Pee Wee Herman Stencil by Wildabeast76
“I spent an awful long time 12 years ago thinking to myself, you know, this can’t be my final thing. I’m a big believer in the happy ending. I want a Pee-Wee movie to have a happy ending. Pee-Wee gets his bicycle back. I don’t know what the ending is to my story. But I think it’s going to be a happy one.” Paul Reubens
Is this really a quote about Happy Endings from Pee Wee? Really? I have to assume that this was before his arrest. If you dont know what he was arrested for, look it up, then re-read that quote. It will get funnier.
Searching for pictures of Pee Wee and his bike I came across this one.
It was taken at the America on Wheels museum in Allentown PA. I never knew something like this existed so close by. I’m gonna chalk this up to “you learn something new everyday”. Now I’m done learnin, I can be content being a dolt for the rest of the day.
This museum looks like like something the Green Laker would be jealous of. Now that I know such a prestigous institution exists, with a display dedicated to the greatest bicycle movie ever made I must visit it.
Yeah thats right–I just went there. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure is (in my opinion) the best bicycle movie ever.
He had me from “This about a boy and his bike”. This movie has it all.
Boy has bike, Boy loses Bike, A horrible villain, a pretty girl, Large Marge the trucker, sweet 80’s BMX stuff, and sweet redemption.
It truly is a classic. I get all welled up just thinking about it.
That Darn Francis!
Tim Burton at his finest here.
Coming in an extremely close second is Breaking Away.
I must have watched or heard this movie hundreds of times. We used to run it on replay at Turin in Denver when I worked there. Quite frankly I got a little sick of it. After a few years of rehabilitation I purchased it again to watch on the trainer. It was only then that I realized that Dennis Quaid was in the movie. Maybe I wasn’t watching as intently as I thought.
This is a great movie. I can not be in a retail store and here someone ask for their money back without thinking REFUND, REFUND!!!!
Other classic Bicycle movies include the cheesy 80’s movies Quicksilver, and American Flyers. Both starred very famous Kevin’s. The first film had Bacon, the second Costner. A-Lister’s giving the bicycle exposure.
Both of these movies are a bit of a shame because they are so cheesy, but they were mainstream movies, and hey the 80’s were pretty cheesy.
Quicksilver has a sweet opening sequence with Nelson Vails ripping through the city. Nelson was the MAN. For all I know he may still be.
I won’t speak of the bike dancing scene. Damn I just did.
American Flyers showed bicycle racing in a little different light. The story is contrived but there are some great shots of the “Hell of the West”, which in actuality was the Coors Classic. As a teenage boy I remember vividly (very) brief nudity as well. Those things get permanently burned in a young impressionable mind.
My favorite scene of the movie is without a doubt training with Eddie.
I own all of these and they get at least one eye-ballin a season during trainer time. If you havent seen any of these check em out. Tell em Large Marge sent ya.
Ciao Mama, Ciao Papa