Last night, I went to the Brattle Theatre where there was a special screening of Pee-wee's Big Adventure in tribute to Paul Reubens who passed away late last month of cancer.
Unlike Jaws, I had seen Pee-wee's Big Adventure on home video but didn't remember very much of it. The only parts of Pee-wee's Big Adventure I remember is the iconic biker bar scene where he dances to "Tequila" and the conclusion at the drive-in where Pee-wee is watching James Brolin play P.W. Herman while Pee-wee is featured a hotel clerk whose dialogue is dubbed. And the thing is I'm not sure why. I have a fairly good memory of my childhood and adolescence. Yet most of the film somehow escapes me. So, for all intents and purposes I was watching the movie for the first time.
The scene which struck the deepest chord was the one set in the bicycle shop where Pee-wee tells Dottie, "There's a lot of things about me you don't know about. Things you wouldn't understand. Things you couldn't understand. Things you shouldn't understand. I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel."
Now I can see how those lines took on new meaning following his infamous and dubious arrest for masturbation in an adult movie theatre. But even if that never came to pass, Paul Reubens through Pee-wee Herman was not always easily understood and to do what he did, he had to be a loner and a rebel. For this, we are a slightly better people.
Notwithstanding, Pee-wee being a loner and a rebel, there is no doubt he took some inspiration from Buster Keaton when it came to physical comedy. He even resembled Keaton somewhat. Of course, Keaton never had to talk onscreen and if he did, he would have sounded nothing like Pee-wee Herman. In this respect, Paul Reubens a.k.a. Pee-wee Herman was truly an original. R.I.P.
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