Laurence Fishburne Movies
Dramatic actor Laurence Fishburne gained widespread acclaim and an Oscar nomination for his gripping performance as the Svengali-like Ike Turner in the Tina Turner biopic What's Love Got to Do With It (1993) and went on to rack up an impressive string of credits playing leads and supporting roles on stage, screen, and television.Born in Augusta, GA, the sole child of a corrections officer and an educator, Fishburne was raised in Brooklyn following his parents' divorce. An unusually sensitive child with a natural gift for acting, he was taken to various New York stage auditions before landing his first professional role at the age of ten. Two years later, he made his feature film debut with a major role in Cornbread, Earl and Me (1975). A turning point in the young actor's career came when he lied about his age and won the role of a young Navy gunner in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. On location in the Philippines, the teenage actor effectively bade farewell to childhood as he endured the many legendary problems that befell Coppola's production over the next two years. In between shooting days, Fishburne hung out with the adult actors, often exposing himself to their offscreen drinking and drugging antics.
Back in Hollywood by the late '70s, he continued playing small supporting roles in features and on television. Like many black actors, he was frequently relegated to playing thugs and young hoodlums. He would continue to appear in Coppola productions like Rumble Fish (1983) and The Cotton Club (1984) throughout the 1980s. Wanting a change from playing heavies, he accepted a recurring role as friendly Cowboy Curtis opposite Paul Reubens on the loopy CBS children's series Pee-Wee's Playhouse. By the early '90s, Fishburne had begun to escape the stereotypical roles of his early career. In 1990, he played a psychotic hit man opposite Christopher Walken in Abel Ferrara's King of New York and a chess-playing hustler in Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993). Following his great success in the Tina Turner biopic, he became one of Hollywood's most prolific actors, appearing in films such as John Singleton's Higher Learning (1995). Fishburne, who had known Singleton when the latter was a security guard on the Pee-Wee's Playhouse set, had previously appeared in the director's debut film Boyz 'N the Hood (1991). After Higher Learning came Othello (1995) and Always Outnumbered, which he also produced. Fishburne had previously produced Hoodlum (1997), in which he also starred. In 1999, he stepped into blockbuster territory with his starring role in the stylish sci-fi action film The Matrix. Increasingly geared towards action films, Fishburne could be seen in the fast and furious motorcycle flick Biker Boyz as fans prepared for the release of the upcoming Matrix sequels.
In addition to his work in cinema, Fishburne has established a distinguished stage career, winning a Tony Award in 1992, for his role in August Wilson's Two Trains Running. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Cornbread (Keith Wilkes) is an African-American youth who strives to escape his ghetto surroundings. He does so by becoming a high school basketball star--and the idol of the other youngsters in his community. On the verge of starting college on a scholarship, Cornbread is mistakenly killed by a police officer. Keith Wilkes, who plays the title role, was in real life an all-American at UCLA. Cornbread, Earl and Me, which was based upon Ronald Fair's novel Hog Butcher, marked the big screen debut of Laurence Fishburne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moses Gunn, Rosalind Cash, (more)
- 1979
- PG
Hot on the heels of his Welcome Back Kotter success, Gabe Kaplan starred in this hastily assembled theatrical feature. Kaplan plays David Greene, the coach of a Nevada collegiate basketball team. Inasmuch as the local talent is pretty pathetic, Greene convinces a group of jive-talking New York street kids into playing for the college. Culture-clash jokes abound, with the black cast members usually coming out on top. In keeping with sports-comedy tradition, one of Greene's team members is a girl, and a very attractive one. Though it hasn't an original bone in its body, Fast Break is breezy entertainment, with a particularly thrilling climax. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabe Kaplan, Harold Sylvester, (more)
