The two-part HBO documentary series, “Pee-wee as Himself” follows in the footsteps of “Faye,” “Sly,” and “Martha”; that is, it’s a film where the subject speaks for himself in interviews conducted by the director. In this case, Matt Wolf is the helmer behind the camera talking to actor Paul Reubens. Reubens’s famous alter ego, Pee-wee Herman, was the star of three movies, a successful stage show, and a children’s television program that became a phenomenon.
When not narrating over various clips of his early life and his later career success, Reubens appears on camera, in close-up, to address us. He is instantly recognizable, resembling an older and wiser incarnation of his most famous character. As such, it’s not jarring to hear him drop four-letter words or mention that he did “lots and lots of drugs” during the early days of the Pee-wee stage show with the comedy group, The Groundlings.
Former Groundlings Laraine Newman (of “Saturday Night Live” fame) and Cassandra Peterson (a.k.a. “Elvira, Mistress of the Dark”) appear as talking heads here. The late Phil Hartman, alum of both “SNL” and The Groundlings, is seen in archival clips. Hartman, along with Reubens and Michael Varhol, wrote the 1985 box office hit, “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” the movie that put both Pee-wee and its novice director, Tim Burton, on the map.
Additionally, Laurence Fishburne and S. Epatha Merkerson appear to remind us they were on “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” as Cowboy Curtis and Reba the Mail Lady. Merkerson discusses how Reubens put Black characters in his show by default.
With documentaries like this one, I’ve often wondered how much control, if any, was ceded by the filmmakers in exchange for access. Especially when the subject is credited as an executive producer, as the late Reubens is here. Wolf pulls back the curtain by providing clips of Reubens talking about how upset he is at not being in control of the footage. There’s even a scene at the beginning of the second episode where Reubens FaceTimes Wolf to ask if he can submit questions for the other interviewees.
“You know the answer to that question is no,” says a stunned Wolf after a brief pause. We’re privy to Wolf’s relieved response when Reubens reveals that he’s pranking him.
“Do you trust me?” Wolf is heard asking at another point. Reubens responds that he never will, though he admits there might be a little bit of trust between them. It’s occasionally hard to ascertain how serious Reubens is in his responses; even without his trademark makeup, the familiar, mischievous Pee-wee smirk appears in those moments.
The title “Pee-wee as Himself” is an intriguing summation of the documentary. Reubens, who died in 2023 during the making of this series, steps out from behind the persona he cloaked himself in once Pee-wee became successful. Until the two major scandals that derailed his career, Reubens never did any interviews as himself; he was always Pee-wee Herman.
The title is also bittersweet. As the first, and more interesting, episode reveals, Paul Reubens was always himself until he tasted enormous success. Those of us old enough to have seen “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” in theaters, or watched the five seasons of the CBS hit “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” remember the darker elements that populate the second episode.
But despite watching “The Gong Show” religiously as a kid, I never knew that Reubens was a fixture on it, nor did I recall that he went on “The Dating Game” as Pee-wee — and won the date! Both of these details are documented in the first episode, but the most telling aspect of this section is that, until Pee-wee Herman became a household name, Reubens was an out gay man.
“I was as out as you can be,” he tells us, “and then I went back in the closet. Because I could pass.”
Being identified as gay was always potentially career-ending, which is why so many Hollywood stars, like Rock Hudson and Tab Hunter, stayed closeted at the height of their fame. Reubens’s situation is the opposite, and much of “Pee-wee as Himself” implicitly deals with the psychological repercussions of going into the closet after tasting the freedom of avoiding it for so long.
Still, there was plenty of gay subtext on “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” (and some of the clips here highlight how sneaky the show could be). But not enough to negate plausible deniability. And when folks expressed concern about the believability of Pee-wee’s relationship with his girlfriend in “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” Reubens counter-attacked by staging that ridiculously long kiss between him and Valeria Golino in the box office flop, “Big-Top Pee-wee.”
In a way, the success of Pee-wee Herman was a reward for Reubens hiding his true self. I found this idea to be so profoundly sad that the overall documentary left me somewhat depressed. I can imagine how painful it would be if I had to go back into the closet, so my reaction is strictly personal.
The saddest part of “Pee-wee as Himself” is that Reubens’s death from the cancer he privately battled for six years prohibited him from appearing on camera to speak about his most devastating scandal. Not the 1991 adult movie indecent exposure one, which he speaks to here, but the 2002 raid on his house after he was accused of possessing child pornography. Allegedly, no incriminating photos were found, but Reubens pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanor obscenity charge. The accusation tied being gay to being a pedophile, which makes it even more painfully understandable why Reubens hid his sexuality.
Overall, “Pee-wee as Himself” is a worthwhile documentary for fans of Pee-wee Herman and for folks who want to know more. But even at its most entertaining, it can be an emotionally difficult viewing experience.
PEE-WEE AS HIMSELF
Starring: Paul Reubens
On: HBO
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