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

For the movie's poster/VHS/DVD artwork; the body of Pee-Wee impersonator Jeff Scott was used; with Paul Reubens' head replacing Jeff's.

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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

Sheriff: All right, listen up, people!
Mr. Ryan: What's up, Sheriff?
Sheriff: I got a call from Porterville there is a big storm heading this way, you folks better go home. Smiley, you start putting up the store.

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Crazy Credits

After the credits, a short cartoon plays featuring snacks singing about getting refreshments at the theater lobby.

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Connections

Follows Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

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Soundtracks

The Girl On The Flying Trapeze
Written by Danny Elfman
Performed by Paul Reubens (as Pee-Wee Herman)

User Reviews

The Only Movie I Ever Saw to Make Me Cackle All The Way Through...

Don't believe the low average rating below, Big Top Pee Wee is the only movie I have ever seen that made me cackle throughout it's 90 minute run time. Paul Reubens portrays the childlike Pee Wee with such wondrous physical gift, that if it weren't for the infamous movie theater event that ruined his career, he would be compared to the likes of Chaplin, Keaton, and the Marx Brothers. The story line also runs smoothly, providing bubbling amounts of sheer joy for the audience members to soak in. See this movie immediately and enjoy it as thoroughly as I did. Pee Wee won't leave you without tears of laughter streaming from your face, you can count on it.