#127 - "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" (1985) with Ben Carpenter & Laramy Wells - 80s Flick Flashback

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:06):
Check out this. Video and you'll see there's a
little. Pee Wee in every one of.
Us. OK, maybe not.
I meant to do that, but inside this movie there's one big
adventure. Nobody hits me to that dude.
Big family fun from a man. Called Pee Wee.
That's my name. Don't wear it out.

(00:27):
Pee Wee's Big adventure. I don't make monkeys, I just
trade. Them the funds on video.
Cassette and DVD. Beyond its slapstick charm and
surreal storytelling, this 80s flick captured the spirit of the
80s like few films did. It blended childhood innocence
with the growing irreverence of the decade, influencing

(00:47):
everything from comedy to fashion and even inspiring a
generation of film makers who had gone to shape the culture of
the 90s and beyond. This is the film that not only
launched Tim Burton's directorial career, but also
cemented Paul Rubin's alter ego Pee Wee Herman as an indelible
pop culture icon. This quirky, offbeat comedy
follows Pee Wee on a bizarre cross country journey to recover

(01:10):
his beloved bike that was stolen.
It's 90 minute runtime is packedwith absurd humor, vivid
visuals, and a cast of eccentriccharacters.
So dust off your light grey suit, red bow tie and white
patent leather shoes as Ben Carpenter, Laramie Wells and I
discuss Pee Wee's big adventure from 1985 on this episode of the
80s Flick Flashback Podcast. John Hughes and all his teen

(01:34):
dreams, monsages and simply themes in Fairy's hands.
The city fans living life like it never ends. 18 bikes to the
sky. But this club just getting by.
Radical dreams and daring quests.

(01:56):
Back then we were our very best.In the 80s we will run.
Welcome. Welcome, welcome in 80s Flick
lovers. I'm Tim Williams, your guide and
host for all things retro on the80s Flick Flashback Podcast.

(02:20):
Get ready to dive into a thrilling ride to the
unforgettable films that defineda generation.
Think epic adventures, killer soundtracks, and those legendary
one liners we all know and love.We're absolutely thrilled to
have you with us on this nostalgia trip.
If you're loving the show, don'thold back.
Leave a glowing 5 star review onApple podcast.
And no matter where you're tuning in, smash that follow or
subscribe button so you never miss an episode.

(02:42):
We want to hear from you. So jump into our conversations
on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok as long as it's still available,
or YouTube. Your thoughts and memories are
what makes this community special.
Feeling generous? We've got a way for you to
support the show at buymeacoffee.com.
Every contribution helps keep the magic alive.
And don't forget to swing by 80sflickflashback.com and RT Public

(03:02):
Store for some totally rad merchand original designs.
All right, let's crank up the fun and get this party started.
Joining me today are two Co hosts who bring their own wild
and irreverent energy to the table.
First up is Ben Carpenter, who embodies the enthusiasm and
curiosity of someone who would gladly jump into a car with a
mysterious truck driver whatever, ending up in a rather
interesting situation. How you doing Ben?

(03:23):
Wow, I didn't know. I didn't know I embodied that
kind of energy. But that I guess that's good.
Thank you. I'm.
I'm good. It's good to be back.
That's good. And next we have the Laramie
Wells from Moving Panels podcast.
He's the kind of person who could effortlessly break into
song or start discussing a giantdinosaur without missing a beat.
How you doing Laramie? I I am great and I am so excited

(03:45):
to talk about Pee Wee. Yes, we are Pee Wee's big
adventure. I know, I know, this is Pee
Wee's big adventure, but do we need to get a A The secret word
for the day do. We let's see.
I know. Yeah.
We will talk a little bit about Pee Wee's Playhouse towards the
end. Secret word of the day.

(04:05):
Let's say bow tie. Well, if we hear bow tie, then
we'll we'll all scream. Yeah, that was the thing, right?
It's been a while, yes. Yes, whenever anyone said the
secret word you scream real loud.
Yeah, All right. Cool deal.
And then they would try it. Do you want to try it?
Yeah, let's do it. Bow tie.

(04:27):
All right, now that we're all inthe mood, let's get started on
the podcast. The dogs are barking now too
because I yelled. No worries.
All right, so, Ben, we'll start with you.
When did you see Pee Wee's Big Adventure for the very first
time? I I do know I saw it in the
theater. I was 11 years old, I think,
when it came out, I want to say,and maybe you, maybe I didn't

(04:53):
look up, you know, how it was released, but I feel like it was
released in a limited way at first.
And, and I feel like I went and saw it at, you know, my, I think
my dad took me to see it at sometimes we would go down to
Cheshire Bridge, had a had a sort of an art house theater

(05:16):
there. And we would go down there to
see, you know, movies like this that were in limited release at
1st. And I believe we saw it there at
for for the first time all. Right.
What about you, Laramie? I honestly don't remember.
I know I didn't see it in theaters.
I was too young to have seen it in theaters, but I was a huge

(05:36):
Pee Wee fan. And so this was probably either
a rental or I saw it on. More than likely I saw it on
like an HBO, like, free preview weekend.
I don't think the first time I saw it was on like, you know,
network television. Gotcha.
So I either saw it as a rental or I saw it like on HBO.

(05:58):
Yeah, I saw it in the theater, but I didn't see it when it
first came out. It had been out for a while and
I think because I don't know about the trailers, like I, I
knew how big of a hit it be it had become and people were
talking about it. So I knew I wanted to see it.
But the, the, the previews didn't really appeal to me.
Like I didn't really understand what kind of movie was or who

(06:18):
Pee Wee Herman was. So.
But I do remember a friend of mine, I think I told the story
once before, but a friend of mine, it was his birthday party.
And after the party, his mom waslike, I'll take you guys to the
movies. And our choices were Back to the
Future or Pee Wee's Big Adventure.
And the the birthday kid kind ofwanted to see Pee Wee's Big
Adventure, but I'd already seen Back to the Future And I was

(06:39):
like, dude, you've got to watch back.
Nobody wants to see Pee Wee Pee Wee stuff alone.
So back go see Back to the Future.
And so we ended up going to see Back to the Future because other
kids wanted to see that more than Pee Wee.
So it had to been a while after that before I saw it.
But so how long has it been since you rewatched it before
you're watching it for the podcast?
I watched it with the kids probably 1215 years ago,

(07:05):
something like that, and I don'tthink I had seen it since then.
So it had been a little while, yeah.
What about you, Larry? Yeah, it's, it's been several
years since I've seen it. This was actually my first watch
with my kids. So, so they, they, they're
familiar with Pee Wee because they've seen Pee Wee's
Playhouse. My daughter Ruby is actually a

(07:28):
big fan of Pee Wee's Big Holiday, the Netflix.
Oh yeah, the Netflix movie, Yeah.
Yeah, but this was their first time seeing that one.
But but yeah, it's probably it'sprobably been a good even I
would even say like Ben did you know, 10-15 years since I
probably last saw it. Yeah, I honestly could not
remember. Like I know I saw it a bunch of

(07:49):
times. It had to been on cable like all
the time. I probably had recorded it and
watched it a million times a kid, but it was just one that I
just never really went back to. And honestly probably until like
5 or 10 years ago, maybe longer than 15, maybe 15 years ago, I
had forgot it was a Tim Burton movie.
So being a big Tim Burton fan, Ijust didn't associate it.
But going back and watching it now, it's like there's so much

(08:11):
Tim Burton in it. It's not like full on Burton,
but you definitely see those little nuances that come out and
of course the Danielle. Floor, Yeah.
We'll talk about that too. So you know, from the get go
you're like, oh, this totally feels like Tim Burton now.
So all right, well, let's let's jump in with story origin and
pre production. So Paul Rubens joined the Los

(08:33):
Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 70s and started his
career as an improvisational comedian and stage actor.
He developed the character of Pee Wee Herman at The
Groundlings. After a failed audition for
Saturday Night Live. He debuted a stage show starring
Pee Wee called The Pee Wee Herman Show in 1981.
Pee Wee became an instant cult figure, and for the next decade,

(08:54):
Rubens was completely committed to his character, doing all of
his public appearances and interviews as Pee Wee.
The success of the Pee Wee Herman show prompted Warner
Brothers to hire him to write a script for a full length Pee Wee
Herman film. His original concept was a
remake of Pollyanna from 1960. It was Ruben's favorite movie,

(09:15):
and he would be it would be Pee Wee Herman in the Hayley Mills
role. Cast and crew members often take
bicycles around studio lots to get from point A to point B.
So Rubens was given a 1940s Schwinn to ride while he was at
Warner Brothers working on the movie script.
He loved it so much he decided to go away from Pollyanna and
come up with an original idea about the bike.

