Imagine if John Waters, David Lynch, or the Coen Brothers (never mind Frank Tashlin, Luis Bunuel or Jean-Luc Godard) were allowed the opportunity to bring Pee Wee to the big screen first! Pee Wee Herman is such an iconic and unconventional character that the heavyhandedness of Burton's direction greatly lessens his impact; what should've been a souffle ended up a pancake. Burton brings great colors and cool toys, but there's no bite, and the inherent, Freudian perversity of the Pee Wee is painfully watered down. As with all of Burton's films (and I still think this is the best), there are impressive flashes of style (which is where his true talent lies), but little, if any substance. The three sequences I think really stand out are Pee Wee's breakfast scene, Large Marge's immortal moment, and the tour of the Alamo with Jan Hooks (that gum!), all of which I attribute to great writing, not directing. In addition, there's plenty to recommend here, not the least of which is Danny Elfman's incredibly nuanced score. Paul Reuben's, the scapegoat of mass media puritanism, proves that fringe comedy (and pathos) can have a profound influence on both the public and the box office. Let's hope there's a sequel in the works
Reviews
2 Reviews
Maniac
(1934)
Sick genius
12 July 1999
Dwain Esper was a genius, an exploitative provocateur, a low rent huckster of all those nasty things people REALLY wanted to see in the deadening 1930s: child birth, heroin addiction, eyeballs popping out of cats' heads. MANIAC may not be his "best" film, but it's certainly his goofiest. In a perfect world, Esper, not Spielberg, would be considered the ideal blend of auteur and entertainer.
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