Latest news with #TheMickeyMouseClub
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Movie Review: 'Pee-wee as Himself' unmasks Paul Reubens
Some bio documentaries are carried mostly by the reflective, archival footage that send you back to the subject's heyday. But in Matt Wolf's 'Pee-wee as Himself' — as wonderful as much of the archival stuff is — nothing is more compelling than when Paul Reubens is simply himself. Before his death from cancer in 2023, Reubens sat for 40 hours of interviews with Wolf. His cooperation is clearly uncertain and sometimes strained in the film — he stopped participating for a year before talking about his infamous 2001 arrest — and his doubts on the project linger throughout. Reubens would rather be directing it, himself, he says more than once. The man many know as Pee-wee Herman is used to controlling his own image, and he has good reason for being skeptical of others doing so. But beyond that tension over authorship of his story, Reubens is also delightfully resistant to playing the part of documentary cliche. 'I was born in 1938 in a little house on the edge of the Mississippi River,' he begins. 'My father worked on a steamboat.' Talking heads have gotten a bad rap in documentaries in recent years, but in 'Pee-wee as Himself,' nothing is more compelling than Paul Reubens simply sitting before the camera, looking back at us. Pee-wee may be iconic, but Paul Reubens is hysterical. And Wolf's film, with that winking title, makes for a revealing portrait of a performer who so often put persona in front of personhood. In that way, 'Pee-wee as Himself,' a two-part documentary premiering Friday on HBO and HBO Max, is moving as the posthumous unmasking of a man you can't help but wish we had known better. Reubens was a product of TV. He grew up transformed by shows like 'Howdy Doody,' 'The Mickey Mouse Club' and, later, 'I Love Lucy.' 'I wanted to jump into my TV and live in that world,' he says. Part of the delight of the first half of Wolf's film is watching the wide range of inspirations — the circus culture of Sarasota, Florida, where his family moved to; Andy Warhol; performance art — coalesce into a singular creation like Pee-wee. That name, he says, came from a tiny harmonica that said 'Pee-wee' on it, and a kid named Herman he knew growing up. 'It was a whole bunch of things that had never really connected connecting,' says Reubens. Wolf carefully traces the birth of Reubens' alter-ego through the Groundlings in Los Angeles, on stage at the Roxy and then out into the world, on 'The Gong Show,' on Letterman, in the 1985 Tim Burton-directed 'Pee-wee's Big Adventure' and, ultimately, on 'Pee-wee's Playhouse.' 'I felt in a way I was bringing the character out into the wild,' he recalls. 'I just stayed in character all day.' That came with obvious sacrifices, too. For the sake of his career, Reubens stayed closeted as a gay man. He grew intensely private and seldom appeared in public not in character. Reubens also jettisoned some of his close collaborators, like Phil Hartman, as his fame grew. There's tragedy, both self-inflicted and not, in Reubens' increasing isolation. When Reubens was arrested in 1991 and charged with indecent exposure, Reubens' carefully guarded persona came crashing down. The scandal was worse because people knew only Pee-wee and not Reubens. There was also injustice in the whole affair, particularly the 2002 arrest that followed on charges of child pornography that were later dropped. In both cases, homophobia played a role. When Reubens does get around to talking about it, he's most resistant to painting himself as a victim, or offering any, as he says, 'tears of a clown.' Wolf, the director of films like 'Recorder,' about Marion Stokes, who recorded television all day long for 30 years, and 'Spaceship Earth,' about the quirky 1991 Biosphere 2 experiment, is better known as a talented documentarian of visual archives than as an compelling interviewer of celebrities. 'Pee-wee as Himself' would have probably benefited from less one-sided interplay between subject and filmmaker. But Wolf's time was also limited with Reubens and just getting this much from him is clearly an accomplishment. Above all, Reubens says he's doing the film to clear a few things up. In the end, the full portrait of Reubens — including all his playful, self-deprecating charm in front of the camera — add up to a much-needed retort to some of the misunderstandings about Reubens. The day before he died, Reubens called Wolf to say one last thing: 'I wanted to let people know who I really was and see how painful it was to be labeled as something I wasn't.' "Pee-wee as Himself,' a Warner Bros. release is unrated by the Motion Picture Association. Running time: 205 minutes. Three stars out of four.
