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The HBO Original two-part documentary PEE-WEE AS HIMSELF, directed by Matt Wolf (HBO’s The Stroll), debuts FRIDAY, MAY 23 (8:00 p.m.-11:20 p.m. ET/PT) with each elements airing back-to-back on HBO and will probably be accessible to stream on Max. Our Chris Bumbray caught the film at Sundance and gave it an ideal rating in his evaluate that mentioned, “It will be the definitive work on Reubens’s life, and had he lived to see it premiere, it might have led to the final resurgence he never got to enjoy.”
Driven by a soul-baring interview with Paul Reubens, the person behind the enduring character Pee-wee Herman, PEE-WEE AS HIMSELF is the definitive portrait of the comedic performer, and a window into his never-before-discussed private life. Determined to right the file and inform the factual story of his life, Reubens excavates his kaleidoscopic influences, origins within the circus and avant-garde efficiency theater, and profession decisions, whereas reflecting on the reasoning behind, and the results of, severing his beloved alter ego from his genuine self.
Woven collectively from over 40 hours of interview footage filmed earlier than Reubens’ untimely loss of life in 2023, 1,000 hours of archival footage, and tens of hundreds of never-before-seen images from his private collections, the movie chronicles Reubens’ influences, from rising up within the circus city of Sarasota, Florida to his avant-garde theater coaching on the California Institute of the Arts. Combining his love of efficiency artwork and comedy, Reubens joined the legendary Groundlings improv group, the place he created Pee-wee Herman, the impish character that might come to outline his profession. Becoming a cultural touchstone of the Eighties together with his hit movie Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, and his sweetly subversive Emmy®-winning kids’s tv sequence Pee-wee’s Playhouse, Reubens selected to by no means be photographed or interviewed publicly as himself — a creative option to current Pee-wee Herman as an actual individual to not be confused together with his creator. From the Dating Game to common appearances on The David Letterman Show, Reubens by no means broke character, dwelling his dream of doing efficiency artwork in mainstream popular culture. When Reubens was arrested at an grownup movie show in 1991, his anonymity was destroyed and he fell prey to the media’s rising urge for food for salacious and spurious takedowns.
Occasionally sparring with the documentary’s director over artistic management, Reubens speaks candidly, and generally warily, about his private {and professional} challenges earlier than and after his arrests. Alongside interviews with artists and actors from Pee-wee’s Playhouse and distinguished figures in his life, Reubens overtly discusses additional authorized battles, his exoneration, his final resurrection as a public determine, and the apotheosis of Pee-wee as an adored and enduring cultural icon. The result’s a revealing, hilarious, and sophisticated portrait of Reubens, and a celebration of the large and indelible legacy he leaves behind.
Part One
Debut date: FRIDAY, MAY 23 (8:00-9:40 p.m. ET/PT)
Part one particulars Reubens’ childhood and need to be an actor, impressed by such tv exhibits as Howdy Doody, Captain Kangaroo, and I Love Lucy. He finds acceptance at CalArts, the place he hones his efficiency artwork expertise. At the Los Angeles improv group The Groundlings, Reubens creates the alter ego of Pee-wee Herman and places on a dwell late-night present that turns into a cult sensation and evolves into a preferred tour. The hit 1985 movie Pee-wee’s Big Adventure makes him a world sensation. Subsuming himself into the character of Pee-wee, Reubens hides his private life, and acknowledges too late that fame makes for a sophisticated companion.
Part Two
Debut date: FRIDAY, MAY 23 (9:40-11:20 p.m. ET/PT)
Reubens’ profile continues to develop with an Emmy-winning weekly Saturday morning tv present Pee-wee’s Playhouse, which unabashedly celebrates variety and nonconformity. The episode explores the casting, manufacturing design, and artistic technique of the present that ran for 5 seasons. Reubens talks candidly about his fame as a popular culture icon and the lows he endured as he confronted rumors, vilification, and the vitriol of the media. Reemerging as a cult determine with cameo roles in movies and TV exhibits, a Broadway revival of his Pee-wee stage present, and a closing Pee-wee movie, Reubens refuses to have his legacy be outlined by media scandals primarily based on false rumors. He shares closing phrases with the general public, reinforcing his lifelong dream to carry pleasure, creativity, and acceptance to everybody.
Interviews embrace sister Abby Rubenfeld, artists Gary Panter and Wayne White, actors Lynne Stewart, John Moody, Alison Mork, Natasha Lyonne, S. Epatha Merkerson, Laurence Fishburne, Debi Mazar, David Arquette, Laraine Newman, and Cassandra Peterson, and filmmakers Tim Burton and Judd Apatow.
HBO Documentary Films presents PEE-WEE AS HIMSELF, an Elara & First Love Films Production. Directed and government produced by Matt Wolf; produced by Emma Tillinger Koskoff; government produced by Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Paul Reubens, Candace Tomarken, and Kyle Martin. For HBO: government producers, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Sara Rodriguez.
