Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016)

Paul Reubens struggled for years to bring Pee-wee Herman back to the big screen, but had to compromise when Judd Apatow and Paul Rust made an offer for Netflix instead. The result is a little bit uneven, but still a welcome return for the much-beloved character. This time, he works at a small town diner when he meets Joe Manganiello (playing himself), who invites him to his birthday party in New York City, so Pee-wee decides to leave his familiar surroundings for the first time and travel cross-country. It's another Pee-wee sequel that bears no resemblance to his other on-screen portrayals and essentially functions as a standalone film. It's extremely fun in small doses, but really lacks the direction and vision that Tim Burton brought back in 1985.

Sadly, this was to become Paul's final portrayal of the character. R.I.Pee-wee.

3 squeaking balloons out of 5

The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway (2011)

Paul Reubens at long last got a chance to reprise the popular character he was known for in a 2010 revival of the original stage show that began his career. It updates the original story for modern audiences while incorporating a lot of new Pee-wee lore, including appearances by many characters from his 1986-1990 TV series, Pee-wee's Playhouse, making it both an epilogue and reunion for many of the performers. It's a lot of fun to see Paul inhabiting the role again and fitting the grey suit like a glove without ever missing a beat. This one is mostly for the fans, but there is a lot of love and nostalgia throughout.

3 magic words out of 5

The Pee-wee Herman Show (1981)

A filmed version of Paul Reubens's stage show from 1981, this early HBO special introduced the character of eternal man-child Pee-wee Herman to the world at large. Taking place in an imaginative playhouse set, it features a twisted and surreal parody of '50s children's TV shows (e.g. Howdy Doody) with a bit of a punk rock edge. Captain Carl (Phil Hartman), Miss Yvonne (Lynne Marie Stewart) and Jambi the Genie (John Paragon) are all in tow. It's a bit darker, rough around the edges and more adult in tone than than the Pee-wee's Playhouse program that would develop later, but it's still a great showcase for wild and bizarre humor featuring puppets and humans alike.

4 luckiest boys in the world out of 5

UHF (1989)

AKA: The Vidiot from UHF

"Weird Al" Yankovic plays George Newman, a man with big dreams and a vivid imagination who lucks into managing a failing low-budget television station where he commissions a series of eclectic programming choices, including that of promoting the janitor (Michael Richards) to children's television host.

This movie is just plain fun and leans into the absurd and the extreme, as Al brings his parodic sensibilities to spoof everything from Gandhi to Conan the Barbarian. It's one of those films that grows with you over time, and follows in the tradition of over-the-top slapstick comedies like Airplane! and Top Secret!

3½ spatulas out of 5

Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

Greatest Movie Ever Made. Period.

This is the most fun I've ever had with my pants on (and sometimes off). I saw it for the first time when I was a wee lad—and over and over again—and more than two decades later, it still holds up as well as the first time as I saw it. Paul Reubens is maniacal fun, and the pairing of Tim Burton and Danny Elfman was a match made in heaven. Informed so much of my weird, twisted sense of humor as a kid. Still as inventive and funny as ever.

"I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel."

5 movies within a movie out of 5