The Bucket List Day 1: Big Top Peewee / Sixteen Candles

I don't consider myself too uncultured of a 16-year old. I grew up in a family with a father who put heavy value on the pop culture of the 80's and 90's, and sister's who embraced it. However, it wasn't until I started hanging out with some friends who I swear have seen every movie there is worth quoting that I realized; "I still have so much to see". So I set out to make a list, however long it may be, of the movies that I wished to see before the start of my junior year of high school. The list ended up being 116 movies long. So from today until about August, I will be updating this blog regularly with my thoughts of the various movies on my Bucket List.

Warning: spoilers will abound.

1. Big Top Pee-Wee
I was in the mood to start off with a short, goofy movie, and nothing seemed to fit the bill better than Big Top Pee-Wee. As a large fan of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, I felt the sequel, clocking in at a robust 85 minutes, would fit perfectly.

Not so much.

The movie lacks the charm and innate hilarity of the first Pee-Wee film. It also lacks an important aspect of a film... a plot. It was about an hour into the film when I realized; "this film is going nowhere!". Even now, I'd be hard pressed to tell you what happened in the film.

So Pee-Wee lives on a farm... Must've missed the memo. There are cranky townspeople who don't appreciate Pee-Wee's wacky antics. A storm rolls in, and an entire circus get's blown into Pee-Wee's backyard. Then he... helps them? Or something. In the process, he falls in love with a gymnast named Gina and in the process, angers his fiance Winnie. For the rest of the movie, he must handle his convoluted love life and convince the cranky townspeople to let the circus put on a show. It's a lackluster, yawn-inducing storyline that would lose you if not for the film's quick timeline.

Most of the films gag's fall quite short. A few come to mind that really sparked hilarity; for me, Pee-Wee's talking pig friend Vance was a highlight because of his ridiculous chain-smoker voice and the general idea of a talking pig. The most notable success however is something that one would expect straight out of Family Guy; as Pee-Wee shares a kiss with the incredibly sexy Gina Piccolapupula, portrayed with perfection by Valeria Golino, romantic music floats in the background and the camera pans out.... and pans out... and pans out. The two keep kissing as the music stops, and it's the genuine discomforting comedy that Seth MacFarlane mastered into an art.

But outside of those few moments, it's a film that revels in it's disappointment. It's a shame my film excursion had to start on a moment of disaster.

2. Sixteen Candles 
The complete opposite end of the spectrum. Believe it or not, I have never seen Sixteen Candles; despite being a huge fan of other John Hughes works, I've never seen the major Molly Ringwald movies. So I went onto Sixteen Candles right off of Big Top Pee-Wee. I was cranky, disappointed and ready to go to sleep.

But Sixteen Candles reversed all that; the witty dialogue and quick pacing made the movie fly. I looked at how long the film had been going at one point, and it was almost exactly 85 minutes; it felt about half as long as Big Top Pee-Wee did.

Intelligent thought of the day: I absolutely loved the juxtaposition of the stereotypes within the love triangle. Normally, you'd expect the popular, suave ladies man archetype (Jake Ryan) over whom our heroine (Samantha Baker) pines over to end up alone, as the geeky but caring boy (The Geek) eventually wins over her heart.

Nope. Our Geek is the lady killer, ending up with a hot senior girl. Meanwhile, Samantha Baker ends up with her dream boat Jake Ryan, who's more caring than you'd think. The plot's simple but effective, truly showcasing that awkward feeling that teenagers in love experience.

Closing thought: if I watch a better performance throughout this experience than Gedde Watanabe as Long Duck Dong, I'll be damned. Absolutely hilarious.

- Preston, 2/116