Way back in June, I passed along the news that Paul “Pee Wee Herman” Reubens was set to star in Life During Wartime, Todd Solondz’ alleged semi-sequel to Happiness and Welcome to the Dollhouse. According to this post on MTV’s Movie Blog, Reubens is still attached to the project, but the project itself may not be any closer to getting made. The former Pee Wee says Wartime has “gotten pushed three times” due to “problems with the financing on it.” At the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, Solondz issued a statement about the “unbridled enthusiasm and support” the project enjoyed from then-financiers Fortissimo Films. Are we to assume that said enthusiasm has waned?
Regardless, that’s not even the most interesting nugget of the MTV story. Reubens confirms that as written, Wartime features “characters from Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness whose paths converge. It???s all different people playing the same roles…I???m playing a role someone else played in one of those movies.???
So who do you think it could be? Assuming Solondz is taking age and gender into account in his casting process (and post-Palindromes, there’s no reason to assume that at all), the safest bets would probably be one of three characters from Happiness. There’s Allen, the pervy caller played by Philip Seymour Hoffman (see the clip above, beginning around 5:40); Dylan Baker’s father/psychiatrist/pedophile; and the character played by Jon Lovitz, potential suitor who is jilted in the film’s first scene by Jane Adams. Given Reuben’s personal history, the Dylan Baker character is probably the most obvious, but I think the Jon Lovitz character might be more interesting. Tell us your own thoughts in the comments.
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