Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

This is a very difficult movie to appreciate. Or it may be a very simple movie to appreciate, depending on who you are.Have a look at the following movies, and if you see at least 1 that you really like from EACH category, then you'll probably enjoy "Big Top Pee-Wee".CATEGORY A ----------------------------Pee-wee's Big AdventureEdward ScissorhandsThe FallLabyrinthCATEGORY B ----------------------------Free WillyE.T.Anything by Walt DisneyThe Muppet MovieCategory A movies are fairy tales for adults. Category B movies are straightforward kid's movies. In order to appreciate "Big Top Pee-wee" you have to be ready for either. You have to expect some jokes & gags that only adults will recognize (mildly sexual, cynical or taboo: such as the cranky old lady's hilarious reference to bulimia), but overall the film takes the format of a kid's movie, with lots of cute animals, predictable slapstick and a cheerful approach, right down to the cheezy sing-song finale.I think it's the latter--the category B "kid" content--that threw off a lot of fans. The original "Pee-wee" was an adult film packaged in a kid's presentation. But this is the opposite: a kid's film in adult clothing.As such, the gags aren't as subtle & witty as adult comedies usually are. Like a Saturday morning kids show, "Big Top Pee-wee" comes on strong with exaggerated and hyper-enthusiastic dialogue, overt sight gags & corny action. This may turn off a lot of adults expecting the more biting, tongue-in-cheek comedy of the original Pee-wee.All the same, there are some classic comedic moments that adults & kids alike will enjoy. The whole "I just wanted a cheese sandwich!" scene had me rolling. I also liked the 1st picnic with Winnie which could easily have been a deleted scene in the original Pee-wee. The creepy townsfolk in general, contrasted against Pee-wee's oblivious optimism, provided great entertainment. But be forewarned, these acidic gags are sparsely presented. Most of the film is straightforward silliness, suitable for kids & young minds.Being a die-hard fan of the original film, and being a fan of adult fairy tales in general, I have a love-hate relationship with this movie and that's why I can't rate it. But I've seen it 4 times if that's any indication of how compelling it is. My gut says I shouldn't recommend it to everyone, but all the same, there will be a few of you out there who will really enjoy this flick. If you're a kid at heart, don't hesitate.

I recently re-watched this movie, not having seen it for probably 20 years. It was just so off the wall, I couldn't help but like it.In this story, Pee Wee lives on a farm and knows enough about agriculture to perform successful cross breeding experiments. When he interacts with the people of nearby town, we get the impression that the action is set in the 30's or 40's. The schoolhouse is one room, the cars are classic models, and the general store looks like a Cracker Barrel restaurant. That was another touch I enjoyed. The townspeople are elderly and reserved, so as to provide the Pee Wee character lots of folks to play off of.The plot involves a circus blowing into town during a big storm. Pee Wee invites them to stay on his farm, and they begin working on a new show. There are two sources of conflict: Pee Wee starts to fall for an acrobat, even though he is engaged, and the people in the town don't want the circus around. The way it works out is that Pee Wee and his fiancée break off the engagement and both find new partners. As far as the circus, Pee Wee gives the townspeople magic hot dogs that turn them into children who are then happy to come to the show. I thought it had lots of great humor, and even though it didn't all work or fit together consistently, I was glad I revisited it. Better than I remembered.

In this sequel to the classic Big Adventure film Pee Wee (for some reason) decides to move to a dusty old town that looks like a 1947 time-capsule and is inhabited by hateful, old farts. After a violent storm one night the circus (for some reason) washes up on his farm and from there the film just kind of shifts into idle and coasts blandly until the end, in a series of generic circus hi-jinks and weird romantic encounters. Frankly the films' problems exist at the script level. The whole concept was poorly thought out and executed. In Big Adventure Pee Wee's motivation was simple but effective; to get back his bike. The straight-forward premise then allowed the character to be taken from one place to another in fairly rapid succession, all the while letting each unique situation show a different side of him. The road story was also perfect for quickly establishing what Pee Wee is all about; a grown man who cherishes a bicycle more than anything else in his life. It's sweet, it's something we can relate to in one way or another, but it's also very bizarre. Pee Wee is all of those things. Big Top doesn't take him anywhere, it only thrusts him awkwardly into a love story that is completely unwarranted given his emphatic rejections of Dottie in the first movie. "I like you, Dottie, LIKE!... I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel." So whoever decided it would be a brilliant idea to build an entire narrative around Pee Wee Herman having a love-life was totally missing the point of the character.