(09:37):
So I What do you think about thePollyanna remake?
Would that have been a good idea?
No, no, it would have. Been funny, but no.
Yeah, yeah. He does kind of have that
Pollyanna quality though, like, you know, a little bit.

(09:57):
Yeah, innocent. And yeah.
Yeah, naive. Yeah.
But it but it's still so crazy that he cuz was he given any
guidance to make it like a I'm not going to say family
friendly, but kind of tone it down because the Pee Wee Herman
show is adult. Right.

(10:17):
Right. Yeah, I think that's a good
question. I didn't see anything that's
that said they gave him any kindof parameters or said they
wanted to be, you know, toning it down for a wider audience.
I think they were just, they just like the character they
wanted. They knew the character was
popular and they just want to cash in, I think on the
character. So I think they pretty much gave

(10:38):
him the liberty to to do something with, with him wanting
to remake Pollyanna, that's a pretty family friendly film.
So that probably influenced him as far as like, you know, doing
something more family friendly. He was working on the script.
He had a long list of directors that he wanted to work with.
The studio chose not anyone on the list.
Rather than going along for the sake of getting the movie made,

(11:00):
he put his foot down and refusedto proceed.
Shortly thereafter, 1 of Reuben's friends mentioned a
short film called Frankenween Frankenweenie, the precursor to
the feature length film that came out in 2012 by a 26 year
old Tim Burton. Reubens was friends with Shelley
Duvall, who was in the Burton short film, so he gave her a
call. She agreed that Reubens and

(11:21):
Burton would make a perfect match and the connection was
made. Reubens said later.
It was the biggest piece of luckearly on in my career that I
could have ever had. So after hiring Burton Rubens
and his writing partner Phil Hartman from Saturday Night Live
and Michael Varhall revised the script.
They had read Sid Fields 1979 book screenplay and wrote the

(11:42):
script according to the book's advice.
Ruben said it's a 90 minute film.
It was a 90 page script. On page 30, I lose my bike.
On page 60. I find it, it's literally
exactly what they said to do in the book.
There should be a Mac Guffin kind of thing, something you're
looking for. And I was like, OK, I'll use my
bike. And that was it.
And I've read that actually likefilms like film schools will use

(12:04):
Pee Wee's Adventure as a perfectexample of following that, you
know, that screenplay formula. So.
Yeah, I I looked behind me when you said that cuz I thought I
had that book right. Right.
But I do have Sid Fields screenplay book went from when I
was in film school. For being a 90 minute film, it

(12:25):
doesn't really feel like that. It moved pretty well.
It does jump a lot. Like, I mean, it's it is kind of
like a scattershot at certain times.
It's one of those movies where like if you just caught like 15
minutes of it, you'd find something fun to watch.
And you could like see that 15 minutes and then leave and come
back 30 minutes later be like, oh, he's still looking for the
bike. You know, if you wouldn't like
have lost much of the plot or. Anything.

(12:46):
No, it it has some of those likewith, you know, vignettes like,
yeah, they had in like the classic comedies, you know, of
the the 40s and the 50s where itwould just be here's just a bit
in the middle of this movie, right.
And so yeah, it absolutely has has those moments, but those are
the moments we. Love.
Yeah, exactly. It's what makes it memorable.

(13:08):
The 80s flick. Flashback Podcast will return
after these messages. Are you a fan of movies and TV
shows inspired by comics? Ready for a podcast that dives
deep into the thrilling world ofadaptations?
But look no further. Welcome to Moving Panels, the
podcast where we discuss movies and TV shows based on, inspired
by, and adapted from the world of comic books.

(13:30):
This is your go to podcast for all things comics on screen.
I'm your host, Larry Wells, and every Monday we explore the
dynamic universe. Where?
Ink meets action. We breakdown the classics,
reveal hidden gems, and uncover the creative process behind your
favorite adaptations. Subscribe to Moving Panels now
on your favorite podcast platform and join us on this

(13:52):
epic journey through the pages of comics and onto the big
screen. Remember, new episodes drop
every Monday. Don't miss out Moving Panels
where every panel has a story. Every adaptation is a
blockbuster. Subscribe today and I'll see you
on the other side of the page. What seems to be the problem,

(14:18):
pal? There's so much pain in the
world, so many issues, I don't think I can bear it.
Hell, friendo, it sounds like you could use a dose of pop
culture roulette. Pop culture roulette?
What's that? Some sort of pop culture theme
podcast or something? That's right, Sonny boy.
When hope seems far, dive into some PCR.
But I already get my entertainment news from Variety

(14:40):
that's pretty good if you're a shucklehead.
PCR gives you news you need, condensed, unfiltered, and raw,
from three nerds who know a little something about
something. Wow, okay, sign me up.
That's the spirit. Pop culture roulette.
New episodes every Monday, available on all major podcast
directories. All right, well, let's jump into

(15:05):
casting. So there's really only a very
small like main cast, and I didn't really call them cameos,
so I listed them as special appearances.
So all kind of like. All the other groundlings, yeah.
And I only mean there was there was a lot more on the list, but
I try to only mean mention ones that like either I recognized or
they had, you know, some, you know, some kind of history to

(15:26):
them. But the film featured several
Ruben's fellow cast members fromthe Groundlings, as Laramie
mentioned, who had previously appeared on the Pee Wee Herman
Show, namely Phil Hartman, Lynn Marie Stewart, John Paragon and
John Moody. Hartman, Stewart and Paragon
will also later appear on to theTV series Pee Wee's Playhouse.
Jan Hooks was also a fellow groundling, and both she and

(15:48):
Hartman would go on to become cast members of Saturday Night
Live in 1986. So it's funny to me to think
that. I think by the time I saw not,
no, I probably saw in the theater before then by going
back and watching it on TV or watching it on cable.
Whenever Phil Hartman or Jan Hooks came on, it was like, oh,
there's the guys from Saturday Night Live.
Like it's hard for me to think that they were on that this.
Was before, yeah. Right.

(16:09):
So, but like right at a year, soit's kind of around the same
time. But so of course we got Paul
Rubens, who they don't use his real name in the credits is all.
I mean even the beginning. Is that was that was he lived
this character? Yeah.
Yeah, exactly. No one.
I don't even think I knew his name was Paul Rubens.
Until no. Until.
He until he was arrested much. Yeah, You know.
I'm not, I'm not. I wasn't going to, but yeah.

(16:31):
We don't have to. Yeah, I didn't.
Yeah, left that part out. So Rubens acted in numerous
shows and movies such as Murphy Brown, 30 Rock, Portlandia and
The Blacklist. He was also in movies such as
Mystery Men, Blow and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Reuben's Pee Wee character Greatest.
Death scene. Ever Yeah, the Pee Wee character

(16:51):
maintained an enduring popularity, both children and
adults. Playhouse garnered 15 Emmy
Awards during its initial run and was aired again on late
night television in the 2000s, during which TV Guide dubbed it
among the top 10 cult classic television programs.
And sadly, Rubens died of cancerin July of 2023.
So yeah, I remember when he passed away.

