Salt Lake Film Society Summer Showdown: Pee-wee’s Big Adventure vs. The Mask

Martin Scorsese has this list on Letterboxd called “Companion Films” in which he makes the case for double features, stating: “You always learn something, see something in a new light, because every movie is in conversation with every other movie.” I think about that quote every time I go into a double feature, and it was very much on my mind as I entered Broadway Centre Cinemas last Friday night for Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and The Mask. What could these films possibly have to say to one another?

Pee-wee Herman (star of Pee-wee’s Playhouse and notably credited as himself), a spiritually androgynous man with the energy and interests of a child, lives an eclectic lifestyle filled with whimsy and curios. At the center of his life is his tricked out red bicycle, an object of envy for his wealthy nemesis, Francis Buxton (Mark Holton, A League of Their Own). When his bike goes missing, Pee-wee sets off to find it, providing sundry delightful vignettes featuring larger-than-life characters, stop motion flourishes and that aforementioned trip to the Alamo.

The climax of the film takes us to Warner Bros. Studios, where Pee-wee runs rampant through multiple productions as he works to bust his bike out of the hands of Hollywood, securing a film adaptation of his story in the process. In the end, Pee-wee watches the James-Bond-ified version of his story with the friends he made along the way, letting us know that they were the biggest adventure all along.

I have a lot of nostalgia for Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. As one of my dad’s all-time favorite films, I grew up very familiar with the antics provided by creator Paul Reubens (and absolutely terrified of the Large Marge scene.) Though first-time director Tim Burton‘s auteurist schtick would be corporatized in decades to come, his signature combination of 50s kitsch and B-movie Hollywood homage is electric even in its earliest form. Pee-wee as a character is simultaneously joyous, bratty and rebellious for his blatant tongue-in-cheek queerness. A majority of Friday’s audience had seen the film before and you could feel the love throughout. You’re either in or out on Pee-wee and we were all 100% in.

In The Mask, Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey) is a cartoon-obsessed bankteller living in the grimy, Gotham-esque Edge City. Though generally a timid pushover with rotten luck, Ipkiss’s fortunes look up when he discovers a mysterious green mask and the power to do anything (read: CGI cartoon shenanigans.) As his professional life is threatened by The Mask’s overwhelming influence, his burgeoning flirtationship with Tina (Cameron Diaz, There’s Something About Mary) is threatened by her relationship to the criminal Dorian (Peter Greene, Pulp Fiction). Following some hijinx and a couple of musical numbers, Stanley must save the day without the mask (but with an impressive amount of help from his dog Milo.)

The film offers a fairly standard pulp hero plot a la Batman or Zorro in which The Mask is hunted by the law before becoming a hero to save the woman he loves, et cetera et cetera. What sets The Mask apart from other 90s stabs at oddball comic book adaptations like Dick Tracy or Mystery Men is of course seeing Carrey at the height of his powers: loudmouthed, rubberfaced and quip-smart.

Upon The Mask‘s release in 1994, Carrey had already had one massive hit earlier in the year (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) and would have another (Dumb and Dumber) before the year was out. In the years since, Carrey’s banner year has lived on in quotes you know whether you’ve seen the movies or not. Before Friday, I knew “Sssmokin’!” and I knew “Somebody stop me!” and I knew the iconography. Now having seen it, I feel the movie doesn’t offer much beyond that. (Though, as a fan of Peter Riegert (Crossing Delancey, Local Hero), I was pleased to see him bring a dash of dry wit to an otherwise hyperactive viewing experience.)

I don’t say this with hate in my heart, but The Mask just isn’t for me. Similarly, I’m sure Pee-wee’s Big Adventure rubs plenty of people the wrong way. They’re both built around extremely specific comedic performances; you’re either in or you’re out. To Scorsese’s point, watching them back to back did make me see them in a new light. I hadn’t thought I’d feel such a sense of community by watching Pee-wee’s in theaters, but when you revisit something you love with a crowd that laughs when you do, you can’t help but feel you’re amongst friends. Similarly, The Mask‘s audience was clearly unified in an appreciation for the character and the quips they’ve been imitating for thirty years. A beauty of the Summer Showdown returning cult classics to the big screen is learning you aren’t alone in what you love, and that’s what the movies is all about. —Max Bennion

Read more by Max Bennion:
SLUG Magazine Presents: 31 Days of Secondhand Givings
Inaugural Orem Film Festival Debuts Ten Local Shorts

If you enjoy SLUG’s coverage of the Salt Lake Film Society Summer Showdown, consider joining our community of donors!