One of a cluster of late-1970s films about the Vietnam War, Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now adapts the Joseph Conrad novella Heart of Darkness to depict the war as a descent into primal madness. Capt. Willard (Martin Sheen), already on the edge, is assigned to find and deal with AWOL Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando), rumored to have set himself up in the Cambodian jungle as a local, lethal godhead. Along the way Willard encounters napalm and Wagner fan Col. Kilgore (Robert Duvall), draftees who prefer to surf and do drugs, a USO Playboy Bunny show turned into a riot by the raucous soldiers, and a jumpy photographer (Dennis Hopper) telling wild, reverent tales about Kurtz. By the time Willard sees the heads mounted on stakes near Kurtz's compound, he knows Kurtz has gone over the deep end, but it is uncertain whether Willard himself now agrees with Kurtz's insane dictum to "Drop the Bomb. Exterminate them all." Coppola himself was not certain either, and he tried several different endings between the film's early rough-cut screenings for the press, the Palme d'Or-winning "work-in-progress" shown at Cannes, and the final 35 mm U.S. release (also the ending on the video cassette). The chaotic production also experienced shut-downs when a typhoon destroyed the set and star Sheen suffered a heart attack; the budget ballooned and Coppola covered the overages himself. These production headaches, which Coppola characterized as being like the Vietnam War itself, have been superbly captured in the documentary, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. Despite the studio's fears and mixed reviews of the film's ending, Apocalypse Now became a substantial hit and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Duvall's psychotic Kilgore, and Best Screenplay. It won Oscars for sound and for Vittorio Storaro's cinematography. This hallucinatory, Wagnerian project has produced admirers and detractors of equal ardor; it resembles no other film ever made, and its nightmarish aura and polarized reception aptly reflect the tensions and confusions of the Vietnam era. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, (more)
- 1980
- R
Director Paul Mazursky's follow-up to his 1978 hit An Unmarried Woman found this filmmaker creating a feature-length homage to the François Truffaut classic Jules and Jim. Willie and Phil begins with Jewish intellectual schoolteacher Willie (Michael Ontkean) meeting gregarious Italian-American fashion photographer Phil (Ray Sharkey) at a screening of Jules and Jim. The two hit it off immediately and soon find their circle of two expanding to three when they meet Jeanette (Margot Kidder), a free-spirited Southerner who has moved to New York City to figure out her life. Jeanette soon moves in Willie, but the three find themselves in a romantic triangle that constantly shifts over the next nine years as each of the three struggles to find their destiny while honoring the love they feel for each other. Mazursky would later remake another foreign classic (Boudu Saved From Drowning) into his hit Down and Out in Beverly Hills ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Ontkean, Margot Kidder, (more)
- 1980
The 2-part TV movie Rumor of War was based on the 1977 memoirs of Vietnam veteran Philip Caputo. Brad Davis stars as Caputo, who during the mid-1960s was a Marine lieutenant. In battle after battle, Caputo performs his duties admirably, even when questioning the wisdom of America's Vietnam involvement. As both the war and the body count escalate, Caputo suffers a nervous breakdown. A Rumor of War bears an inevitable resemblance to the much-earlier antiwar epic All Quiet on the Western Front, right down to the presence of a father-figure combat sergeant (Brian Dennehy). Its few cliches aside, the film is a powerful indictment of the brutalization and depersonalization of America's Vietnam forces. A Rumor of War premiered on September 24 and 25, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Paul Kersey's (Charles Bronson) self-appointed one-man vigilante squad goes bi-coastal in Michael Winner's sequel to his Death Wish. Kersey has taken up residence in Los Angeles, but lunatic violence follows him across the country like toilet paper sticking to his shoe. Kersey's Spanish cook is immediately gang-banged and killed, while his daughter, still suffering from a catatonic stupor after her brutal rape in the first film, finds herself raped yet again. Vincent Gardenia as New York detective Frank Ochoa, reprises his role from the first film here -- traveling to Los Angeles to locate Kersey but finding death waiting for him off a LA freeway ramp. After all this mayhem, Kersey cannot cringe in hiding for long, and once again he loads up his tube socks with rolls of quarters and goes hoodlum hunting. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, (more)
- 1982