(17:12):
That was pretty sad, so and. Him, him, Jan Hooks and Phil
Hartman are all. All gone.
Yeah. It's crazy.
It's crazy. So before we jump over the rest
of the cast, I mean, Pee Wee Herman became like, this huge
cultural icon of the 80s. Now, I know there he was
probably too young to know how big of an impact.

(17:35):
But Ben, What? What do you remember about the?
Hold up now you're going to haveto come back to me on that one
because I can. I can go off on some cultural
impact of Pee Wee. All right, Well, you want to go
first go. Yeah, you go ahead I.
I oh, no, because again, I was almost prime age for Pee Wee's
Playhouse. Yeah, yeah.
So because again, you know, in in 86, I was 5 and that was when

(18:00):
Pee Wee's Playhouse premiered. So I was prime age for Saturday
morning Pee Wee's Playhouse. I fell in love with Pee Wee at
that age to the point where I had the the pull string doll.
Yeah, yeah, I remember. Which I still have the pull, the
pull string doesn't work anymore, but I still have the

(18:22):
doll. I always wanted cherry.
They had a cherry for that doll to sit in right?
Didn't have that, but I had. I mean, I had the, oh, what were
they called the back in the 80's, the little sticker set you
could get where you'd put the stickers on them, but then you
could take the stickers off. I wish you could remember what
those things were called. Yeah, I had.

(18:43):
Peeling stick or something like that.
Yeah, it was something like that.
I had that of Pee Wee's Playhouse.
I mean, I, I did the best I could to dress as pee Wee for
Halloween one year. You know, I don't think I went
and got the, you know, the trashbag suit or, or anything.
I think I actually tried to finda Gray suit suit.

(19:07):
And yeah, you know what I'm talking.
About. Yeah, yeah.
So no, IA 100% was behind was was a proud card carrying member
of the Pee Wee Herman fan club right when I was a child, you
know, just running around, you know, I know you are what am I,
you know, and and doing all of the the crazy Pee wee things,

(19:30):
you know, Mecca, like a high Mecca hidey hoe, all all that
stuff associated with with Pee Wee's Playhouse.
So no, I was 100% and even though I didn't see Pee Wee's
Big Adventure in theaters, I didsee Big Top Pee Wee in.
Yeah, you know what? I forgot that wasn't actually an
80s movie. I thought that came out in the
90s. So they'll have to, we'll have
to cover it on the podcast. So I I don't know why I thought

(19:53):
that was a 90s movie, but yeah, it's like 87 or 88.
I think it was like a couple years after, but but yeah, then
So what was was Pee Wee? Well, huge, a huge, not as big
of an impact as Laramie, obviously, but.
Right. No, I, I guess because I was a
little bit older and by the timePee Wee's Playhouse was on, I

(20:13):
think I, I, I remember watching it sometimes and thinking it was
funny. But, you know, it also seemed a
little too juvenile for I was, Iwas a cool 12 or 13 year old by
that time. I didn't.
And I do remember, I remember mybest friend at the time watched
it a little bit more than I did and I remember he used to always

(20:36):
say I want to be the baby. And I, I don't know, I think it
was Terry maybe said that, but he would, he would say that all
the time. He was, and I know it was,
quoting Dee Wee. Yeah.
Whenever they would play house and he and Miss Yvonne, and then
Terry would say he's like, I want to be the baby and Globie
would want to be the baby, Yeah.Oh, OK, I did probably sneak a

(21:03):
watch of the HBO special that was the Pee Wee Herman, the Pee
Wee Herman show that was more for adults as as we said, And,
you know, a lot of the jokes went over my head.
I I actually started to watch itagain last night after we
finished Pee Wee's Big Adventure.
And, you know, I'd forgotten a lot about that too.

(21:25):
But yeah, so that HBO special and then Pee Wee's big
adventure, the movie, and then after that, I was, I, I kind of
drifted out of Pee Wee land. Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, I do, of course.
You're you're right. He was, he was very much a
cultural icon in the in the 80s.I just, I, I kind of felt like I

(21:46):
was a little too old for him. Yeah, I will still to this day,
because, I mean, I, I think people know I'm a math teacher.
And if ever I'm graphing something, I will still to this
day, as I am graphing, start singing Connect the dots, LA,
connect the dots. I do.
None of my students have any clue what that is, but I will

(22:10):
still do it. Paul Rubens didn't really appear
as a non pee wee character untillike the 90s. 90s Yeah, yeah,
yeah. Yeah, because even, and I'm sure
you're going to get into this, but even when, if it's true, I
don't know if this is 100% true,but of course, Cassandra
Peterson has her cameo in this movie and then he returns the

(22:34):
favor in her movie. But he is completely hidden
because you he can't show his face because people would
immediately go there's Peewee. Right.
Right. So, yeah.
So to to my knowledge, yeah, she's almost unrecognizable.
Well, but she. Yeah, you you take the black wig

(22:55):
off of her. I mean, she's a natural redhead.
I mean that immediately she's unrecognizable.
But but Paul Rubens, I mean, that that was his hair.
That was his face, You know, there, there wasn't really a lot
of difference. Yeah.
And so you so, so when, when he makes his appearance and Elvira,
mistress of the dark, you know, he's got a full like a wig and a

(23:17):
beard and and he's just completely hidden as a as a
biker, you know, returns kind ofthe, the same favor.
There. Yeah, yeah, All right.
But yeah, it was huge. Like, like Larry said, you had
the toys, you had the TV show. I mean, he was kind of
everywhere. So.
All right, well, let's move on down the line of the cast.
So then we've got Elizabeth Daley, also known as EG.

(23:38):
Daley as Dottie is a bike shop employee who is Pee Wee's friend
and obviously has a crush on him.
But she's best known for animation voices such as Tommy
Pickles on Rugrats and it's Spinoff All Grown Up, Buttercup in
The Powerpuff Girls, Rudy Tabution Chalk Zone, and Julius on
Julius Junior. She also voiced the title

(24:01):
character in the live action film Babe Pig in the City, Bam
Bam Rubble in the live action film The Flintstones and Froggy
in The Little Rascals, but you can also see her in several 80s
movies including Valley Girl, NoSmall Affair, Fandango and
Streets of Fire. She was also a well established
singer who released 4 studio albums including Wild Child in

(24:22):
85, Laced Around the Wound in 89, Tearing Down the Walls in 99
and Changing Faces in 2008. And she's also in Better Off
Dead as the she's singing the the title song from the movie at
the dance, the homecoming dance.So kind of a brief cameo there.
And I will say I didn't meet herpersonally, but I did go to a

(24:42):
screening of Better Off Dead in Savannah a couple of years ago.
And she was, they had several. So Diane Franklin and Amanda
Wiss was there with the directorSavage Steve Holland.
And they had different people zoomed in from LA.
So they had her. Oh, I can't, I lost his name.
I see his face. Who played the best friend and

(25:04):
also played Booger in? Oh yeah.
I can't think of that actor's name either.
Yeah, but you know what? I'm talking about we all.
Know Booger? It's just booger.
Booger, Just booger. You know what it is.
Yeah. So he was there.
So it was cool kind of getting to to see her.
Any thoughts on her as Dottie? No, I liked her as Dottie.
Yeah, very likeable character. She's very likeable.

