Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

Who knew that the story of a stolen bike would be able to turn its man-child main character into a household name and launch its director from ‘up-and-coming’ status to Hollywood’s must-have man? Much like the star of the film himself, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure is the kind of film that defies the odds and captures the hearts and minds of a select, devoted audience.

Pee-wee Herman, a grown man with the heart and demeanor of a child, loves his bicycle. His neighbor Francis, another adult with childlike tendencies, wants Pee-wee’s bike but can’t have it. One day, Francis manages to steal the bike without being seen, crushing Pee-wee’s heart. No one seems to care about something as minor as a stolen bike but Pee-wee is determined to get his bike back. Seeing Pee-wee’s unending devotion for his bike, Francis wisely sells it so he won’t get in trouble.

After consulting a psychic who feeds him a bunch of bull, Pee-wee sets off on a wild and weird journey across the USA for his beloved bike. This trip takes him to Texas and all the way to California. Along the way he encounters a number of colorful and oddball characters every bit as unique as Pee-wee himself.

Pee-wee Herman lives in his own world. While he interacts with the real world on a daily basis, Pee-wee and reality are like oil and water. Half of the humor found in this film comes from how the barrage of supporting characters react to Pee-wee’s mannerisms and antics. This is a rare feat for a comedy accomplished most successfully in films like The Jerk and Borat. A lot of comedians would like to think themselves capable of crafting such a character but the cream always rises to the top.

That’s not to say that Pee-wee is a triumph as a character. Perhaps it is because I grew up with Pee-wee Herman and his quirks as a part of my cultural lexicon but the character begins to get annoying after a while. Seeing him for a few minutes on a Saturday morning TV show is one thing. Much like the numerous Saturday Night Live skits turned into movies, 90 minutes of Pee-wee may prove to be more than some can handle.

Credit has to be given to Paul Reubens for always giving Pee-wee 110%. It has to be physically and mentally exhausting to make a character as quirky as Pee-wee Herman. Reubens must have tapped into some kind of secret inner-strength to find the manic energy necessary to bring Pee-wee to life. Love for the character simply can’t be enough.

Aside from a number of neat set locations and visual allusions to other films, there isn’t much to be wowed by in this film. The story is quirky but straightforward. The aesthetics are interesting but nothing compared to the gothic flavor that would consume much of director Tim Burton’s later work. As long as a few corny antics and goofy gags will suffice in a comedy, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure may just be your thing.

While it is undeniably an interesting blend of innocent and adult humor, this film ultimately isn’t my thing. Pee-wee definitely has his moments of genuine humor and you would have a hard time not laughing at least once during this film, there is a reason why Pee-wee’s Big Adventure has a cult following. It may have something for everyone but it’s almost entirely a guilty pleasure kind of film.

RATING: 2.75 out of 5

Ghost* (1990)

Anytime I watch a popular romance film I approach it with trepidation. Films under the label of ‘romance’ are usually chick flicks in disguise anymore. If you’ve looked through the films I’ve rated in the past, you know that chick flicks and I do not get along. So when a film is listed interchangeably as a romance and a chick flick, I get really worried that I’m about to waste my time. Thank goodness that Ghost does not live up (or should I say down?) to its chick flick label.

Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) is a banker for a large company in New York. His artist girlfriend, Molly Jensen (Demi Moore), lives with him in a posh apartment. Life is beautiful and perfect until Sam spots some troubling discrepancies on a few accounts. A few days later Sam and Molly get mugged and Sam is killed. Only, Sam’s spirit sticks around.

Helping him work through his unfinished business are a creepy subway ghost, who shows Sam how to interact with objects, and a scam artist posing as a medium named Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg), who is surprised to discover that she really does have the gift. While working through his anger and emotions, Sam learns that his death was not a random crime. With the help of Oda Mae, Sam must work to thwart a greedy, former co-worker at embezzling money and hurting Molly.

Interestingly enough, there is more drama, comedy and suspense in Ghost than romance. You could probably argue that this film’s primary labeling as a romance is a misnomer but I don’t see any need to do so. If nothing else, Ghost is the kind of romance film that elevates the bar for the genre. More romantic comedies should strive for the kind of genre blending on display here rather than taking the easy way out with ticket-selling clichés and second-rate actors.

Of the main characters, Demi Moore is the weakest link but it’s not entirely her fault. Molly is written as a pretty face and a victim. While Demi Moore’s acting chops are debatable, she does what is needed of her character. Patrick Swayze, however, is fantastic as Sam. When he’s not wide-eyed with wonder, panic or impatience, he is vengefully or ponderingly scowling. His transition from newbie ghost to fully-functioning poltergeist is believable and the rules and abilities laid out for Sam and his deceased brethren are easy to digest.

The undeniable scene-stealer of this film is Whoopi Goldberg. She hits every mark, every punch line and every facial expression perfectly. When she’s interacting with nothing or interacting with Patrick Swayze while pretending to be unable to see him, her performance is immaculate. No wonder they gave her an Oscar for this role! She is funny without forcing it and gaudy without going over the top. Whoopi alone makes this film worth seeing.

