Larry Drake has passed. I don't have much to offer other than to say...fuck, that sucks. He has been one of my favorite cult actors for well over a decade. When you look at the versatility and the divergent nature of his characters, you realize that he was in Tim Curry's league. That's rarefied air, folks. The dude played a "simple" man-child, a psychotic Santa Claus, a facetious surgeon (pictured above) and Robert Durant. He had several other memorable roles, but obviously, his work in the fields of horror and fantasy stuck to my ribs. I will go to my grave beating the drum for Dr. Giggles. And did you know that he starred in an episode of the reworked The Outer Limits? It's entitled "The Message," and somehow, it has escaped my prying eyes. I'll be rectifying that as soon as I finish this write-up.
Rest in peace, Mr. Drake.
Now the good news! I just watched Pee-Wee's Big Holiday, a Netflix Original that premiered roughly 24 hours ago. This was going to be a hard film to nail, considering nostalgic expectations and the singular tone of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. I am here to tell you that writers Paul Reubens and Paul Rust (not to mention director John Lee, harvester of warped Adult Swim content) nailed it. This flick is FUN. I would actually describe it as "feelgood," and that's not a term I use every day. Honestly, I wasn't expecting many laughs, but a couple of scenes violated my funny bone. The balloon!
The cast is splendid, the characters are splendid (I heart Pepper) and the 50's throwbacks are splendid. I don't see throngs of 80's kids being disappointed. Or 90's kids. I would say more, but you just need to watch it for yourself. If that means signing up for Netflix, do it! No, I don't work for Netflix. "Happy Birthday, Joe!"
No comments:
Post a Comment