Charles (David Ogden Stiers) is more obnoxious than ever, thanks to an extremely painful toothache. But despite his agony, Charles is terrified at the prospect of seeing a dentist. Elsewhere, the doctors try to find out why the combat-engineer outfit commanded by a certain Major Weems (Tom Atkins) yields an inordinate number of black casualties. Watch for Laurence Fishburne in a key supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
One of two S.E. Hinton novels Francis Ford Coppola directed in 1983, Rumble Fish is a stylized black-and-white film about the death of gang culture in a rough-and-tumble town full of stunted youths. The central character is the strutting Rusty James (Matt Dillon), a foul-mouthed lunkhead clad in sweaty tank tops, who passes his time at the billiards hall waiting for "something" to happen in his life. That something might be the return of his brother, known only as the Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke), from exile in California. Charismatic and intelligent, the Motorcycle Boy once led numerous wide-eyed followers into battle, into the "rumbles" once commonplace in town. Rusty James wants to take over that role, but lacks the smarts necessary for leadership, nearly getting himself killed in an opening fight. The Motorcycle Boy stops the fight with equal parts efficiency and cool, and Rusty James seems delighted by his brother's return. But it quickly becomes clear that a local cop (William Smith) is still gunning for the Motorcycle Boy, waiting for him to slip up, even though the mysterious youth has developed a weary philosophy of life and a skeptical view of his former power. As the Motorcycle Boy seems more and more distant, lost in deaf and color-blind fugues, Rusty James gets into greater trouble, running afoul of his girlfriend (Diane Lane) and friends (Nicolas Cage, Christopher Penn, Vincent Spano), and seeming on the path to destruction. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, (more)
- 1983
Howard E. Rollins stars as martyred civil-rights spokesman Medgar Evers, while Irene Cara co-stars as his wife (and future NAACP leader) Myrlie. The film concentrates on the last years of Evers, an ex-insurance agent turned activist. His home in Jackson, Mississippi is besieged by bigots and he and his family are threatened with dire consequences, but Evers continues to work towards the goal of integrating his racially-polarized state. In June of 1963, the 37-year-old Evers is shot to death in front of his home. This 90 minute drama was adapted from a book co-authored by Mrs. Evers, Ossie Davis and J. Kenneth Rotcop. For Us, the Living was first telecast March 22, 1983 on PBS' American Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howard E. Rollins, Jr., Irene Cara, (more)
Combining electric song and dance performances with drama (both on and off screen), Francis Ford Coppola's The Cotton Club (1984) looks back to the 1920s-1930s peak of the legendary Harlem nightclub where only blacks performed and only whites could sit in the audience. Mixing historical figures with characters loosely based on actual people, Coppola and co-writers William Kennedy and The Godfather's Mario Puzo create a panorama of love, crime, and entertainment centered on the Club. Among them are cornet player Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere, playing his own solos), who escapes psycho gangster "benefactor" Dutch Schultz (James Remar) for a George Raft-type Hollywood career as a gangster film star; Schultz's nubile mistress Vera Cicero (Diane Lane), who loves Dixie against her mercenary instincts; Cotton Club Mob owner Owney Madden (Bob Hoskins) and close associate Frenchy Demarge (Fred Gwynne); Vincent (Nicolas Cage), Dixie's no-good Mad Dog Coll-esque brother; Club tap star Sandman Williams (Gregory Hines), who woos ambitious light-skinned Club singer Lila Rose Oliver (Lonette McKee); and cameos by Charles "Honi" Coles and Cab Calloway impersonator Larry Marshall. Complementing the period story, Coppola evokes the style of '30s gangster movies and musicals through an array of old-fashioned devices like montages of headlines, songs and shoot-outs. Conceived by producer Robert Evans as his crowning achievement and directorial debut, Evans had to hand over the troubled production to Coppola, but the budget spiraled out of control as the script was repeatedly re-written throughout the chaotic shoot. By the time it was released, The Cotton Club's epic production story of power struggles, financial bloat, and even a murder overshadowed the "reunion" of The Godfather's creative team. Neither a Heaven's Gate-sized failure nor a wallet-saving hit like Coppola's Apocalypse Now, The Cotton Club got some favorable critical notices (although it drew fire for subordinating the African American stories). It did not, however, find a large enough audience to justify its expense and controversy, becoming another mark against 1970s "auteur" cinema in increasingly blockbuster-driven 1980s Hollywood. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, (more)