Hamilton Spectator
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Movie Review: ‘Pee-wee as Himself' unmasks Paul Reubens
Some bio documentaries are carried mostly by the reflective, archival footage that send you back to the subject's heyday. But in Matt Wolf's 'Pee-wee as Himself' — as wonderful as much of the archival stuff is — nothing is more compelling than when Paul Reubens is simply himself. Before his death from cancer in 2023, Reubens sat for 40 hours of interviews with Wolf. His cooperation is clearly uncertain and sometimes strained in the film — he stopped participating for a year before talking about his infamous 2001 arrest — and his doubts on the project linger throughout. Reubens would rather be directing it, himself, he says more than once. The man many know as Pee-wee Herman is used to controlling his own image, and he has good reason for being skeptical of others doing so. But beyond that tension over authorship of his story, Reubens is also delightfully resistant to playing the part of documentary cliche. 'I was born in 1938 in a little house on the edge of the Mississippi River,' he begins. 'My father worked on a steamboat.' Talking heads have gotten a bad rap in documentaries in recent years, but in 'Pee-wee as Himself,' nothing is more compelling than Paul Reubens simply sitting before the camera, looking back at us. Pee-wee may be iconic, but Paul Reubens is hysterical. And Wolf's film, with that winking title, makes for a revealing portrait of a performer who so often put persona in front of personhood. In that way, 'Pee-wee as Himself,' a two-part documentary premiering Friday on HBO and HBO Max, is moving as the posthumous unmasking of a man you can't help but wish we had known better. Reubens was a product of TV. He grew up transformed by shows like 'Howdy Doody,' 'The Mickey Mouse Club' and, later, 'I Love Lucy.' 'I wanted to jump into my TV and live in that world,' he says. Part of the delight of the first half of Wolf's film is watching the wide range of inspirations — the circus culture of Sarasota, Florida, where his family moved to; Andy Warhol; performance art — coalesce into a singular creation like Pee-wee. That name, he says, came from a tiny harmonica that said 'Pee-wee' on it, and a kid named Herman he knew growing up. 'It was a whole bunch of things that had never really connected connecting,' says Reubens. Wolf carefully traces the birth of Reubens' alter-ego through the Groundlings in Los Angeles, on stage at the Roxy and then out into the world, on 'The Gong Show,' on Letterman, in the 1985 Tim Burton-directed 'Pee-wee's Big Adventure' and, ultimately, on 'Pee-wee's Playhouse.' 'I felt in a way I was bringing the character out into the wild,' he recalls. 'I just stayed in character all day.' That came with obvious sacrifices, too. For the sake of his career, Reubens stayed closeted as a gay man. He grew intensely private and seldom appeared in public not in character. Reubens also jettisoned some of his close collaborators, like Phil Hartman, as his fame grew. There's tragedy, both self-inflicted and not, in Reubens' increasing isolation. When Reubens was arrested in 1991 and charged with indecent exposure, Reubens' carefully guarded persona came crashing down. The scandal was worse because people knew only Pee-wee and not Reubens. There was also injustice in the whole affair, particularly the 2002 arrest that followed on charges of child pornography that were later dropped. In both cases, homophobia played a role. When Reubens does get around to talking about it, he's most resistant to painting himself as a victim, or offering any, as he says, 'tears of a clown.' Wolf, the director of films like 'Recorder,' about Marion Stokes, who recorded television all day long for 30 years, and 'Spaceship Earth,' about the quirky 1991 Biosphere 2 experiment, is better known as a talented documentarian of visual archives than as an compelling interviewer of celebrities. 'Pee-wee as Himself' would have probably benefited from less one-sided interplay between subject and filmmaker. But Wolf's time was also limited with Reubens and just getting this much from him is clearly an accomplishment. Above all, Reubens says he's doing the film to clear a few things up. In the end, the full portrait of Reubens — including all his playful, self-deprecating charm in front of the camera — add up to a much-needed retort to some of the misunderstandings about Reubens. The day before he died, Reubens called Wolf to say one last thing: 'I wanted to let people know who I really was and see how painful it was to be labeled as something I wasn't.' 'Pee-wee as Himself,' a Warner Bros. release is unrated by the Motion Picture Association. Running time: 205 minutes. Three stars out of four.
