Weird Little Guys (The Good Kind)

Musings of an Anxious Millennial Writer #19: A Look at the Strange Men Who Shaped Me

No, not those weird guys. Fuck those guys.

Lately, everywhere I look I'm inundated with marketing for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. And I'm hard-pressed to say I'm mad about that. I’m eagerly anticipating it, despite knowing that returns to films and worlds like this after decades away can be entirely hit-or-miss (I did enjoy Coming 2 America, but I have not yet watched Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F and cannot comment on if that one held up, though I’ve heard good things). The problem with our nostalgic fascination with films of yesteryear is often due to our connections with them as much as the movies themselves. These returns are often just stark displays of how much time has passed, and how different, for better or for worse, things are now. They’re, at best, the chance to allow us a moment of enjoyment of a bygone era we’ve associated with happy memories and, at worst, a harsh reminder of our mortality.

Plus, the trailers always make movies like this seem more like they’re about the original characters than they ever really are. Frankly, I’m not interested in expanding the world for its younger cast, I want the people I enjoyed way back when (you got me with that one, Hocus Pocus 2, and I didn’t enjoy all those extra musical numbers either, but maybe I’m just a big ol’ grouch).

I’m also, and I’ve admitted this about myself before so it shouldn’t come as too much of a shock, not the biggest Tim Burton fan. Correction, I’m not the biggest Tim Burton fan POST Mars Attacks! Minus Nightmare Before Christmas, I’m enamored with all his films and the style he brought to them from 1985-1996.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, at least from the trailers, is promising a lot of what I’d hope for from a much-awaited sequel of this kind. It’s got a new story with a talented young actress to give it vibrancy, with just enough of some of the original key players to still feel like it’s from that world. And it looks to be reminiscent of Burton’s works that I loved best, as indicated by something abundantly evident from what I’ve seen so far—he’s not afraid to lean into the weird.

Yes of course, Lydia Deetz is a goth princess (or queen now, I suppose), but what always struck me about Burton's style wasn't the love letters to goth culture, it wasn't when everything he did felt like it was made specifically for Hot Topic circa 2004, it was instead how he could blend the bold and colorful with the unsettling, and it was how absolutely weird it could be. And Betelgeuse himself is, most definitely, a weird little guy.

Regarding my previous complaints about sequels not featuring characters from the original films enough, I must make a bit of a concession here. When you revisit the original 1988 film, you realize that Michael Keaton's screen time as Betelgeuse in the movie is fairly limited, and there’s a strong possibility he might even be featured more in the sequel out in theaters today. But, man, you don’t realize how limited his time in the original film is because he packs so much into the scenes he’s in. I also think so many of my fond memories of his character are muddled with the version of him from the late 1980s to early 1990s animated series, where he had a much more prominent role (also, can we talk for a moment about the evolution of Betelgeuse and Lydia’s relationship from bio-exorcist/con man who tries to marry a teenager to use her to wreak havoc on the mortal world to a fun-loving prankster and a young goth girl as BFFs?). But one thing was true, like the movie, the cartoon was not afraid to get weird.

And, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about myself, it’s that I sure do love a weird little guy.

There was no shortage of strong feminine energy in my upbringing. Though I’ve never met my father, I never felt like I was lacking in love and support in a single-parent household. Both my grandfather and uncles created fatherly figure facsimiles in my life, but I was so inundated with care from my mother and grandmother, that I never yearned for a father. As such, I wasn’t familiar with hyper-masculine energy and always gravitated towards sensitive men. My loved ones, too, allowed me to embrace my femininity without pushing it upon me. They also embraced my weirdness, even if I didn’t recognize it at the time. I was an “old soul” many might say, but mostly I just liked all the stuff the adults around me enjoyed, and a lot of that centered around the television.

My life has always been shaped primarily by sketch comedy, variety shows, and animation. Saturday Night Live introduced me to some of my earliest memories of comedy. I'd later realize that so many people I loved most cut their teeth in SCTV or Groundlings. This is also the root of 99% of the bizarre shit I loved.

My earliest memory of strange male characters was probably Ed Grimley, SC-TV/SNL's answer to Peewee Herman (or at least, in my head cannon, that’s what he was). I remember asking my mom if I could be him for Halloween one year but instead, I dressed as Betty Boop. (And likely saved myself from the embarrassment of having to explain who I was and pantomime his most famous lines to kids who definitely wouldn't get it—and I already had enough of that after dressing up as Carmen Miranda the Halloween prior.)

