Pee-wee's Big Adventure

One of my family’s Sunday evening rituals is watching a movie after supper.  Finding one we’re all likely to enjoy is a challenge.  The Princess Bride, The Karate Kid, and The Jungle Book are recent winners, so now my children know Mr. Miyogi and Miracle Max – that’s a real feel-good for a parent who grew up in the eighties. 

This past Sunday, we settled on Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.  It quickly became apparent that I was the only one enjoying it.  While I was laughing out loud, my eleven-year old became increasingly annoyed and started groaning and sighing and saying things like “Why is he talking like that!? Ughhghhh.” The younger two kids seemed mildly amused and said they liked it, but I think they were enjoying their older sister’s annoyance more.  My wife endured stoically…we stopped about half way through to start the bedtime routine. 

I won’t try to convince you that Pee-wee’s Big Adventure is funny any more than I’ll try to convince you there’s a basement in the Alamo.  But what do others think? 

I would encourage you to take a look at a site like Metacritic.  It’s my go-to when my wife and I are trying to decide on a movie or a new television show.  Metacritic compiles critics’ reviews and gives scores ranging from 0-100.  And there are links to individual reviews.  Rotten Tomatoes is a similar site.

Well, the movie got a 47 and that’s pretty bad.  Gene Siskel had not one good word for the movie.  Metacritic assigned his review a Zero. Pee-wee’s tequila dance and the Satan’s Helpers’ reaction has to be worth something, doesn’t it?

A link to Siskel’s review isn’t available from the Metacritic site.  It is, however, available through the Library’s ProQuest database.  I can’t really argue with the review.  Siskel acknowledges right away that laughter is an involuntary response and we feel what we feel.