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, The Color Purple spans the years 1909 to 1949, relating the life of Celie (Whoopi Goldberg), a Southern black woman virtually sold into a life of servitude to her brutal husband, sharecropper Albert (Danny Glover). Celie pours out her innermost thoughts in letter form to her sister Nettie (Akousa Busia), but Albert has been hiding the letters Nettie writes back, allowing Celie to assume that Nettie is dead. Finally, Celie finds a champion in the don't-take-no-guff Sofia (Oprah Winfrey), the wife of Glover's son from a previous marriage. Alas, Sofia is "humbled" when she is beaten into submission by angry whites. Later, Celie is able to forge a strong friendship with Albert's mistress Shug (Margaret Avery). Emboldened by this, Celie begins rifling through her husband's belongings and finds Nettie's letters. Able at last to stand up to her husband, Celie leaves him to search for a new life on her own. A major box-office hit, The Color Purple was nominated for eleven Oscars. The film was co-produced by Quincy Jones, who also wrote the score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
Former Starsky and Hutch star Paul Michael Glaser warmed the director's chair for Band of the Hand. The film zeroes in on five juvenile delinquents who are plucked from their various detention facilities and unceremoniously dumped in the wilds of the Everglades. The boys begin to panic until hardcase Vietnam veteran Stephen Lang arrives. Lang explains that they've been paroled in his custody, and that it is his task to teach them how to work as a team in order to survive. The logic of this plan is to whip the boys into an elite vigilante unit, then sic them on the various drug dealers of America. The film features early performances by Lauren Holly and Larry Fishburne and Bob Dylan can be heard singing the title song. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Lang, Michael Carmine, (more)
- 1986
Pee-wee's magic show comes to an abrupt end when he disappears for real! He has some fun using his invisibility to play tricks on his friends --- but the fun is over when he's unable to rematerialize. Can Jambi come to the rescue? By the way, today's secret word is "Little", so you know what to do for the rest of the day. And as an extra added attraction, Pee-wee makes a salad! "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" was released on video in tandem with "Luau for Two" in Volume 6 of Pee-wee's Playhouse, and also on a triple bill with "Rainy Day" and "Cowboy Fun" in an earlier Pee-wee collection. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Reubens
In this underscripted and not wholly convincing drama, Kevin Bacon plays Jack Casey, an up-and-coming broker who crashes on the stock market one day and cashes in whatever he has left to become a bicycle messenger in San Francisco. Although not exactly a logical alternative, bicycling the hilly streets of S.F. turns out to be dangerous after Casey runs into Gypsy (Rudy Ramos), the street pusher who has the messengers run drugs for him. A series of characters and events drop in and out of the conflict between Gypsy and Casey, including love interest Terri (Jami Gertz) and Casey's friend Hector (Paul Rodriguez). Music dominates throughout the film which includes scenes of breakdancing on bikes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Bacon, Jami Gertz, (more)
- 1986
The secret word is "This" on this (SCREAM REAL LOUD!) episode. Pee-wee throws a party and invites all the gang, including Cowboy Curtis, Captain Carl, Miss Yvonne and Reba the Mail Lady. They do the hokey-pokey (and turn it all around), then wrap things up with a quick game of "Pin the Tail on Globey." This (SCREAM REAL LOUD!) is loads of fun. "Party" was released on video in tandem with "The Gang's All Here" in Volume 5 of Pee-wee's Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Reubens
- 1986
Today's secret word is "Okay" --- and as a bonus, everybody gets a secret name in this episode. Pee-wee coaxes his Playhouse pals to sketch his portrait in crayon. He then pays a visit to a mousehole, only to get stuck. Jambi saves the day by shrinking Pee-wee's head, but is it a permanent shrinkage? (After all, he only gets one wish.) Calvert DeForest, a.k.a. "Larry 'Bud' Melman' from Late Night with David Letterman, guest-stars as new gang member Rusty. "The Gang's All Here" was first released on video in tandem with "Party" in Volume 5 of Pee-wee's Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Reubens
