Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
d. Tim Burton, 1985
I'm tempted to call Tim Burton's first feature film, 1985's Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, his best movie to date. It contains the irreverent style he has come to be famous for; which includes the extravagant use of set designs, music, and actors. Having never seen his show, Paul Reubens's brilliant performance as Pee-Wee Herman came as a surprise to me. The film's structure has a legitimate beginning and ending, but the great bulk is mostly a hilarious succession of comic gags that call to mind such geniuses as Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and even Jacques Tati. Burton makes a key decision in the film to use the set designs not as part of the story, but just elements by which to enhance the story (something a lot of directors don't do). A perfect example of this is the house Pee-Wee lives in, the opening sequence is so elaborate that it is astonishing Burton doesn't come back to it later in the film; he's brave enough to use this fantastic set for just this one scene and move on. The rest of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is just as good, as we follow the title character's journey to find his flamboyant bicycle.
