Thursday, February 24, 2011

The greatest cycling movie ever made?

After we came up with the idea of "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" for the theme of our free spring party this year (or, rather, after the Rocky River crew came up with the idea and we all agreed it was great), we started doing our Pee-Wee research.

That's when we found a pretty convincing article in Bicycling Magazine last year that argued it is the greatest cycling movie ever made. Sure, it's weird -- some would even say creepy -- but the writer points out that "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" is ultimately about really, really loving a bicycle and how many of us can really, really identify with that:
While the other [movie] classics celebrate cycling as a sport or use it as a metaphor for broader lessons, Pee-wee's Big Adventure is simply the most loving movie tribute ever made to owning a bike. We're not talking about breezy "I love my bike" love. We're talking deep, obsessive, freaky, alarming-to-friends-and-pets bike love. Anyone who has ever salivated over a bike in a shop to the point where a clerk has asked them to leave the premises, who has ever fetishistically polished a frame until he could see his reflection's reflection, who has confided in a favorite bike like an intimate friend, can relate to Reubens's brightly colored fantasy. It explores the bizarre emotional bond between rider and bike better than any film. If you think that makes me crazy, I have just one question: I know you are, but what am I?

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