(25:27):
Yeah, yeah. And of course, you know, growing
up knowing Rugrats, I mean, you hear Tommy Pickles when she
speaks. Right.
Right, There's no doubt about that.
All right, I'll preface this with rumor.
Rumor. These are the other actresses
that were considered, quote UN quote for the role of Dottie
Lori Loughlin, Laura Dern, Phoebe Cates, Leah Thompson and

(25:49):
Jennifer Jason Lee. Let's just think of every, you
know. Yeah, every popular big Yeah it
girl of the 80s. Mm Hmm.
For that kind of age group. So, but I think she was
perfectly the cast and I read that they had they did not meet
until the first day of filming. And so even Burton was surprised
at how well their chemistry was from the immediately meeting.

(26:11):
So it was good, good, good casting there.
All right. Now we've got Mark Holton as
Francis Buxton, the spoiled manchild who is Pee Wee's arch
enemy. Arch enemy and neighbor.
His best known for his role hereis Francis.
He was also chubby in the Teen Wolf film series, Ozzie Jones
and the Leprechaun film series, and for his betrayal of serial

(26:32):
killer John Wayne Gacy in the movie Gacy in 2003.
Paul Reubens and Tim Burton's first choice to play Francis was
Rick Moranis because they wantedFrancis to be a nerdy antagonist
and they wanted Maranis to be a be.
They wanted Maranis for the partbecause of his performance as
Lewis and Ghostbusters, but Maranis turned down the role

(26:53):
because he said he wouldn't feelcomfortable playing a thief who
acts like a child, which makes sense.
I I don't know if I'm just picturing because because this
was 85 Honey I Shrunk the Kids came out in. 8680.
Seven. Yeah.
So no, he couldn't have. He looked, would have looked too

(27:16):
old. Yeah.
Like, it's different. It's different to be an adult
and acting like a kid that Paul Reubens and Mark Holton are
doing. Yeah, but Rick Moranis would
have looked too old to be playing a kid.
Or, you know, an an adult kid. Right, and he's probably shorter
than Pee Wee, so he's not very he wouldn't be very menacing

(27:38):
like I I'd liked the the kind ofsize dynamic between Francis and
Pee Wee, you know, So which worked.
It it would have been different,but I love me some Rick Rick.
Oh yeah. Oh yeah.
I, I, I, I can't say that it wouldn't have worked.
I think. I think Rick would have figured
it out. He would have found a way.

(28:00):
So Corey Feldman was also rumored to have been offered the
role of Francis, but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts
with The Goonies. But Paul Reubens as Pee Wee
Herman did visit the Goonie set once, as both films were being
shot on the same lot. So I don't see Corey Feldman at
all. That would have been really
because Feldman was definitely akid.
Why would you have? You know, it wouldn't make sense

(28:21):
for Pee Wee being the manchild to be bullied by an actual
child. Even though I mean even.
Though you got Jason Harvey. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah.
But I thought, you know, Mark Holden was perfect for that
role. I mean, he didn't really do a
whole. I mean, I definitely remember
him from Teen Wolf. That's probably the only other
thing that I really remembered him from.
No, I, I, I knew him from Leprecha.

(28:41):
I mean, well, I knew him from this, but yeah, no, Leprechaun
is one of my guilty pleasure horror movies.
And then and then, yeah, I'm oneof those serial killer fans.
So I've also seen him as John Wayne, John Wayne Gacy.
So. But yeah, he's one that you
almost wish kind of did a littlebit more.

(29:02):
Yeah, in my opinion. Yeah.
And then I'm going to mention this actress, not so much
because of all the work she did,but just because of the few
things that she did do. And that's Diane Salinger as
Simone, the tourist stop waitress who dreams of visiting
France. I only mention her because she
was in three films with Paul Rubens.
Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Pee Wee's Big Holiday.

(29:24):
But she's also in Batman. Batman.
Returns. Because they play the father and
mother of the Penguin. Yeah, yeah.
OK, I can picture that now. Yeah.
And once again on almost unrecognizable Paul Rubens,
because he's not he doesn't looklike Pee wee in in that little
cameo there. So but yeah, but I that's she

(29:46):
was she she was in a couple. She's been in a lot of things,
but very small bit parts, nothing that you would really
recognize her from. But I did you know, I thought
that wasn't that was I see that like every once in a while pop
up on the 80s. So you know, did you know that
this from Pee Wee's big adventure were also in Batman
return. So worth mentioning.
And then, even though she is in another pee wee movie, plays a

(30:07):
completely different. Character.
Character. Yeah, exactly.
All right, so now we get into our special appearances, and
these are in no particular order.
We've got Professor Toro Tanaka as the Butler of the Buxton
family. Of course, he was best known for
his work in the www.federation from 67 to 78.
He was a three time tag team champion with partner Mr. Fuji

(30:29):
and a one time international tagteam champion with Mitsui
Orakawa. In 2019, he was posthumously
inducted in the WWE Hall of Fameas a Legacy member.
So with Laramie being a huge wrestling fan, but he would
appreciate the references there.But yeah, recognized him
immediately. And then we've got Jan.

(30:49):
Oh, hold up, hold up, hold up. We, we can't, we can't move on
and not talk about the fact thathe is sub zero in the running
man. Oh.
That's right, he is sub zero in the running man.
Yeah. He's the he's the 1st first guy
to go after Arnold and the running man.
That's right, that's right. Thank you for bringing that up.
Keep me honest. So next we got Jan Hooks we

(31:12):
mentioned about mentioned beforeas Tina, the Alamo tour guide.
She's best known for her 10 yearold Saturday Night Live, where
she was repertory player from 86to 91.
After SNL, she continued to makecameo appearances until 1994.
She also did work as a regular on the last two seasons of
Designing Women, a recurring role on Third Rock from the Sun

(31:35):
with another great comedy, and anumber of other films and
television roles, including 30 Rock and The Simpsons.
My favorite fact is she improvised all the dialogue for
her scenes as the Alamo tour guide, so everything she said
was completely improvised, whichI thought was hilarious.
Yeah, impressive too. Yeah, exactly.

(31:55):
Well, you know, come from the groundlings.
I mean, that you're just, you'reprimed for that kind of stuff.
Yeah. So.
And then as Larry mentioned, we got Cassandra Peterson as biker
Mama of Satan's helpers. She's best known for her
portrayal of horror Hostess character Elvira, Mistress of
the Dark. She gained fame on L as
television station KHJTV and herstage persona as Elvira hosting

(32:18):
Elvira's movie Macabre. Macabre.
I never say that word. A weekly B movie presentation so
and you can actually see a portrait of Elvira on the wall
of the Mario's Magic Shop at thebeginning of the movie.
I noticed that. I did, I did.
I never noticed. That yeah, I noticed like I, I
looked at it and I thought maybeit was.

(32:39):
And then when I saw it on the onwhen I was doing research, I was
like, OK, I, my eyes weren't deceiving me.
That really was a picture of her.
So, And at that point, I forgot that she was, I knew they were
friends. I'd forgot that she actually had
a cameo in the movie until she popped up later.
So all right, next on the list, we also mentioned him, Jason
Hervey as Kevin Morton, the bratty child star.
His early career, he had small roles in films including Back to

(33:02):
the Future, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Meatballs Part 2,
Police Academy 2, their First assignment.
He also had a recurring role as Charlie in the final season of
Different Strokes, but his big break came as Casper of the of
the successful family dramedy The Wonder Years, as the older
brother of Fred Savage's character.
That's probably what most peopleremember in front, but yeah.

