Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) runs away to the circus — or, rather, the circus runs away to him — in director Randal Kleiser’s follow-up to Tim Burton’s “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.” More a companion piece than a true sequel, “Big Top Pee-wee” finds our hero as a farmer with a talking pig (voiced by Wayne White) and a slightly insufferable fiancee (Penelope Ann Miller); his simple yet somewhat boring life gets a sudden jolt of excitement when an entire traveling circus plops onto his land, courtesy of a tornado. Soon, Pee-wee has circus fever, inspiring the ringmaster (Kris Kristofferson) to produce a new act that gives homage to the American farmer … and falling for the gorgeous trapeze artist (Valeria Golino). “Big Top Pee-wee” has elements that are even more absurdist than anything in that of its predecessor, though the film received criticism for also taking place in something resembling the “real world” rather than the ultra-stylized fantasy-scape of “Big Adventure”; the film was also notorious for featuring a bizarre sequence in which Pee-wee loses his virginity, complete with random B-roll images representing his Pee-wee orgasm. The film debut of Benicio Del Toro, who appears as Duke the Dog-Faced Boy. – IFC Staff
Big Top Pee-wee
