I am at once overjoyed and a bit concerned about the new Pee Wee Herman movie. In case you haven’t heard the good news, Judd Apatow has signed on as producer of a new Pee Wee Herman flick. While I am thrilled that one of the most hilarious and remarkable characters ever in film history is returning to the big screen, I am also a bit concerned for a number of reasons. First and foremost is Judd Apatow. I am not really that crazy about his movies. Superbad, Talladega Nights, Anchorman are all way overrated, and Step Brothers is one of the stupidest movies I have ever seen.
Apatow is going to demand raunch, and that could turn this film into a dud. Now, I know that Pee-Wee’s original character on stage was a little crude, and it’s possible that it could translate to the big screen. But there was something sweet about Pee-Wee’s naivete in Big Adventure; when that was taken away we got Big-Top Pee Wee, which did for Pee Wee what Godfather 3 did for the Corleone’s.
However, I don’t want to sound like a negative Nellie. I am extremely excited about this project. Apatow does bring plenty of clout to the project, and it is going to be big time. Furthermore, Pee- Wee is going to be co-writing it. (I am thinking about sending in a spec script myself. Why not? I dare say that few people know the Big Adventure movie as well as I do.) Further, after Pee Wee showed him the scripts he already had and which were a little zany, Apatow pointed him in the right direction.
But after Mr. Apatow read these scripts, Mr. Reubens said, “He was more interested in something closer, in the same vein and the same genre, as ‘Big Adventure.’”
What Mr. Apatow wanted, Mr. Reubens said, was “a reality-based world and a linear road movie.”
This is great news. Pee Wee on the road is a proven formula. Now if we can only get Tim Burton to direct it…