Big Top Pee-wee (1988)

Pee-wee Herman is now a small-town farmer with a fiancée, but when a traveling circus comes to town, he finds himself falling for the trapeze artist.

Director:

Randal Kleiser

Writers:

Paul Reubens, George McGrath

Stars:

Paul Reubens, Penelope Ann Miller, Kris Kristofferson

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Reubens	...	Pee-wee Herman (as Pee-wee Herman)
Penelope Ann Miller	...	Winnie
Kris Kristofferson	...	Mace Montana
Valeria Golino	...	Gina Piccolapupula
Wayne White	...	Vance the Pig (voice)
Susan Tyrrell	...	Midge Montana
Albert Henderson	...	Mr. Ryan
Jack Murdock	...	Otis
David Byrd	...	Deke
Mary Jackson	...	Mrs. Dill
Frances Bay	...	Mrs. Haynes
Leo Gordon	...	Joe the Blacksmith (as Leo V. Gordon)
Anne Seymour	...	Pearl
Kenneth Tobey	...	Sheriff
Jay Robinson	...	Cook

Storyline

In the sequel to "Pee Wee's Big Adventure", Pee-Wee Herman has had enough with the fame and constant media attention he received after the events of the first movie, so he's now a simple farmer living quietly in a small town. But after a big storm blows their way, a circus ends up at Pee Wee's farm. So he lets the circus stay at his farm for a while. The circus decides to put on a show with one lovable star, Pee-Wee! Also, a love triangle develops between Pee-Wee, his nice fiancée Winnie, who's the local schoolteacher, and mysterious loner Gina, the circus' attractive trapeze artist. The outcome of this subplot is somewhat unexpected.

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Plot Keywords:

circus | trapeze artist | trapeze | punctuation in title | hyphen in title | 

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Taglines:

Hero. Lover. Legend.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

22 July 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Big Top Pee-wee - La mia vita picchiatella

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$15,122,324

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Benicio Del Toro makes his film debut in "Big Top Pee-Wee" as Dog Faced Boy. Oddly enough, about 20 years later he would play the title role of The Wolfman (2010). Both films had music by Danny Elfman and were slammed by critics as being weaker retreads of earlier films.

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Goofs

When PeeWee and Winnie are eating lunch, some of Winnie's egg salad sandwich falls on PeeWee's face and jacket. He wipes his face on her dress, but in the next shot it's not on her dress or his jacket.

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Quotes

Pee-wee: [milks cow]
[tastes milk]
Pee-wee: Mmm, chocolatey!

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Crazy Credits

The film opens with the late 1950's Paramount logo.

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Connections

Referenced in Swimming with Sharks (1994)

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Soundtracks

Tequila
Written by Chuck Río

User Reviews

Underrated sequel deserves a second chance from fans

Sequel falls short largely because of stasis -- even though its's a circus theme, the writers/producers kept ALL the action on Pee Wee's farm, unlike the original which was a road trip film. Like the original, many bizarre touches are present and Reuben's portrayal is amusing. Here he's a bit more seedy, including a very funny hair fetish. The romance is unbelievable, though, because unlike the original, here Pee Wee is coupled with two supermodel class ladies. Fine direction, decent acting, lots of freaks. Kristofferson is funny as the perpetual man who knows where everybody should go (he plays that one a lot) in this case with a midget wife who's very very small. Pleasing otherworldly atmosphere enhanced by the circus theme -- if only the producers had sprung for a TRAVELLING circus! Still, this one didn't deserve the acid reviews and fan neglect it received on initial release, and should be given a fair look by fans of Reubens' neo-vaudeville comedy.