- 1986
The 13 first-season episodes of Pee-wee's Playhouse have become such beloved classics that it hardly seems necessary to offer an overview, but here goes anyway: In "Ice Cream Soup," the series opener, Pee-Wee (Paul Reubens) introduces us to his friends Miss Yvonne (Lynne Stewart), Cowboy Curtis (yes, that's Laurence Fishburne), Jambi the Genie (John Paragon), Captain Carl (Phil Hartman), and the King of Cartoons (Gilbert Lewis), among many others. He also treats us to the first Secret Word, "door" (and remember to SCREAM REAL LOUD!). "Luau for Two" finds Pee-Wee throwing a luau in the Playhouse, tiki torches and all. Our hero breaks out the paper airplanes and whipped cream when he is cooped up indoors on a "Rainy Day" -- and also makes a prank phone call, much to his everlasting regret. In "Just Another Day," Cowboy Curtis teaches Pee-Wee how to square-dance. "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" is highlighted by Pee-Wee's magic show, which ends up rendering him invisible. Miss Yvonne treats grouchy neighbor Mrs. Steve (Shirley Stoler) to a "Beauty Makeover" in the episode of the same name. "The Restaurant" is what Pee-Wee calls his own kitchen when Captain Carl shows up for a peanut-butter sandwich. Everyone has "Ants in Your Pants" when the denizens of Pee-Wee's animated ant farm make good their escape. A one-eyed "Monster in the Playhouse" soon finds Pee-Wee surrounded by a whole bunch of new friends. A nervous Cowboy Curtis stages a dress rehearsal of his date with Miss Yvonne in "Cowboy and the Countess." Rascally Randy suffers mightily when he consumes the "Stolen Apples" from Mrs. Steve's backyard. Pee-Wee is rescued from a mousehole by his kiddie pals (including at least one overgrown "ringer") in "The Gang's All Here." And it's nonstop fun for everyone, including the usually reserved Reba the Mail Lady (S. Epatha Merkerson) in the aptly titled "Party." It was during this maiden season of Pee-Wee's Playhouse that the series won the first of its many Emmy awards, one for Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Outstanding Achievement in Videotape Editing. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Reubens
- 1986
Today's secret word is "Remember." But Miss Yvonne is more interested in the future than in the past when she asks Cowboy Curtis on a date. The nervous Curtis practices his etiquette with Countess the Cow, then goes on a dress rehearsal for his big evening -- with Pee-wee impersonating Miss Yvonne! "Cowboy and the Countess" was released on video in tandem with "Reba Eats, Pteri Runs" in Volume 14 of Pee-wee's Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Reubens
- 1987
In this provocative made-for-television drama, an African American Chicago priest takes on the Catholic church during his fight to adopt a troubled teen and save him from life on the streets. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Gossett, Jr.
- 1987
Pee-wee is confused when Conky produces today's magic word: "Zyzzybalubah." But sure enough, the magic word is spoken, whereupon the entire Playhouse gang is whisked into Outer Space, including visitor Reba the Mail Lady. Landing on a mysterious red planet, our friends confront a squeaky-voiced alien who bears a startling resemblance to Miss Yvonne --- and an omnipotent ruler whose name happens to be Zyzzybalubah! "Playhouse in Outer Space" was released on video in tandem with "Pee-wee's Store" in Volume 3 of Pee-wee's Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Reubens
Set in Washington D.C. during the Vietnam War era, Gardens of Stone concentrates on the trials and tribulations of the Arlington National Cemetery home guard. James Caan plays career soldier Sgt. Clell Hazard, who has come to the sad conclusion that Vietnam is unwinnable and that America should withdraw as soon as possible. His attitude is contrasted to that held by Private Jackie Willow (D.B. Sweeney), who wants nothing more in life than to go into battle for his country. Though Hazard cannot officially dissuade Willow from this yearning, he pulls a few surreptitious strings to change the lad's mind, including encouraging a renewed romance between Jackie and his former girlfriend Rachel (Mary Stuart Masterton). After so many big-budgeters, Coppola determined that Gardens would be a deliberately "small" picture, concentrating on personalities rather than opulence; the director's father, Carmine Coppola, supplied the music, while Peter Masterton and Carlyn Glynn, the real-life parents of Mary Stuart Masterton, play Mary's on-screen dad and mom. Gardens of Stone was adapted by Ronald Bass from the novel by Nicholas Proffitt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Caan, Anjelica Huston, (more)