The story itself is quite interesting. There have been ghost tales before involving unfinished business but Ghost’s suspense and drama help it stand out. Some ghost flick fans may not like the kinder, gentler approach that Swayze takes but these people need to realize that not all disembodied spirits are out for revenge alone. In many ways, this is a story about a man overcoming a handicap in order to do something important. Maybe classifying death as a handicap is a stretch but without Sam having to learn the ropes of being a ghost, the plot and resolution would be too easy and far too convenient to be enjoyed.

The underlying moral of ‘corporate greed is bad’ is a little cheesy by today’s standards and some may complain that this motive comes right out of left field but let’s keep in mind when this movie was made. The late 80s and early 90s saw a wave of films containing a harsh reaction to the Reagan era of big business and corporate success. Ghost wisely avoids being too preachy on this matter but the subtext is there.

Other than a few dated-looking special effects, Ghost is still able to resonate and move today’s moviegoers. Passion, suspense and intrigue never go out of style. Hopefully this film’s popularity won’t either.

RATING: 3.75 out of 5

The Simpsons Movie (2007)

After years of speculation and rumors, Matt Groening and his team of animators finally gave fans of The Simpsons a full-length feature film. The question on everyone’s collective mind was “Will it be any good?” I would say that the answer to this question is an unenthusiastic ‘yes.’

When the band Green Day is killed by pollution at a lakeside concert, the city of Springfield falls under the watchful eye of the Environmental Protection Agency. The town, driven by Lisa Simpson and an Irish boy she has a crush on, cleans the lake up for good. Until Homer screws everything up that is. After adopting a pig and storing its feces in a backyard silo, Homer needs to get rid of the pig poop. Homer accidentally dumps the load into the lake, making the pollution problem even worse. President Arnold Schwarzenegger (hey, it’s The Simpsons) decides to seal the town inside a giant glass dome.

Springfield discovers Homer’s slop silo in the lake and tries to kill him. Homer and family manage to escape via a secret sinkhole in their backyard. Now outside the dome, they head to Alaska. When the Simpsons learn that the government is going to put a bomb in the dome to destroy Springfield completely, Homer doesn’t care. After all, they did try to kill him. The rest of the family won’t have it and go back to help, leaving Homer on a long and weird path to redemption.

The spirit of The Simpsons lives on in this super-sized, 83-minute film but it never strives to be much more than a cheeky mega-sode. Die-hard fans of the series will eat The Simpsons Movie up with relish and may sing its praises long into the night, but for casual viewers, it’s a little underwhelming.

The good news is that The Simpsons Movie does not look or feel like an episode of The Simpsons. Kudos to the filmmakers for making the film flow like a real film rather than a series of episodes spliced together. There are no fade-to-black transitions where commercial breaks would normally occur (unlike Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story). The animators even step things up a notch by adding depth to the characters and their environment.

The bad news is that the content of The Simpsons Movie is barely elevated above what can be expected from the TV show. Die-hard fans will dispute that the show is past its prime but die-hards (regardless of what they support) will almost always make excuses. Nobody can deny that The Simpsons have lost their edge over their now 21-year run on the airwaves. The show’s wit, skewering of American culture and political incorrectness made it an instant hit in 1989 but it no longer remains edgy and relevant in popular culture thanks to the likes of South Park and Family Guy.

That’s not to say that The Simpsons Movie won’t make you laugh. In fact, it will. Just not as often as you would probably like. Viewers who are familiar with the show will get a kick out of all the supporting character cameos (and there are quite a lot of them). The supporting characters who oftentimes add so much to the episodes take a pretty distant back seat, which is a shame, but the nature of the story being told doesn’t require them nearly at all to begin with.

Those who still watch The Simpsons on TV will likely laugh at all the zany antics on display. The show has become more about Homer’s screwball ideas and random acts than lampooning our culture and that continues in the movie. About half of what Homer does is genuinely funny and worth a chuckle at the least. Other times, the gimmicks and punch lines feel forced or trite.

The story itself fails to stand out among some of the show's classic plots but it is large enough in scope to merit the full-length treatment. The conflict and resolution are par for the course for The Simpsons but sometimes the journey from Point A to Point B seems unnecessary or fails to make much sense. This can make it a little hard to enjoy if you’re of the opinion that it’s the journey that matters, not the ending. Then again, this is The Simpsons we’re talking about, so you probably shouldn’t take it too much to heart.

Like any long-in-production film, the hype and expectations certainly contribute to the undoing of this film. While the scope of the plot is bigger, the purpose of the film is no bigger than the purpose of any Simpsons episode. The Simpsons Movie will almost certainly entertain you but I can’t shake the feeling that this overlong and under-funny episode of a film came out ten years too late.

RATING: 3 out of 5