My memories of the Ed Grimley cartoon are more limited, though I loved watching it. Something about seeing Martin Short, or even just an animated simulacrum of him, running around with his hands in the air was all the entertainment I needed. If you asked me, gun to my head, to explain what Ed Grimley was, I couldn't tell you more than just "a weird little guy." But man, I was fascinated with him and his absurd little life. His wacky antics made me laugh, and that's all that mattered.

This love of off-putting men would extend further into television too, especially sketch comedy. Kids in the Hall remains my favorite sketch comedy show, even if it doesn’t always hold up in current rewatches. At ten years old, was much of the humor over my head and beyond my understanding? Yeah, but the same could be said about it today too, I just blame that on it being overly Canadian. But when Mark McKinney dressed up as a chicken woman or tried to squish heads, when Bruce McCullough sang about the Daves he knows, when Kevin MacDonald was, well, Kevin MacDonald, it filled my heart with joy. I remember excitedly coming home from school on Wednesdays and beelining to my bedroom, zooted on pepperoni pizza and grape soda or the perfect combo of Lunchables, Munchos, and quarter waters, tuning to Comedy Central and marathoning KITH. Much like another favorite of mine at the time, Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Joel Hodgson also counts as another of my favorite weird guys), Kids in the Hall was my own private joy. I got a few of my friends to enjoy it, but not to the extent I did. And I liked having something like that that was just my own. Typical weird guy behavior, tbh.  

Sketch comedy also led me to one of my favorite movies—Wayne's World. Sure, Wayne may be the titular star, but let’s be honest—who doesn't prefer "with you as always" Garth Algar? Some of the best and most quotable lines in that movie come from Dana Carvey's character, and even as a kid, at least to me, he made being an awkward dork look kinda cool. Plus, man, could he do the shit out of that Foxy Lady dance. And who doesn’t admire someone who orders a whole fishbowl entirely for themselves?

Last but most certainly not least, the weirdest little guy of all—Paul Reubens, aka Peewee Herman. As strange as it is to admit, Peewee didn't have as huge a role in my childhood as the others, but he's become an iconic figure to me as an adult. I did not get to watch much of Peewee’s Playhouse and it would be many years before I’d finally see Peewee’s Big Adventure (though I often watched and enjoyed Big Top Peewee, which was an HBO Family staple). This is also largely because, for most of my childhood, Peewee was, tragically, on pause. Despite this, I could still always pinpoint and recognize Pual Reubens in any role he'd play outside of Peewee and became more familiar with the actor than the character (I mean he was in both Matilda and Dunston Checks In, after all).  

The fantastic YouTube channel Hats Off Entertainment (seriously, one of my favorite channels), did a wonderful retrospective look at Paul Reubens' career, both as Peewee and beyond. In it, they hit on something I could never quite quantify about Paul that makes him even more special.  And that’s that never once did he have a disdain for playing Peewee, the character that made him famous, even after controversy forced him to step away from the character for many years. Unlike most character actors, he embraced donning that grey suit and red bowtie and eagerly returned to the character even after many years away. Peewee became an extension of him and instead of hating that, he enjoyed it and the joy the character brought into the lives of so many.

Since Paul's passing, I’ve learned so much more about his life and his list of "celebrity" friends that expands across punk music, wrestling, and so very many of my personal interests (his closest circle early on were the Groundlings people, including Phil Hartman, the great and grossly underrated John Paragon, and, of course, Cassandra Peterson aka Elvira). The people in his life held him close and loved him dearly, and it's evident that Reubens brought a level of kindness, care, and compassion to all his relationships.

But, above all else, he wasn't afraid to embrace the weird and encourage others to do the same. Now that I am more well-acquainted with it, I can safely say that Peewee's Big Adventure is easily my favorite of all Tim Burton's films (even above Beetlejuice). The mix of Phil Hartman’s clever writing, Danny Elfman’s perfect score, Burton’s gorgeous cinematography and use of color and animation, and, of course, Paul/Peewee’s ability to be hilarious through his actions and his uncanny ability to always score a laugh without ever punching down, make it a perfect film. Peewee Herman the character, and Paul Reubens the man himself, are both legends that will live on in weirdness forever.

The more I write this the more I realize that this list could go on and on with more strange male actors and characters that have shaped my view of comedy, writing, and myself over the years. Whether it be the absurd antics of Dr. Steve Brule, the hilarious and downright filthy work of John Waters, or damn near every character Tim Robinson plays in I Think You Should Leave. I mean, Jughead could also be considered a weird little guy, and I'd like to think I have a pretty good relationship with him, too.

So, here's a toast to all the weird guys that made me who I am. Who needs a dad when you have strange fictional men?