- 1987
- R
- Add A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors to QueueAdd A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors to top of Queue
The best of the Elm Street sequels, this creepy, surreal fantasy features terrific effects, a fine young cast, and an air of grim fatalism that sets it apart from its giggly successors. Patricia Arquette stars as Kristen, whose nightmare leads to a slashed wrist which looks suspiciously like a suicide attempt. She is placed in a hospital psychiatric ward with a group of six other troubled teens who all dream about the same horribly burned man (Robert Englund) trying to kill them. Perhaps the most unusual thing about this picture, however, is the unexpected depth of sadness running through it. There are some achingly sweet moments in this otherwise frightening film which, though not disruptive, are impossible to analyze. The first and most bizarre of these is Heather Langenkamp's entrance, which inexplicably causes most viewers to get misty-eyed, and there are several similar scenes throughout the film. One answer can be found in the sensitive direction of Chuck Russell, who emphasizes the tragedy and utter hopelessness in these kids' lives and manages to wring some unexpectedly perceptive turns from his cast. This is a film in which a great deal of care was obviously lavished on individual scenes (the sets are outstanding) and performances. The results are well worth repeated viewings, and prove that sequels don't necessarily have to be inferior films. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heather Langenkamp, Patricia Arquette, (more)
- 1987
The very first episode of Pee-Wee's Playhouse, "Ice Cream Soup," was seen on September 13, 1986. Here we meet all the gang: Cowboy Curtis, Miss Yvonne, Conky, Jambi, and the King of Cartoons (here played by Gilbert Lewis). Courtesy of Conky, we're given the first-ever secret word: "Door." Forced to vacate the Playhouse pool because of inclement weather, Pee-wee and his friends snuggle up in the kitchen to make ice cream soup (hence the title). As a bonus, Captain Carl is rescued from the Sandwich Islands. "Ice Cream Soup" was released on video in tandem with "Puppy in the Playhouse" in Volume 13 of Pee-Wee's Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Reubens
- 1987
Today's secret word is "Fun." But it's no fun for Pee-wee when, after correctly answering a call-in quiz, he wins a dinner for two at a fancy Hawaiian restaurant. Oh, he likes Hawaiian food, but how can he choose a single dining companion amongst all his friends (even Countess the Cow is lobbying to go!) The answer: Throw a luau at the Playhouse, complete with tiki torches and limbo bar. Oh, what fun! (SCREAM REAL LOUD!) First telecast September 20, 1986, "Luau for Two" was released on video in tandem with "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" in Volume 6 of Pee-wee's Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Reubens
- 1987
The big news for season two of Pee-Wee's Playhouse is the selfsame Playhouse's "new look"--which extends to redesigning several puppet characters, notably Globey. Though Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens), Miss Yvonne (Lynne Stewart), Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne), and many other regulars are still in attendance, there are also several new faces including Suzanne Kent as neighbor lady Mrs. Rene and William Marshall as the King of Cartoons, replacing the previous season's Gilbert Lewis. The season's ten half-hour episodes include "Open House," in which Pee-wee supervises the Playhouse's makeover; "Puppy in the Playhouse," wherein our hero tries to adopt a doggy that already belongs to one of his best friends, Reba the Mail Lady (S. Epatha Merkerson); "Store," wherein Miss Yvonne goes shopping at Pee-Wee's imaginary convenience shop; "Pee-Wee Catches a Cold," an object lesson in how anything can be cured with a good dose of chicken soup; "Why Wasn't I Invited," in which a misunderstanding almost causes Pee-Wee to miss the Countess' big party; "Tons of Fun," highlighted by a lip-synched performance "That Certain Feeling" (original artist: Bob Hope); "School," which brings Christopher Columbus briefly back to the land of the living; "Spring," a study in disconsolation as Pee-Wee fails to make the baseball team; "Playhouse in Outer Space," which proves that even a secret word like "Zyzzybalubah" can crop up in casual conversation; and "Pajama Party," which delivers just what the title promises (and it's co-ed, too!) For its second season, Pee-Wee's Playhouse earned still another Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Reubens