(33:24):
And if you want another WWEWWF reference, he actually went on
to be a writer. For the oh, did he really?
OK, I I did not do that. Moving down the list, Phil
Hartman has a cameo as a reporter.
Of course, we know he was on Saturday Night Live.
He was also in movies like Houseguest, Sergeant Bilko,

(33:44):
Jingle all the Way and small soldiers had to mention him.
And then we've got James Brolin as PW because they wouldn't call
him Pee Wee because of his, you know, being an action star.
But best known for his TV roles.Stephen Kiley on Marcus Welby,
MD from 69 to 76. He was also on the TV show Hotel
from 83 to 88, which is what I remember him from, and John

(34:06):
Short and Life in Pieces from 2015 to 2019.
He is also the father of actor Josh Brolin, if you did not know
that. So yeah.
That's how I described him to rubies who were watching.
See that guy? That's the guy who played
Thanos's ad. Right.
So he made this and he made thisin 85 and Josh was making

(34:28):
Goonies are probably around the same time where they both
released the same time. So and then Morgan Fairchild as
Dottie, quote UN quote in the movie version at the end.
She began her career on the CBS daytime soap opera Search for
Tomorrow. She was on Dallas.
You know, she'd been in TV showslike Murphy Brown, 2 1/2 Men,
Roseanne Sybil and friends. Rumor rumor.

(34:49):
Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner were considered to play Pee Wee
and Dottie instead of James Rowland, which would have been a
nice little nod to the fall guy,which is pretty cool.
People today wouldn't know this,but I'm sure we recognize the
band filming their music video during the chase scene.
Was Twisted Sister best known for their songs We're Not going
to Take It and I Want to Rock, both of which were associated

(35:12):
with music videos noted for the sense of slapstick humor.
So yeah, I was like that were they were definitely popular at
that time. So that's probably why it made
sense to have them. I didn't recognize the song they
were singing though. I didn't know if that was a real
Twisted Sister song or if they just made that up for the movie.
I didn't look that up and I was kind of the same thing.

(35:33):
Was like, why wouldn't they do asong that was already popular?
Why do such a weird song? Licensing.
That's yeah. Probably.
Probably. And then director Tim Burton has
an uncredited cameo appearance as the street thug who confronts
Pee Wee in a rainy back alley. Most people say it's hard to
recognize him because once again, he was only 26, so he

(35:55):
looked very different. And then of.
Course I'm better. I never knew that.
I didn't recognize him even watching it last night.
Oh yeah, I didn't. I didn't recognize him either.
So. And then veteran comedy star
Milton Berle has an also also, yeah, uncredited cameo for Pee
Wee's way to sneak onto the Warner Brothers set at the end.
So. I just watched the movie

(36:16):
Saturday Night, which has JK Simmons playing Milton Burl.
And then if you've seen it, it'sit's kind of weird to then see
the real Milton Burl. It's like, OK, yeah, I know
something about that guy all. Right.
All right. Anybody else on the cast that I
might? I know that there was tons of

(36:37):
other people on there, but like I said, I trying to keep it
short, but anybody that I overlooked that you felt worth
mentioning? I think you hit all the the main
ones. All the ones you recognized.
Well, I mean, like, I recognize the hobo that's on the train,
right? Right.
He's one of the character actors.
He's one of those, that guy. Yeah, I, I couldn't necessarily

(36:58):
maybe pinpoint what other movieshe's been in, but I know I've
seen him and other stuff. Yeah, yeah, definitely one of
those, that guy. Same thing with the amazing
Larry. Like I know I've seen him and
other stuff so. Have something to share?
Amazing, Larry. Yeah, man, so funny.
Oh, and the guy who actually stole the bike at the at the

(37:20):
beginning, the guy who who was paid by Francis, He's he's in a
ton of stuff too. I don't know his name.
Yeah, like he looks vaguely familiar, but I couldn't really
place him, but yeah. He always plays like a a 50s St.
tough. Which is exactly what he was
playing in that, you know? Yeah.
Yeah. Definitely get that 50s vibe.
Yeah. All right, well, let's talk

(37:42):
about iconic scenes. I there.
This one's easy for me, but I'lllet you guys go first.
Someone says Pee Wee's big adventure was the first thing
that pops in your head. Larry's got, like, 16 of them.
So I let Ben go first. He can narrow his down.
Well, I have two. I think when I was a kid the the
scene that I remembered the mostwas Large Marge.

(38:04):
Oh, of course, because it it, you were scrummatized.
Yeah, right. Exactly.
It's like I thought this was a comedy.
You. Know.
And but then, you know, later, I, you know, it's, it's the bar
scene and the, the, the tequila,you know, dance to, to tequila

(38:25):
on the bar top. Yeah.
Yeah, so while we're talking about Large Marge, I'll read my
little trivia about that one. Large Marge almost got the axe
from the final cut of the movie.It's one of the most memorable
scenes in the entire movie, but it almost didn't make it to the
screen. Burton said.
I almost cut the best thing before an audience saw it.
It was a special effect. And those are usually the first

(38:46):
things to go. IFC lists the scene as #5 on
their list of 25 scariest moments in non horror movies.
And I didn't do this when I watched it, but if you watch
carefully, when Large Marge talks, she doesn't blink, not
even once. She does the whole story without
blinking. So like, that's pretty cool.

(39:08):
So yeah. That is where Sir Anthony
Hopkins got the idea for Hannibal.
Like, all right, Larry, what yougot for iconic scene?
No, both of those. Yeah, Large Marge, I I had told
Ruby about it and then it happened and and she was like,
that wasn't scary. I was like, well, that's because
1, you knew it was coming and two, you were already familiar

(39:31):
with Tim Burton, right? Right.
Because that was, that was Beetlejuice.
Like that was the first, yeah, indication of the his style of
animation with Beetlejuice. Yeah, both of those.
I honestly, I'll even just go right straight from the
beginning. Like the opening scene where
he's getting up and the sliding down, you know, Batman sliding

(39:52):
down the pole, right, right. Getting it, you know, into his
suit and the the Rube Goldberg breakfast machine, which I love.
He takes like 2 bites of the cereal and that's.
And then and then dabs the. Corner of his mouth.
And I also got a kick out of theMr. T cereal, which I also love

(40:13):
that that it's here's Pee Wee Herman, who people only know him
as Pee Wee Herman with a Mr. T cereal.
Another 80s character, right, right.
The the man live that character.Oh yeah, still does, yeah.
Oh yeah, but I also love that the IT was new Mr. T cereal.
Like the word new was on it. Man, I'm I missed that cereal.

(40:38):
I actually remember that cereal.Yeah.
It was very similar to Captain Crunch.
Like it was, it was. Yeah, because I would tear the
roof of your mouth up. You had to let it Sid that milk
for the extra few minutes like you had to catch that just the
right time before it like becamejust like mush.
But it wasn't going to tear up the top of your mouth.
But I love. I love that feeling of like

(40:58):
crunching it against the top of your mouth.
Some people do. Yeah, yeah, I'm not one of the.
You paid for it later, right? Some people do, yeah.
But yeah, that I think a lot of the stuff at the beginning,
because there's that, there's the the, I mean, honestly,
Francis in his swimming pool bathtub.
Yeah, yeah. And the way he's, he's playing

(41:21):
with the ships and, but even even the magic shop, like I
wanted a shop like that right near me when I was a kid, Like
I, I wanted that stuff. So yeah, I mean, everything.
That movie for me again, as a huge Pee Wee Herman fan as a
child, like it was as a child, I'm 43 years old, I still love

(41:41):
Pee Wee Herman. The everything about that movie.
I love every moment of it. You know, it's one of those as
I'm getting to now watch it withmy kids, you know, I'm just, oh,
watch this, watch this, watch this, or I'm just sitting there
quoting, you know, Bethany was actually she was so excited
about and this is kind of getting to maybe like a a

(42:03):
favorite quote or whatnot. But but the the I'm in Texas.
No, really, the stars at night are big and bright deep in the
heart of Texas, right? That's such a great scene.
And then they follow up just a few, a few couple of scenes
later with the I remember. Yeah, the album, it's all good,

(42:27):
Yeah. Yeah, it's.
Just so this I love everything about this movie.
So the whole, the whole thing ismy whole.
Thing is, there you go. Gotcha, gotcha.
Yeah, the iconic scene for me was the bar like the Pee Wee
Herman dance, just because it became so iconic after that.
And then the the song Tequila Large Marge is also iconic.