Winnipeg Free Press
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Movie Review: ‘Pee-wee as Himself' unmasks Paul Reubens
Some bio documentaries are carried mostly by the reflective, archival footage that send you back to the subject's heyday. But in Matt Wolf's 'Pee-wee as Himself' — as wonderful as much of the archival stuff is — nothing is more compelling than when Paul Reubens is simply himself. Before his death from cancer in 2023, Reubens sat for 40 hours of interviews with Wolf. His cooperation is clearly uncertain and sometimes strained in the film — he stopped participating for a year before talking about his infamous 2001 arrest — and his doubts on the project linger throughout. Reubens would rather be directing it, himself, he says more than once. The man many know as Pee-wee Herman is used to controlling his own image, and he has good reason for being skeptical of others doing so. But beyond that tension over authorship of his story, Reubens is also delightfully resistant to playing the part of documentary cliche. 'I was born in 1938 in a little house on the edge of the Mississippi River,' he begins. 'My father worked on a steamboat.' Talking heads have gotten a bad rap in documentaries in recent years, but in 'Pee-wee as Himself,' nothing is more compelling than Paul Reubens simply sitting before the camera, looking back at us. Pee-wee may be iconic, but Paul Reubens is hysterical. And Wolf's film, with that winking title, makes for a revealing portrait of a performer who so often put persona in front of personhood. In that way, 'Pee-wee as Himself,' a two-part documentary premiering Friday on HBO and HBO Max, is moving as the posthumous unmasking of a man you can't help but wish we had known better. Reubens was a product of TV. He grew up transformed by shows like 'Howdy Doody,' 'The Mickey Mouse Club' and, later, 'I Love Lucy.' 'I wanted to jump into my TV and live in that world,' he says. Part of the delight of the first half of Wolf's film is watching the wide range of inspirations — the circus culture of Sarasota, Florida, where his family moved to; Andy Warhol; performance art — coalesce into a singular creation like Pee-wee. That name, he says, came from a tiny harmonica that said 'Pee-wee' on it, and a kid named Herman he knew growing up. 'It was a whole bunch of things that had never really connected connecting,' says Reubens. Wolf carefully traces the birth of Reubens' alter-ego through the Groundlings in Los Angeles, on stage at the Roxy and then out into the world, on 'The Gong Show,' on Letterman, in the 1985 Tim Burton-directed 'Pee-wee's Big Adventure' and, ultimately, on 'Pee-wee's Playhouse.' 'I felt in a way I was bringing the character out into the wild,' he recalls. 'I just stayed in character all day.' That came with obvious sacrifices, too. For the sake of his career, Reubens stayed closeted as a gay man. He grew intensely private and seldom appeared in public not in character. Reubens also jettisoned some of his close collaborators, like Phil Hartman, as his fame grew. There's tragedy, both self-inflicted and not, in Reubens' increasing isolation. When Reubens was arrested in 1991 and charged with indecent exposure, Reubens' carefully guarded persona came crashing down. The scandal was worse because people knew only Pee-wee and not Reubens. There was also injustice in the whole affair, particularly the 2002 arrest that followed on charges of child pornography that were later dropped. In both cases, homophobia played a role. When Reubens does get around to talking about it, he's most resistant to painting himself as a victim, or offering any, as he says, 'tears of a clown.' Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. Wolf, the director of films like 'Recorder,' about Marion Stokes, who recorded television all day long for 30 years, and 'Spaceship Earth,' about the quirky 1991 Biosphere 2 experiment, is better known as a talented documentarian of visual archives than as an compelling interviewer of celebrities. 'Pee-wee as Himself' would have probably benefited from less one-sided interplay between subject and filmmaker. But Wolf's time was also limited with Reubens and just getting this much from him is clearly an accomplishment. Above all, Reubens says he's doing the film to clear a few things up. In the end, the full portrait of Reubens — including all his playful, self-deprecating charm in front of the camera — add up to a much-needed retort to some of the misunderstandings about Reubens. The day before he died, Reubens called Wolf to say one last thing: 'I wanted to let people know who I really was and see how painful it was to be labeled as something I wasn't.' 'Pee-wee as Himself,' a Warner Bros. release is unrated by the Motion Picture Association. Running time: 205 minutes. Three stars out of four.
