The smartest thing about this new movie is that it doesn't lean too heavily on your good will, the emotional investment its target audience has presumably already made in the character and concept of Pee-Wee Herman.

My very short and detail-free verdict is: good but not great.

For all the delightful quirkiness on display, and references to movies such as Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Glen or Glenda?, the humor and the story don't exactly flow easily and too many of Pee-Wee's lines sound generic, like they could have been spoken by any number of characters.

But it was certainly a pleasant diversion, an effort that should be rewarded and a fine way to spend ninety minutes.