If you are wondering why the doc “Pee-wee as Himself” (HBO Documentary Films) airs in two parts on HBO Max, it’s because both subjects, the late Paul Reubens and his alter-ego, Pee-wee Herman, are simply too much to be contained in one cinematic project.
Reubens, born Paul Rubenfeld in New York, embarked on a spectacular creative journey that took him from coast to coast, as well as across the globe, with more highs and lows than might be expected in a lifetime. As described in the doc, he was “a good vessel for it all.”
Reubens, who died at 70 in July 2023, makes it clear, as he addresses the camera, that he didn’t want it to be a “legacy documentary,” and that his wish was to set the record straight on some things, including his sexuality. Interviewed by gay director Matt Wolf for 40 hours before his death (Reubens had been privately fighting cancer for six years), Reubens’ playfully antagonistic banter with the filmmaker is reminiscent of Pee-wee’s “I know you are but what am I” taunt, giving the product a welcoming and conversational tone.
Not surprisingly, Reubens was transformed by early children’s television programs such as “Howdy Doody,” “Captain Kangaroo,” “The Mickey Mouse Club,” and “The Little Rascals,” as well as “I Love Lucy,” as a child. Raised in a loving, supportive household, Reubens’ imagination was allowed to flourish. After relocating from Oneonta, New York to Sarasota, Florida (winter home of the Ringling Brothers circus world, where he found inspiration), he became involved in theater. He surrounded himself with other creative and queer people in his teens.
Attending college at CalArts (with fellow classmates David Hasselhoff and Katey Sagal) he was on a path to underground and experimental performance. Following a brief move to San Francisco (where he hoped to perform with Cockettes offshoot The Angels of Light), he returned to CalArts where he met and fell in love with a man named Guy, with whom he moved into a “staggering” apartment in Echo Park. This led to Paul coming out to his parents. The relationship with Guy ended as Paul chose to focus on his performance career, which included a win on “The Gong Show,” becoming a member of improv troupe The Groundlings, and the creation of the Pee-wee Herman character. The unexpected popularity of Pee-wee led Paul to pursue his alter-ego’s career rather than his own, taking him from the stage of The Groundlings to an HBO special to becoming a regular on “Late Night with David Letterman” to a 22-city concert tour and a deal to make a movie, “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” directed by Tim Burton, for Warner Brothers. As his star was ascending, allowing him to hide behind his alter-ego, he was still keeping personal secrets, including his sexuality, in addition to being a “weed head.” As Reubens asks the camera, was it self-hatred or self-preservation?
A multitude of movie and television appearances followed. Paul bought a house, from which he could see the Hollywood sign, with the check he received from “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.” And then came “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” on CBS. He wanted to inspire kids the way TV had inspired him when he was young. He made it an escape into a pop-art world, with a message about non-conformity. It was inclusive without commenting on it, and being different was celebrated. The show was a critical and ratings success.
At the height of his celebrity, a few things occurred that threatened to bring it all to a screeching halt. His 1988 movie “Big Top Pee-wee,” directed by gay filmmaker Randal Kleiser, was a flop. In 1991, while visiting his parents in Sarasota, Reubens was arrested and charged with indecent exposure in an adult movie theater. Being closeted had backfired, and he lost control of his anonymity. The entire episode became a big footnote for Reubens.
In what can be described as a carefully orchestrated comeback, Reubens returned as Pee-wee at the MTV Video Awards in 1991. He made appearances as himself on late-night talk shows and acted in “Batman Returns” and “Blow.” In 2010, “The Pee-wee Herman Show” opened on Broadway and became a sensation.
The range of interview subjects is fantastic, and includes Paul’s younger sister Abby Rubenfeld (a lesbian civil rights attorney), artist and musician Ann Prim, animator and effects producer Prudence Fenton (widow of Allee Willis), Natasha Lyonne, S. Epatha Merkerson, Laurence Fishburne, Debi Mazar, David Arquette, Judd Apatow, Laraine Newman, Cassandra Peterson, Lynne Stewart (aka Miss Yvonne), Paul’s longtime assistant Allison Berry, artist Helen Whelchel, Tracy Newman (co-founder of The Groundlings), Allison Monk (aka Chairy), and visual artist Gary Panter.
Without giving away too much, at a certain point in the making of “Pee-wee as Himself,” Reubens stopped cooperating, and Wolf had to find a way to complete the doc, which he did. Wolf, whose history of docs about celebrated queers includes “Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell,” “I Remember: A Film About Joe Brainard,” “Bayard & Me,” and “The Stroll,” should be commended for his ability to craft such a powerful, revealing, and memorable portrait. If you find yourself crying repeatedly while watching a documentary about one of the funniest people in entertainment history, know that you’re not alone.
Rating: A-
