While I had some reservations going into this – seeing a 60 year old Paul Reubens young himself up into this man-child certainly has creepy undertones – Pee-wee’s Big Holiday stays true to the Pee-wee spirit with nary a bad bone in its body. Going on a Pee-wee adventure is like diving head-first into a ball-pool of optimism and the brand is so anchored on visual pop, driven by colour and imbued with sight gags galore, that, in the current climate, this makes for quite the striking alternative viewing experience. Just harmless, childlike fun. It’s no Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (which is legit one of my favourite movies ever) but Reubens, co-writer Paul Rust and director John Lee nail the sensibility with enough layered gags and references to please everyone. The three bank robbers modelled after the girls in Faster Pussycat! Kill! KIll! – including *swoon* Alia Shawkat – was my personal favourite. Sad there was no Dotty cameo though.
Watched on Netflix.