(42:50):
I mean, that was that's probablyone of the one of the main
scenes that I remember from the movie years later.
So I'll be Yeah, but favorite scenes?
My favorite scene, and I did have a few, I had to kind of
narrow it down. My favorite scene is when Pee
Wee saves the pets from the burning pet shop.
And he? Looks at the snacks and.

(43:12):
Keeps looking at the snakes. And even watching it now, it's
like, I was just like couldn't wait for me to get to the snakes
like I was that was like it was so much fun.
And it's such a like, once again, one of those vignettes
like it, it doesn't do anything for the plot.
It's just there for, like, pure comedy effect.
But yeah, I just, I love that. And like everything he brings
out, like the rats and like the birds, like what all is in this

(43:35):
pet shop. And then the fire never gets
bigger or smaller. It's just the same fire the
whole time, so. And I like, you know, I'm, I'm a
big, anybody listens to my podcast knows that I'm all about
the logic of a movie. Yes, yes, I like that.
They show him actually getting fish.
When he walks out, you clearly know there's no way he got all

(43:55):
the fish. In fact, when he goes back in
after the snakes, you can see fish in a tank.
But I love that they just have him say, right, there's still
more fish in there, yes. Exactly.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Perfect, by the way, you know
the the little the little pink dog that the monkey walks out
with. Do you know that's the same dog
from Silence of the Lambs? Yes, I did read that what I did

(44:18):
really. Yeah, wow.
He was in a couple other movies too, but that's probably the
most popular. Yeah.
Oh wow. OK, that's that's some.
Yeah, that's Buffalo Bills dog from Sounds of the Lambs.
That's that. That dog has some range as an
actor. I need his agent, but Paul
Rubens wasn't really acting whenhe was forced to save the snakes

(44:40):
and run out of the pet shop. Rubens was actually terrified of
snakes. The scene could not be done with
fake snakes and Tim Burton insisted Rubens do the scene
with real snakes. Reubens trusted Burton and did
it himself. So.
Which that scene could not be done today.
No, I'm just going to say that they would be CGI snakes.
Oh, yeah, yeah. Also, are you pretty sure as I

(45:03):
am, that that fire fireman that gets to him actually steps on
one of those? Snakes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I saw that.
I was thinking the same thing. Yep, Yep.
Oh well, RIP Snake. Yeah, we lost one.
We lost one, but going back to the opening scene, I want to
bring this up too, is what was our fascination in 8485 with Do

(45:29):
It It's the opening of, you know, Doc Brown and Back to the
Future. Like I just, I was like, I was
like, man, that was such a thingthat was like innovation, like
we were trying. It was, I think the before
technology was really there, yetwe were just experimenting with

(45:49):
these things. And it it just establishes
something about the character. I think that that creativity
right, right. You know, with Doc Brown, with
Pee Wee, you know who whoever it's it's and data.
And it means like it's that's itjust says it immediately says
something about that character. So.
Yeah, thinking outside the box, like not not taking the world as

(46:11):
it is, but one is to get advanced, so.
Yeah 'cause even even Ernest didit in AI know he does it in
saved Christmas. He has a a little machine.
Yeah, no, I, I look, you never can go wrong with a Rube
Goldberg machine. Like just that alone.
Just love it. Although there is no way that

(46:32):
that little that little chicken bobber actually cracked open
that egg because I don't think it ever made contact with the
egg to be honest. Yeah, and yeah.
Where did the pancakes end up? On the ceiling?
Will they ever fall back down? That's what I want to know.
Those are the. Ones he ended up on his plate.
All of them. I thought we just one.
Yeah. Maybe just ate one bite anyway
so. Yeah, he didn't even eat any of

(46:54):
the actual burgers. He ate 2 pieces of Mr. Tea
cereal and then he was done. He buttered his 22 slices of
toast. He had bacon and with
strawberries. What was the the ice?
Yeah, he had the he had the fruity Tutti Fresh and Fruity.
Yeah, whatever. Rudy Tutti, fresh and fruity,
whatever the name of that thing is.

(47:14):
That's it, yeah. Although I love Ruby actually
made a comment she was like, after looking at his house, Like
Pee Wee's the one that's rich. Like, not so much that it's
Francis, like Pee Wee's rich. Yeah.
Speaking of logic, like I just, you know, you have to it's
complete escapism. You know that going in, but

(47:36):
you're like, how does this you know, how does he make his
money? How does he have a living?
How does he function as an adult?
You know so but that. Would be an interesting an
interesting spin off is just like right Peewee going to work
at the warehouse and. You know, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, the huge, huge inheritance.
Yeah, there's his his parents were killed and left him a whole

(48:00):
bunch of money and that's what he's lived off of his entire
life. He's he's never grown up.
That's that's his back story. There you go.
Yeah, I do love how he has everyholiday decoration on his front
lawn like that was, you know, that was perfect.
And then his little high tech password to get to his bike
behind the the gate. So but yeah, All right.

(48:23):
Any other favorite scenes you guys can think of that?
The well, the end with with the the movie premiere at the drive
in. That's what I think.
I think that's what kind of holds up best watching it as an
adult now for me and my kids. I watched it with a couple of my

(48:45):
kids last night and that's kind of what made them laugh the
most. My son laughed really hard at
the, you know, paging Mr. Herman.
And he's constantly looking intothe camera.
Yeah, like mounting other people's lines, Yeah.
I was going to say like that is a master class for an actor to

(49:06):
watch of like, you know, he's he's doing everything, you know,
you're not supposed to do to show that he's not a good actor.
And it's just like he breaks every single rule.
He looks at the camera, he's mouthing the other person's
lines. He's trying to get in the frame
when he's not in the scene. Oh my gosh, that that I will
say. That it's like pure.

(49:27):
That's like pure gold pure. And even though, yeah, and
that's clearly for comedic effect, but you also, if you try
to put logic into it, it's like,what director actually would use
that cut? Right, right, right.
Especially the 1 when like when they have the phone call and
then they go off and he you can clearly tell he's getting
direction as to where to go. He makes a little nod and then

(49:47):
start moving. Yeah.
Yeah. And then I love too.
It's like, you know, we want to make a movie about your story
and you're thinking it's going to be, you know, his story.
And then it's like, no, it's James Bond type with the what is
it, the X, the X1? X1.
Yeah, X1. The secret compartment with the

(50:08):
microfilm. The 80s flick.
Flashback Podcast will return after these messages.
Hey there fellow 80s movie aficionados, Are you ready to
embark on a nostalgia filled journey to the greatest era of
cinema? Then look no further than the
Retro Life for You 80s movie podcast.

(50:29):
Join us every week as we rewind the VHS team, dust off those
Betamax classics, and dive head first into the neon soaked,
totally tubular world of the 1980s movies.
From the Brat Pack, the Action Heroes, we Got It All Covered,
Breakfast Club, Ghostbusters, ETin Indiana Jones, and more.

(50:51):
It's like a trip in Doc Brown's Time Machine but without the
DeLorean. So whether you're a die hard 80s
film buff or just curious about the cinematic gems of the past,
Retro Life for You is your ticket to the ultimate movie
time warp. Follow us on Instagram and
Facebook at Retro Life for You and we can be found anywhere you

(51:15):
listen to your podcast as well as on our website
www.retrolifethenumber4theletteru.com.What's up dudes, I'm Jerry D of
Totally Rad Christmas, the podcast that talks all things
Christmas in the 80s. Toys, movies, specials, music,
books, fashion and fads. If it was gnarly during

(51:37):
Christmas in the 80s, he's got it covered.
Wait, is there a lot of things to talk about for the 80s and
Christmas? Well, you got the movie giants
like Christmas Vacation, Scrooged and A Christmas Story.
There are TV specials like Muppet Family Christmas,
Claymation Christmas Celebrationand a Garfield Christmas
Special. Plus classic shown every year.
You also jam out to last Christmas.
Do they know it's Christmas and Christmas and Hollis?