Pee-wee's Big Adventure was an unparallelled cinematic delight. It brought to attention the previously unknown Tim Burton, who provided the perfect starring vehicle for oddball comedian Pee-wee Herman (in real life Paul Reubens).The mingling of Burton's kitsch aesthetic with Reuben's bizarre persona turned out to be a perfect match. Big Adventure had a very simple story to go from. Pee-wee wanted to be reunited with his beloved bike. And that basic premise was all it needed. Burton infused the film with a beautiful colour scheme, oddball delights and kooky curiosities, all played to the hilt by the irrepressible Pee-wee.Pee-wee's Big Adventure turned out to be a surprise box-office smash hit, cementing Burton's place among Hollywood's brightest and eccentric filmmakers.It took three years for a further instalment to arrive on the big screen. In the interim, Pee-wee got his own TV show, Pee-wee's Playhouse, and dominated the ratings as the host of one of America's most popular children's shows. Reubens took time out from the show in 1988 to make one more film, Big Top Pee-wee.Big Top came about a year before Reuben's career was damaged after he was caught masturbating in an X-rated movie theatre. The character was effectively retired after that, and although there is talk of a new Pee-wee Herman movie in the making, I'm still not entirely sure it will ever happen.In the meantime, we do have two of his adventures to fall back on. But after seeing Big Top, you wonder if you really want to see another one. Because the Pee-wee Herman you see here is not quite the one you remember.It seems that Pee-wee has done a bit of growing up. Where in the first he was content to potter about his pastel coloured mansion playing with Rube Goldberg breakfast making contraptions and copiously caring for his customized bike, here Pee-wee has settled into an almost normal life.Don't forget...I said almost! Pee-wee's now a farmer. He cultivates hot dog trees, tends to cows that produce chocolate milk, and he even has a talking pig, Vance as a business partner!He even has a personal life now. He's engaged to prim schoolmistress Winnie (Penelope Ann Miller), and lives in a normal town. Unfortunately, he's forced to share it with some not very nice townsfolk.But one windy day, fate blows a circus right into Pee-wee's backyard, all filled with curious kooks. First there's ringmaster Mace Montana (Kris Kristofferson, excellent). His wife, Midge, 2 inches tall, with a voice much bigger than she is. And best of all, Gina (Valeria Golino), the beautiful acrobat and star attraction, the woman Pee-wee falls for.I think the reason Big Top Pee-wee isn't as successful is because it doesn't have a director who's perfectly attuned to the material. The joy of the first film was Tim Burton provided an eccentric outsider's take on life. But this film's director, Randal Kleiser doesn't have that quality. He doesn't occupy Pee-wee's headspace the way Burton was able to.And the more Pee-wee tries to fit in to our world, the more apart from it he seems. He has no place in our world. He lives in one of his own rules and devisings.Also with foreknowledge of what was to come for Reubens, you do get a bit uncomfortable watching him 'nail' Winnie, engage in a bit of two-timing, and the film even implies that he loses his virginity to Gina. With him still hosting a children's show at the time of the film's release, that makes it seem all the more unpalatable.There are occasions where Big Top shows some of the similar quirks that made the first film so endearing. Like Pee-wee's farm animals sleeping in beds. Pee-wee plucking a worm from an apple to feed birds. And all the animals gathered around a table for breakfast. Danny Elfman also provides another whimsical film score to enjoy.But Big Top never really ignites. It never bursts out with the joy and exuberance that Burton brought to the first one. There is a good cast, but they somehow look a little awkward trying their best to connect with someone as alien as Pee-wee.Kris Kristofferson probably comes off best by playing the sincerity perfectly straight. But the one real shining light is the underrated Valeria Golino. She brings a passionate charge to the role of Gina. She brings Pee-wee down to earth, but is wise enough not to leave him there for too long. Because she knows he's always at his best when filled with childlike whimsy. She reminds us of the Pee-wee we once knew.Big Top Pee-wee never inhabits the bizarre, unreal world that made the first film such a treat. I think Pee-wee has become too domesticated. If there is to be another Pee-wee adventure, he can't be kept on a leash. He must be allowed to flourish. That way we can enjoy the company of the Pee-wee we remember so well.