A Look Back at a Pop Culture Icon and his Real-World Alter Ego
I had a coworker who could quote every line of the 1985 comedy hit, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. I don’t mean a line or two. He asked me to say which line was airing over the phone and proceeded to recite every line for the rest of the movie.
Pee-Wee Herman, despite being a character and not an actual human being, was that influential on an entire generation. He was similar but (the argument can be made) bigger than Elvira or Max Headroom. Pee-Wee was a superstar. But, all the while, the man behind the character struggled with not being the one in the spotlight.
Paul Reubens created Pee-Wee during his years with the L.A.-based underground comedy troupe, The Groundlings. The evolution of Pee-Wee, his rise to stardom, and the dichotomy of Herman’s career and Reubens’ is at the center of the 2025 documentary, Pee-Wee as Himself.
The title alone shows the duality of the character and the actor. Even as the film opens by interviewing Reubens, he is ready to spar with director Matt Wolf (Teenage, Spaceship Earth). Reubens comes out swinging, a precursor to what the documentary unveils. Reubens has control issues. He wants ownership. He wants recognition. Every step of his career was unexpected, most were unprecedented, and many times, they targeted that division between the man and the character.
Shot in two parts, each episode opens with a disclaimer. Reubens was battling cancer for six years, undisclosed to the filmmakers, as he was interviewed. Arming viewers with that knowledge changes the context for much of the documentary. Another key dynamic is that Reubens comes out during his early interviews. This is very substantial. Being openly gay during the 1980’s and 1990’s would have been committing career sabotage. As progressive as certain outlets like MTV were during that time, there was such a widespread panic around HIV/AIDS and homophobia, a show like Pee-Wee’s Playhouse would never have been produced.
This film is an incredible study in the relationships that Reuben had with other celebrities, how he stumbled into finding a character relatable to all audiences, and how he had the ability to adapt and evolve, and yet also burn bridges and sabotage his career. Reubens wrote and performed with other icons like Cassandra Peterson (the mastermind behind Elvira), John Paragon, and SNL alumni Phil Hartman and Laraine Newman. He cast a diverse group of actors including Lawrence Fishburne and S. Epatha Merkerson. His first movie was Tim Burton’s first movie (watch to find out which celebrity suggested Burton).
His adventurous artistic spirit drove him to hire Wayne White and Gary Panter to do everything from animation to set design. His creative spirit opened the doors to collaboration and support from David Arquette, Dabi Mazar, Natasha Lyonne, and others.
Pee-Wee’s appearances went from thinly veiled innuendo to an unexpected invite to become a children’s TV host. Pee-Wee’s Playhouse was a huge success for five seasons when Saturday morning cartoons were evolving. This was one more thing that Reubens never saw coming. Pee-Wee was a huge success. Paul was forced into the shadows and into the closet.
Paul’s fall from grace makes its inevitable coverage. He was caught in an adult movie theater. The man was no longer separated from the character. That arrest is far from the end of Paul’s story. Pee-Wee made one heck of a comeback thanks to the MTV Awards, and, over time, was reestablished on TV. Playhouse episodes once barred from airing are streaming on Hulu and Tubi.
Reubens began his career in performance art. He attempted dramatic roles, only to find out that comedy was a more natural fit. He developed a character in improv who migrated from adult humor to a kids’ show. When it was discovered that Pee-Wee and Paul were one in the same, it happened in the worst possible way. All of these unconventional paths were an aggravation and a frustration for someone who craved both control and recognition. Reubens eventually took on other roles with varying degrees of success, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mystery Men, Gotham, and Blow.
The documentary ends with an audio submission from Reubens. His defeat and his finality are undeniable in that clip. There simply isn’t much left of the man who inhabited such a larger-than-life character. Reubens enriched many lives through his comedy and his talent. He was flawed. He was human. In the end, we have him to thank for proving that being unconventional isn’t always a bad thing, for decades of entertainment, and for a character who will likely live on forever.
Pee-Wee as Himself is streaming on Amazon Prime.