee emerges from his storm shelter to discover that an entire traveling circus has been blown into his backyard. He befriends the ringmaster Mace Montana and falls for trapeze artist Gina Piccolapupula, the circus's star attraction. Winnie catches Pee-wee just as he shares his first kiss with Gina, and both women shun him for two-timing them. Pee-wee calls off his engagement to Winnie and convinces Gina that he truly loves her, whereupon she warms up to him again and they begin a romantic relationship. Winnie forgives Pee-wee after finding that she would much rather date all four of Gina's brothers at once.

Pee-wee attempts to join the circus, but cannot perform any circus acts. Gina tells Pee-wee about her deceased father, Papa Piccolapupula, a famous aerialist who died attempting something called the "Spiral of Death." She suggests that Pee-wee should try walking the tightrope in his honor.

The curmudgeonly town elders, meanwhile, hate the circus and want it gone. Mace attempts to placate them by inventing a new show saluting the American Farm. The sheriff will have none of it, though, and threatens to arrest Pee-wee on various trumped-up charges if the circus does not leave immediately. Mace capitulates and sadly tells the circus performers to begin packing up.

Pee-wee recalls one of his agronomical experiments, a serum that, when applied to one of his other experiments, a hot-dog tree, made the hot dogs reverse their growth and shrink to the size of cocktail weiners. He feigns repentance to the town elders and feeds them the serum-laced cocktail weiners, causing them to become children and lose their adult memories. With no obstacle remaining, the circus performs their new American Farm show for the townspeople (including the former elders), and Pee-wee walks the tightrope.

Cast

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Production

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Following the success of the 1985Warner Bros.filmPee-wee's Big Adventure,Paul Reubens signed a development deal withParamount Picturesto write, produce, and/or direct additional projects for the character ofPee-wee Herman.[4]Big Top Pee-weewas the first project in the deal to go into production.

Golden Oak Ranch,the farm where Pee-Wee lives.

The Paramount production was directed byRandal Kleiserand written by Paul Reubens and George McGrath. Reubens also co-produced the film withDebra Hill.Filming locations includedDisney'sGolden Oak RanchinNewhall, California,[4]and the auditorium atHart High SchoolinSanta Clarita.[5]Big Top Pee-weewas Kleiser's first movie for Paramount since 1978'sGrease.

During a 1988 television special, Herman acknowledged the long hours of circus training undertaken by the film's actors and that they spent a year and a half working on the movie. He also humorously compared himself as an actor toJames CagneyandSpencer Tracyand ended by saying thatBig Top Pee-weewas "at least as good asPolice Academy."[6]

Release and reception

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OnRotten Tomatoes,the film has a 36% rating based on 22 reviews, with the site's critical consensus stating: "Its endearingly oddball lead character gives it his all, butBig Top Pee-Weesimply lacks the whimsical magic of its predecessor. "[7]Metacritic,which uses aweighted average,assigned the film a score of 42 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[8]

Roger Ebertgave the film two stars[9]and, along with colleagueGene Siskel,also gave it a thumbs down on their television program,At the Movies.[10]In a comparison to previousPee-weeworks, Ebert claimed that what had madePee-wee's PlayhouseandPee-wee's Big Adventuregreat was "the characters in those have absolutely no connection with reality whatsoever, and that is why they were so enduring and enjoyable".[10]Caryn JamesofThe New York Timescriticized the film for making Pee-wee "slightly less eccentric" and said the "new, lukewarm, compromised Pee-wee is remarkably unfunny."[11]The negative reviews reflected the film's performance at the box office, where it grossed $15,122,324,[3]suffering from competition withWho Framed Roger Rabbit,Coming to America,and the re-issue ofBambi,among other summer releases.[12]In 2010, Paul Reubens said that Paramount terminated his development deal and evicted him from his office on their lot the day after the movie's disappointing opening weekend.[13]

The film was followed by another standalone sequel,Pee-wee's Big Holiday(2016).

References

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  1. ^"Big Top Pee-Wee(PG) ".British Board of Film Classification.November 17, 1988. Archived fromthe originalon August 27, 2014.RetrievedDecember 10,2012.
  2. ^"Big Top Pee-Wee".TheWrap.Archived fromthe originalon September 23, 2015.RetrievedMay 4,2013.
  3. ^abBig Top Pee-weeatBox Office Mojo
  4. ^ab"Big Top Pee-wee at AFI|Catalog".catalog.afi.com.RetrievedAugust 7,2022.
  5. ^"Film/Arts | 'Big Top Pee-wee' 1988: Original Storyboard Art SC3-JKL".SCVHistory.com.RetrievedAugust 7,2022.
  6. ^"Interview with Pee Wee Herman 1989".YouTube.May 28, 2007.RetrievedAugust 24,2008.
  7. ^Big Top Pee-weeatRotten Tomatoes
  8. ^"Big Top Pee-wee Reviews".www.metacritic.com.Retrieved2024-09-26.
  9. ^Ebert, Roger(July 22, 1988)."Big Top Pee-Wee".Chicago Sun-Times.RetrievedAugust 7,2022– viaRogerEbert.com.
  10. ^ab"At the Movies - July 23, 1988".Siskel and Ebert Movie Reviews.RetrievedAugust 7,2022.
  11. ^James, Caryn(July 22, 1988)."The World of the Circus According to Pee-wee".The New York Times.RetrievedOctober 17,2022– viaNYTimes.com.
  12. ^Easton, Nina J. (January 5, 1989)."Nice Guys Finish First: 'Roger Rabbit' Hops to Box-Office Top; 'Coming to America' Hits 2nd".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedAugust 7,2022.
  13. ^"Paul Reubens: Playboy Interview".Playboy.Archived fromthe originalon August 17, 2010.RetrievedOctober 17,2023.
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