(51:59):
But most of all, it was a time for the most bodacious, best
selling Christmas toys ever likehe man GI Joe Transformers.
And Cabbage Patch Kids. Yes, them too.
We cover them all plus much more, including standard
segments like Hap, Happiest Memory, Gagney with the Spoon,
the other half of the battle. And chant with the littles.
So TuneIn to Totally Rad Christmas everywhere you get

(52:20):
your podcasts, turn the clock back and dive into those warm
and fuzzy memories. Later, dudes.
All right, well let's let's hit some some trivia may think may
help us think of some other other scenes.
So we're talking about the drivein.
We're right there. The drive in sequence was filmed

(52:41):
at the studio Drive in, formerlylocated in Culver City, CA.
The studio was built in the 30s and was the first drive in
theater constructed in California.
It served as a set for several films, including Grease in 1978.
It was closed in 1993 and demolished in 1998.
There's no trace of the drive inremaining.

(53:02):
So sad. So, so sad.
And then we mentioned him. Playing a hotel desk clerk was
also his debut acting role in a movie within a movie.
Paul Rubens previously played a similar role as a hotel desk
clerk in Cheech and Chong's Nextmovie in 1981 of his first film
roles. Both films feature the song

(53:22):
Tequila by the Champs. And I think I saw that him.
And yeah, he actually, he's in Meatballs Part 2.
He plays the bus driver. So him and Jason Hervey were
also in a movie previously. All right, we didn't talk that
much about we mentioned it beginning, but let's talk about
Danny Elfman. Elfman wasn't actually scoring
films at the time, at least not on the scale that he has now.

(53:43):
Burton knew him through his workwith Lingo Boingo, and Paul
Rubens knew him for music he hadwritten for a film called The
Forbidden Zone. After meeting with Burton to
chat about the project, Elfman went home with a tune in his
head. He said I did a demo on a four
track tape player playing all the parts and I made a cassette
and sent it to him and never expected to hear back again.
But that piece of music became the main title of Pee Wee's Big

(54:05):
Adventure and it got me the job.I was really shocked.
It was, of course, the beginningof a long time collaboration and
friendship between Elfman and Burton.
Yeah, you almost can't imagine that.
Like not having a Tim Burton movie that doesn't have a Daniel
Elfman. Score exactly, right.
Exactly. Part of the formula, it's got to
have a Daniel Danny Elfman score.
I do like though, that he sampled the Wicked Witch of the

(54:28):
West when they do the bicycle chase.
I did like that. There were a few nods.
There's a a nod to like Alfred Hitchcock when Pee Wee's
standing in front of the bicyclewheels and they're all spinning
behind him. That was a that was a Hitchcock
in or Hitchcock nod or Oma, Yeah.
But yeah, I didn't have much much trivia on this one.

(54:50):
I know the scene where after theafter the bike is stolen he goes
back into the bike shop and likepasses out.
He actually had a very bad case of the flu, so they say he
actually looks paler, more pale in that scene than other scenes.
But. That, that's a big thing to say,
that Paul Rubin looks pale. Yeah.
Or Pee Wee looks pale. Yeah, exactly.

(55:12):
He. Yeah, He clearly wears a lot of
foundation when he plays Pee Wee, more so in Pee Wee's Big
Holiday when you go back and watch that.
Of course, his face is mostly CGI in that movie.
Oh wow, yeah, I haven't. I think I'll watch it, but it's
been a while because it came outwhat, 2016?
I think something like. That, yeah.
Oh, no, it's it was more recent than that.

(55:33):
The the big holiday on Netflix. Yeah, yeah.
I want to say it came out like during COVID lockdown and stuff
like. When No, it was 2016.
Really. It is when you finally got
around to watching it. I guess so, yeah, maybe.
All right. Not bad.

(55:54):
No worries. All right, well, let's talk
about box office. So Pee Wee's Big Adventure
opened on August 9th, 1985 in the United States.
It was only released in 829 theaters.
As Ben was mentioning, it did have a limited release, but it
ended up landing at #3 at the box office that weekend behind
another new release, Summer Rental with John Candy, which

(56:15):
came in at #2, but it was in double the amount of theaters.
Back to the Future was still at number one for its sixth week.
The other new releases that weekend were Val Kilmer's Real
Genius that debuted at number 7 and My Science Project came in
at #14. I'd say that's all sounds about
right, yeah. So executives at CBS approached

(56:38):
Rubens manager at the movies premiere and wanted to know if
Pee Wee quote UN quote was interested in doing a cartoon
show. But Rubens had another format in
mind and asked how they would feel about something live
action. He said.
I was thinking about important. I was thinking about how
important all those kids shows were to me when I was a kid and
how much I feel like they affected me.
And that just seemed really exciting to me.

(56:58):
I was really excited by the ideathat doing a real kids show
would potentially affect kids inan amazing, positive and great
way. Pee Wee's Playhouse debuted one
year later in 96. But yeah, So yeah, I, I think it
was better like AI mean a cartoon.
Everybody else was doing cartoons at that point.
You know, so many different movies became cartoons.
But he did something original and made it like a real kids

(57:21):
show that, you know, that adultsand kids could watch.
I mean, Laurence Fishburne got 1, you know, some earliest.
Cowboy Curtis. Cowboy Curtis and then Phil
Hartman would make appearances as well.
Actually, let let's talk about aa Pee Wee's Playhouse
connection. So the nun in that right in that
scene, that nun is Miss Yvonne from Pee Wee's Playhouse.

(57:46):
Yeah. Oh.
Really. Yep, yeah, don't ask me the
actress's name. You just know that fact.
She's Miss Yvonne, is all I. Gotcha.
But yeah, no, the the nun that gets it makes Jason Harvey's
character all upset and all thatis that is Miss Yvonne from Pee
Wee's Playhouse. I will say that's another fun
scene with like that whole thing, like I'm not going to

(58:08):
work with him again. He's you know, if she was, you
know, wouldn't miss her cute like that.
Just hold like the bratty, you know, actor, kid and the
established actress. I thought that was funny
director trying to be the middleman.
So all right. Well, now we come to a new
segment where we take a look at how well this 80s flick holds
today. The all new rewatch ability
nostalgia meter is our way of measuring how enjoyable a movie

(58:29):
is for repeat viewings along with waves the nostalgia brings.
Here's how it works. It's a one to 10 scale.
Any number between 1:00 and 10:00 will do, but here are a
few parameters to help you decide.
At the bottom of the meter is a number one, which basically says
I saw it once and that was enough #5 in the middle would be
a good rewatch every couple of years.