The National
16-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Review: Christina Aguilera revisits 26 years of hits with her unmistakable vocals and high-energy performance
The world has seen many versions of Christina Aguilera over the years: as a child star of The Mickey Mouse Club, as a doe-eyed young pop sensation, as the bold and unapologetic Xtina, and finally, as a seasoned veteran songstress. As Aguilera returned to Abu Dhabi for the first time in 17 years, performing at Saadiyat Nights on Saturday, she brought versions of those past selves with her and performed a one-hour and 15-minute show that featured some of her greatest hits. The six-time Grammy winner took to the stage at 9.15pm, kicking off the night with an energetic rendition of her 2002 track Dirrty, electrifying the sold-out crowd from the get-go. She then transitioned to a shortened version of Can't Hold Us Down before performing her 1999 debut single Genie in a Bottle, another crowd-pleaser which raised people from their seats to dance along. However, this enthusiasm highlighted one of the evening's few drawbacks: the intimate, open-air venue wasn't designed for standing audiences, as it risks obstructing the view for those behind. This meant that security and staff spent much of the night urging people to remain seated even though both Aguilera's energetic performance and impressive discography made it difficult to do so. Regardless, Aguilera powered through two decades worth of hits. This includes What a Girl Wants, Moves Like Jagger and Feel This Moment, the latter two in which she collaborated with Maroon 5 and Pitbull. And while her vocals impressed during each song, she understandably had some breaks in between. Even during those brief intermissions, the audience remained entertained by the dynamic performances of her dancers. After the first such break, Aguilera returned to perform her Spanish-language track Santo, and her electro synthpop songs Bionic and Vanity, complete with lasers and smoke machines. She brought back the hits with Ain't No Other Man and Candyman before shifting the mood. Aguilera took a moment to speak to the crowd, reflecting on the song she was about to perform next. 'It's a song for when you're at your most vulnerable, when you're not afraid to ask the universe for help and guidance in searching for what's next,' she said. 'And whatever that may be, for each and every one of you out there, I know we all have something we're dealing with in our daily lives, something we may be struggling with … because things get complicated. Just know that hope is always around the corner.' The music video for Say Something, her 2013 duet with A Great Big World, then began to play. She watched the opening moments alongside the crowd, facing the big screen behind her before turning around to deliver a tender performance. After the emotional track, there was another dance break as her dancers and backup singers prepared to transition to the next song. Next up the singer played tribute to her acting and musical career, singing Show Me How You Burlesque and Express, two tracks from the Burlesque soundtrack, a 2010 film Aguilera starred in alongside Cher. The evening's momentum just kept growing. Aguilera proclaimed, 'You know this!', as the snappy opening lines of Lady Marmalade got crowds on their feet once more, the willing audience singing and dancing along. She closed the show as powerfully as she began, revisiting songs that helped shape her career. This included performances of Beautiful and Fighter from her 2002 album Stripped. Throughout the night, Aguilera took fans on a journey through the many phases of her career, performing songs from the past 26 years. As she closed with Let There Be Love, one thing was clear: no matter the era, her powerful voice has remained the same – and it's just one reason why she is so beloved by her fans.
