By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: courtesy of HBO
‘Pee-Wee as Himself’ is a two-part documentary series based on the life and career of the late Paul Reubens, who is best known for playing Pee-Wee Herman.
From the beginning of the documentary, Reubens seemed to indicate that he was going to be quite a handful during the interview process. As a filmmaker, this must’ve been a head-scratcher to a certain extent.
Reubens was very private about his personal life, and he remained that way until his death. No one knew about his illness. Reubens was a smart artist with flaws and a weird, eccentric personality.
For many years, Reubens stayed in character. He was Pee Wee in theater, shows, and movies, but he would bring that same character to his interviews and everywhere he went. It’s like he didn’t want to reveal his break from that character.
It all started to change after the scandal that broke out about indecent exposure in the movie theater. Reubens received negative press to the point where he stayed mostly inside his home in California. It took several of his close friends to talk him out of it, support him, and uplift him as much as they could.
The fascinating part about the documentary is the people he got to work with. From a theater standpoint, he got to work with David Hasselhoff and Katey Sagal. Hasselhoff later became known for his role in ‘Baywatch,’ and Sagal for the comedy hit show ‘Married With Children.’
It was also interesting to learn about his collaboration and friendship with Phil Hartman. They worked and created the Pee-Wee project, but their friendship wasn’t the same for various reasons. One of the things we wish we could have seen is how Rebeuns felt when Hartman passed away in 1998.
The documentary could’ve focused on whether he had any regrets or how he felt when he heard the news of Hartman’s untimely death. Maybe Paul didn’t want that part to be included, or the filmmaker didn’t feel it was necessary. We don’t know what happened behind the scenes.
Reubens loved art and collected anything related to it. His home felt and looked like a museum, and even his friends, like David Arquette, explained it well during the documentary.
It’s a fantastic documentary. I highly recommend it. If you grew up watching Pee-Wee movies, then check out this one on HBO Max/Prime Video.
Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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