(58:51):
And at the top of the meter is A10, highly rewatchable and full
of nostalgia. So I kind of already know what
Laramie's going to say, so I'll start with Ben.
Who? Where does?
Pee Wee's big Adventure land on the rewatch ability and
nostalgia meter for you. I don't want this to sound like
a low score, but I, you know, there's a lot of movies that

(59:12):
are, are I would rank higher than Pee Wee's Big Adventure.
As much as I love it, and as much as I enjoyed watching it
again last night, I'm going to give it a 7.
OK, OK. All right, Laramie.
Look, I'm, I'm going to be reasonable about this.
I mean, yes, it it when I watch it, like I immediately am

(59:37):
enjoying every moment of it. I'm excited to watch about watch
it. You know, it's like you said,
you know, it's that nostalgia factor.
It's, you know, all these, it's one of those movies, like I
said, that I can quote a good chunk of it, but the fact that,
I mean, I stayed at the very beginning, I haven't seen it in
10 to 15 years. Right, you know it.
It's unfortunately not one of those that I'm just like, you

(59:59):
know what, I'm in the mood for watching TV's big adventure.
I'll probably give it a an 8. But yes, you know, personally
it's a 22. But but you know, for for the
sake of being reasonable with with this ranking, I I'd give it
an 8. Yeah, yeah, I'm, I'm kind of
like right between I was gettinglike a 7.5 to an 8 and once

(01:00:20):
again, watching it again, I appreciated it a lot more now,
having not seen it in such a long time.
And like I said, it's your escapism.
It's like that. It was.
And I watched it on a Saturday morning.
So it was like, those are the perfect time, you know, kind of
movie, like sit down with a cup of coffee, maybe a, you know,
good old bowl of Mr. T cereal toput you in the mood and just

(01:00:41):
escape for 90 minutes. And it's not a long movie.
You don't have to like block outa whole lot of time, but it's
yeah, but it's very silly. It's very, you know, it, it is
kind of oddball in in, in spots.This is what I would probably
watch every couple of years. But I don't think it as low as a
5 because it did bring up a lot of nostalgia for me.
So yeah, I would say like 7.5 like between A7 and an 8 is

(01:01:04):
pretty much where I was going to.
I was going to put it so. We're all right right there,
yeah. Yeah, I really thought Larry was
going to go higher, but he. Again, valid point.
I'm going to, yeah, I'm going tomake Mick Morgan.
I will say this though, and I will ask either of you, is there
a scene that you feel brings down the movie?
Nothing stands out to me. So I will say the one to me that

(01:01:28):
comes the closest, I'm not goingto say it does, but the one that
comes closest is the almost extended time he has with Simone
in the the dinosaur, right? Watching the sunrise, which
makes no sense because then whenthe boyfriend's listening from
down, it's bright, it's completedaylight.
Right, right. Yeah.

(01:01:50):
But that that one almost, it's like if it had been maybe a
minute or two longer, I would say that it completely brought
down the movie. I think it ended up being just
the right length. I do kind of like that.
That is the one scene that kind of has the adult jokes in it.
Yes, that would go right over a kids head.

(01:02:12):
Yeah, of some of the the what the boyfriend is overhearing.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so.
So that's what it is for me. But again, that's where I put
this. Like there isn't a moment where
the movie just kind of comes to a stop like it moves.
And even. Even with the little vignettes
that don't really progress the story any, you still you're

(01:02:36):
still, you know, up there enjoying it every moment.
So yeah, no, again, personally for me, it's it's a extremely
high high rank, but being being the the the logical.
And I understand we're we're trying to make this for other
people. Yeah, that's but if we can do
point points, I'll make it an 8.5.

(01:02:57):
How about that? OK.
Yeah, sure. It's still new.
We're we're, we're making up therules as we go.
It's all good. Yeah.
Anything else we want to say about the move before you wrap
this one up? You just got to love every
moment of it and y'all get readyfor this.
I mean all the way from from hisdancing to his laughing to his
suit and his bow tie. Come on.

(01:03:21):
I was. Which, by the way.
I was going to find a way to putit in before we.
Yeah, no, I was thinking about it the whole time.
I was like, I'm worried that if I just throw it in, like neither
of them is going to remember. Yeah, Yeah.
So. I was waiting.
I, I, I thought somebody might say it.
It's, it's a good one to, to watch again if you haven't seen
it in a while, it's a good one to watch with some people who I

(01:03:42):
like I said, I had shown it to my kids, but they didn't really
remember it. So they, they got to watch it
again kind of for the first timewith me last night.
And, and they both enjoyed it too.
It's, it's the kind of movie that you know, they would never
have watched on their own if I hadn't said, hey, I've got to
watch this for the podcast. Who wants to watch it with me?

(01:04:03):
They they liked it. Oh, wait, I actually have
something I want to throw in. Sure.
So this movie, when I originallysaw it back as a kid, was I
think the first movie that I ever noticed a goof.
OK. However, when they then, like
transferred it to DVDI think they cut the singing.

(01:04:26):
Yeah. Yeah, because it was one.
It was one of those things whereI think when it aired, like in
one format, you didn't notice this, but then when it aired
another format, you could see more.
And it's when he's pulling the chain on the bike.
Yeah, I remember you used to be able to see the chain coming
from up under the bike as he's pulling it out of that

(01:04:47):
compartment. Yeah.
Maybe on the TV version or something.
Yeah. Because yeah, but when as I was
watching it this time, I went togo look for it and I was like,
Oh no, they've got it cut just at the right height.
So I don't know if it's maybe myTV size or, or what that it it
took that out. But I always remember that was
one of the first goofs I ever witnessed in a movie.

(01:05:09):
Yeah, I have a few memories thattoo.
Like I saw it in the theater a certain way and then you can't
find it. If not they they fixed all those
things now. But like different probably back
then when it was actually on film, you had so many different
prints. I'm sure they probably had like
certain theaters would get like,you know, oddball prints,
whatever that would have. Like there's there was a scene
in planes Transatlantico where Isaw the boom mic was like kept

(01:05:32):
falling into the top of the frame.
And then and this one was talkedabout, I think the version that
Ebert and Siskel or whatever sawin great outdoors when the bear
is on the door on top of John Candy, you could see a stick
like from the trainer trying to get it to react.
And I remember seeing that on TVAnd then whenever I saw the

(01:05:55):
movie, I it wasn't as it wasn't as noticeable, but I did still
see it. But the all the all the versions
I've seen now you can't see they've recut it where you can't
see it so well. Larry, what do you got coming up
on moving panels for end of January going into February?
So as January is coming to an end, we've, we've talked about

(01:06:17):
Daredevil, I've got an episode coming up about the Phantom, the
Billy Zane. And of course in February, you
know, Beth and I always do our date night episode where we find
a, a movie that we deem is a, a quality date night movie in
honor of Valentine's Day. So we got that coming.
And then of course, our March Madness, where this year we're

(01:06:38):
going to pit the Smallville universe against the Arrowverse
and and decide which one that made a bigger impact to to DC on
television. Very cool, very cool.
So Ben, I'll cut this out. If you don't have much of A
how's, how's your podcast planning coming?
We, we got, I'm not ready to announce anything yet, but

(01:07:02):
we've, we've recorded a couple of episodes and I'm excited
about how it's turning out. So we just want to bank a few
and then, you know, then we'll, we'll put it out there maybe
sometime later this year I I think.
OK, cool. So, but I won't.
I won't. I'll cut that part out so we're
not. No, you can leave.
You can leave. Leave it in.
Yeah, yeah. Cool.
So it's. Just a little teaser little.

(01:07:24):
Teaser there you go all right good deal we'll be looking for
that. I, he won't announce the title,
but he, we, we and I have, he and I have talked about it.
So it's going to be a great show.
You're going to want to check itout when it does release.
So stay tuned for that. So well, thanks everybody for
tuning in. Thank you Laramie and Ben for
being a part. Always a pleasure to have you
guys on the show. Thanks again for being here.

(01:07:46):
Thanks for having me. The treat?
Yep. All right, that's a wrap on this
episode. I'm Tim Williams for the 80s
flick Flashback podcast. Tell them Large Marge sent you
in the 80s. We will run where every day is
just pure fun. Coonies.
Never say bye to your mind in those films.

(01:08:07):
We lose our minds. Sean Hughes and all his teen

(01:08:27):
dreams, monsages and simple themes.
In fairest hands, the sea bends,living life like it never ends.
You still here? It's over.
Go home. Go.

All Episodes

#127 - "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" (1985) with Ben Carpenter & Laramy Wells

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

True Crime Tonight

The Joe Rogan Experience

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}#127 - "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" (1985) with Ben Carpenter & Laramy Wells