Pee-wee's Ho-hum Holiday

The thrill is gone..Pic courtesy of Netflix

MARCH 27

Today is typical Texas weather. It was freezing and overcast this morning and now it is hot. What a difference 6 hours makes. Central Market is closed for Easter so I’m here doing this at Lakewood Starbucks. I will have to make do.

ELECTION 2016

The GOP Presidential race is getting so personal and nasty; it seems almost like a deliberate satire – a lampooning of the whole selection process. Most recently National Enquirer just released a sizzling story about Ted Cruz having 5 assorted, sordid affairs. I’m sure that no Trump operatives were involved with this most troubling turn of events. Trump and Cruz have taken after each other with such zeal, you wonder if either will still be standing for the July GOP convention. John Kasich hasn’t garnered a lot of delegates but he may be the last man standing with any semblance of dignity.

PEE-WEE

Enough about politics! This election has more potential for entertainment than for government or political discourse. Let’s just go directly to entertainment... I was happy to see that Pee-wee Herman was back after 25 years, with an exclusive Netflix movie .. Pee-wee’s Big Holiday. Pee-Wee (aka Paul Reubens) costars with Joe Manganiello in this latest rendition where his character embarks on a road trip to see Joe in NYC for a birthday celebration.

In the 1980’s, Pee-wee was charming, mysterious, mischievous and a little bit otherworldly. His TV props and characters all seemed like a well-coordinated send-up of conventional society. There was a flourish of campiness, focusing a lot on the canned perfection of the 1950’s style and culture that was frequently offered in 7 decorator colors. His TV show played with all the stereotypes (eg Cowboy Carl) and left people giggling whether they were completely in on the joke or not. He was ambiguously gay, although you might also figure he’s an eternal adolescent whose sexuality was yet to be determined.

In this 2016 movie, I was amazed by how really bad it was. The beginning of the movie shows him being awakened out of bed with a series of physical gimmicks similar to the game “Mousetrap”. His house is cluttered and dirty but no longer campy – no Cherry the Chair. In the first 20 minutes of the movie I never laughed once – he seems like a fat, pathetic nerd in pancake makeup. His friends and coworkers are as listless as he is – no gay genies or smart-alecky cowboys.

It’s all the more surprising because Reubens wrote the script. It’s like drinking a year old Pepsi that’s lost half its flavor and all of its fizz. I guess there really is an age limit on creative genius. I have only to think of Paul McCartney doing “Silly Love Songs” after the earlier brilliance of “Eleanor Rigby”. In a way, I’m still glad to see Paul Reubens in play – making the effort. It was a swing and a miss but there’s something to be said for surviving a quarter century to swing again.

CONCLUSION

The weather outside is downright beautiful. I will have to go partake and enjoy... enough of my television rants.

© 2016 Snillor Productions