Overview: Driven by a soul-baring interview with Paul Reubens, the man behind the iconic character Pee-wee Herman, PEE-WEE AS HIMSELF is the definitive portrait of the comedic performer, and a window into his never-before-discussed personal life. Determined to correct the record and tell the factual story of his life, Reubens excavates his kaleidoscopic influences, origins in the circus and avant-garde performance theater, and career choices, while reflecting on the reasoning behind, and the consequences of, severing his beloved alter ego from his authentic self. Woven together from over 40 hours of interview footage filmed before Reubens’ premature death in 2023, 1,000 hours of archival footage, and tens of thousands of never-before-seen photographs from his personal collections, the film chronicles Reubens’ cultural significance. The HBO Original two-part documentary PEE-WEE AS HIMSELF, directed by Matt Wolf (HBO’s THE STROLL), debuted FRIDAY, MAY 23 (8:00 p.m.-11:20 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO and can be found now across the channels & on Max.
Expectations: My first recollection of Pee-Wee Herman was HBO’s special ON LOCATION: THE PEE-WEE HERMAN SHOW from 1981 and seeing him on Late Night With David Letterman. He was new, fresh, and silly. I had no idea of his origins, but ‘ha-ha’, all of a sudden, he was there, and like most of us, I was amused by this man-child and his energy. I also recall seeing Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure and a few episodes of his stint on Pee-wee’s Playhouse. Back then, it was alright to know Pee-Wee. But I never knew anything about Paul Reubens, none of us did, by his design. With this documentary, that is about to change. Unfortunately, Reubens is not around to see it.
Gut Reaction: I’m kind of stunned. This documentary, in two installments, did not play out the way I thought it would. I should have known HBO would have jumped on something like this, as this is not the usual bio-doc, if that’s a word. All throughout the work, Reubens is talking back to the filmmaker Matt Wolf. Through the 40 hours of camera time, Reubens sits with the camera locked on him in mid-shot and goes back and forth with Wolf. On one hand, Reubens seems to be ragging on him tongue-in-cheek, but on the other, he appears to be grumbling to the director about the whole process. We learn quite quickly that Paul Reubens does not like not being in control. Yes, he controls what comes out of his mouth, but Wolf is setting the day’s plan and the line of questioning, and the final editing of it all, and Reubens hated it and said so, in his way. It is quite quirky, but after all, Reubens has been paid well to be quirky, right? I just could not tell if he was doing a pseudo-performance of snarkiness or if he was sincerely pissed. It makes the film all the more interesting.
What makes it fun is to hear in his own words and via multiple film clips, including from the HBO special, the life of Pee-Wee Herman. If you lived in the ’80s, though, you knew that story pretty much. But Reubens took the story way back to the shows that inspired him in his youth. He was inspired by such television shows as Howdy Doody, Captain Kangaroo, and The Mickey Mouse Club. He was raised in Sarasota Springs, Florida, which was the winter home of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. All that came into play later when he headed to California and started performance art work. Boldly, and with the need to be in control of his craft, he created his alter ego – Pee-Wee Herman. He lived the persona, so much so in every and all public appearances that Paul Reubens himself was completely hidden. All great for his career, straight through his breakout movie, but rough on his personal life and well-being. But he was riding the wave of fame.
I was surprised that Part I of this work, which clocked in at 1 hour 39 minutes, took the viewer that far into his career, and it made me wonder just what was going to fill up Part II, which was actually 2 minutes longer than Part I. The bulk of the second half concentrated on the casting, production design, and creative process of the weekly Saturday morning television show Pee-wee’s Playhouse. The reason for that much attention to it becomes clear as Reubens relates that that was the ultimate pinnacle of Pee-wee’s trajectory. For five seasons, that show solidified him as an icon to both adults and children.
All that began to crash with the first criminal allegations before him. Real life collided with his controlled public persona. Reubens muses that his created persona was possibly manifested not just as a source of income, but because of self-hate or a need for self-preservation. The tight control he put himself under, and when he slipped out of control, danger, and simple human behavior, tripped him up. We, along with Reubens, relive the sensationalistic accounts of his public exposure charges and, a few years later, his pedophilia charges. Naturally, they damaged his career, and we see him live through that in film footage and in his retelling of those times. Luckily, he did rally somewhat after all that.
The real shocker to this whole story is how this documentary ends. Matt Wolf does not end the work the way he had intended because Paul Reubens put a halt to the process. Reubens wasn’t trusting enough, wasn’t getting the control he needed, and he ended the interviews abruptly. For Wolf, at least, PEE-WEE HERMAN AS HIMSELF was to be the definitive showcase of Reubens’ talent and life. For Reubens, it wouldn’t be the definitive work because he wasn’t in control of it. The last we all heard of Reubens was an audio response to Wolf about what he wanted and hoped the documentary would be, and what message he wanted to share. It was literally some of his last words as he died just hours after.
Conclusion: Anyone who follows me knows I rarely like celebrity biographies. However, if you are going to do it and want me to like it, then more of an autobiography is the way to go. I liked the TINA documentary greatly for that reason, and this documentary as well. Paul Reubens being himself and getting out what he wanted to say made all the difference. Yeah, if you were ever a fan of his craft, then PEE-WEE HERMAN AS HIMSELF is a must-see. Find it across HBO’s channels and on Max.
Did Reubens get out of it what he had hoped? I’m still not sure that he did, but his fans certainly did.
