It’s an interesting paradox — craving the spotlight and capturing it by burying one’s real self in the process.

That’s one of the many questions explored in “Pee-wee as Himself,” a nearly three-and-half-hour documentary on the life and career of Pee-wee Herman that premiered last week on MAX (formerly HBO MAX and soon to be HBO MAX again).

I was, at best, a casual fan of Paul Reubens’ manchild alter ego. I’m sure I was familiar with him from his David Letterman appearances in the early ’80s, and the clips in the film jogged some memories. But I vividly recall going to see “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” on opening weekend in 1985. It must have been due to a stellar movie review from someone I respected because it’s not a movie I can imagine 23-year-old me rushing to see. It was silly and inventive and playful and creative in a way that the dominant comedy style at the time wasn’t.

Director Matt Wolf was given access to a treasure trove of archival footage by Reubens, from home movies of his time at circus camp when the family lived in Sarasota, Florida (winter home of Ringling Bros.), to performance art projects when he was a student at CalArts in the ’70s. And the film shows how those early experiences and his favorite shows and movies shaped the work he did as a performer.

He also includes throughout some of the struggles he had with maintaining Reubens’ cooperation. In some ways, he didn’t have a choice, as viewers discover in the second half of the film. At times he comes across like a hostile witness (albeit a funny and clever one).

Those moments when Reubens is frustrated at the lack of control he has in the process and his concern about how he ultimately will be portrayed echo his concerns throughout his career.

Reubens created many characters as a member of the LA improv troupe The Groundlings, including a dancing Native American he called Jay Longtoe that would have crucified him for cultural appropriation today.

Once he decided that Pee-wee Herman had the greatest potential for success, he only appeared in public as Pee-wee. He did it without really considering that it meant the man who had been living openly gay in southern California now was climbing back into the closet.

At times the documentary plays like every Hollywood biofilm — the rise to fame, the struggle to stay on top, the inevitable downfall.

“Pee-wee as Himself” doesn’t shy away from the headlines that caused the downfall — an indecent exposure charge in an adult movie theater in 1991, allegations of possession of child pornography in 2002 — but the most interesting parts of the documentary show how Reubens and the team he assembled created the magical world of the “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” and how Reubens felt he didn’t receive proper credit for his creative input on “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” compared to praise lavished on director Tim Burton.

Some of his early collaborators worked with him throughout his career; some felt they didn’t get sufficient artistic credit or financial compensation for their contributions to creating the stage show that turned Pee-wee into a television and film star.

Reubens died in 2023, so he never saw what Wolf did with the 40 hours of interviews he did and the access he provided.

Would he have been happy with the result? Considering the amount of control he desired in all facets of his life, it’s likely he would have given Wolf another 40 hours of notes on the final cut.

But it’s a largely sympathetic portrayal and compelling enough to hold the attention of a casual fan for 205 minutes.

Andy Gray is the entertainment editor of Ticket. Write to him at agray@tribtoday.com