1992
Cast: Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Tia Carrere, Rob Lowe, Lara Flynn Boyle
Genre: Comedy
Estimated Worldwide Gross: $183,097,323
Plot: A big screen spin-off of the Saturday Night Live skit. TV producer Benjamin Kane (Rob Lowe) wants to take the public access ''Wayne's World'' to the world of commercial television. Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey) battle to save their show and Wayne's girlfriend, Cassandra (Tia Carrere) from Benjamin
'Never Mind Austin Powers, Wayne's World Is The Real Deal'
Right from the Queen Bohemian Rhapsody opening, Wayne's World takes the irreverent Saturday Night Live sketch to the next level by becoming a big budget Hollywood feature film.
I'd never even seen Saturday Night Live or any of the Wayne's World skits before I came across this movie, but after seeing this film, I understand why it became a success and why Wayne and Garth's appeal goes far beyond the so-called metal heads.
The slapstick and silliness is just excellent, but there is also a sophistication and charm in its portrayal of heavy metal music and the rock sub-culture in the film world that can be appreciated by people like myself who don't normally follow rock music.
Wayne and Garth are Bill and Ted, only much more hipper and cooler in my opinion. Wayne is a cool guy and Garth is the cute and often shy type. They are like 20-something- year- olds you knew back in high school.
Tia Carerre as Cassandra is brilliant and her vocal performances are incredible, there's no doubting she has the pipes. As well as the main plot of Benjamin trying to make stars out of Wayne and Garth, there is also an interesting romantic love triangle sub-plot that develops between Benjamin, Wayne and Cassandra, with Wayne having feelings for Cassandra. And Benjamin turns out to be a slime-ball as he eventually screws Wayne over, whilst trying to court his would-be girlfriend.
One of the funniest moments for me was when Wayne tried to speak Cantonese to Cassandra - yeah, the pronunciation wasn't perfect but this is a comedy and it's all a bit of fun and so I did see the funny side to it. But the film has so many great gags and scenes throughout and it is so consistently funny too. Thing I noticed about most of Mike Myers comedy movies, including Wayne's World and Austin Powers, is that with the humour you can't think too deeply into it; otherwise, you will not get the joke. For me, so much of Mike's humour is based on visual gags: he relies on inanimate objects or any physical property that he can generate humour out of it. One example from this film is the product placement scene with Wayne.
But the film's success and humourous appeal doesn't just solely rest on the shoulders of Mike Myers, but also on Dana Carvey who turns in an amusing, whimsical and mischievous portrayal as Garth. He may be quiet, shy and not as eccentric as Wayne -, and yet he can still zap you with an electric cattle prod, if you try to make him angry! Not forgetting he is a terrific drummer, and so Garth is not as dumb as you, or be it we think he is.
As it is based on a SNL sketch, it contains its trademark SNL satire that parodies and pokes fun at everything from classic sitcoms to 1990s TV commercials and product placements, as well as throw in the odd Scooby Doo reference. There is even a Terminator 2 skit guest -starring Robert Patrick & a celebrity cameo in rock singer, Alice Cooper. The multiple endings for Wayne's World was a good twist and it was really amusing.
Though the film is more famous for re-introducing Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody for the '90s generation.
Movies such as Wayne's World truly represented some of the last of the very best in comedy films from the past 2 decades; quite frankly, I miss this humour from those movies, as this type of humour is pretty much non-existent in today's comedy movies.
Final Verdict:
It's annoying when the press continue harping on and on about Austin Powers and acting as if it is the only Mike Myers comedy movie that exists. Austin Powers is hilarious and all, but in watching this film and the sequel, makes me appreciate the Wayne's World movie franchise even more so today than I did during the 1990s.
Wayne's World is an absolute classic that still stands the test of time today. The comedy and gags come in thick and fast - yet are funny and not dumbed down farce humour.
As Wayne Campbell, Mike Myers in my eyes will forever be synonymous with the rock- loving, 20 something-year-old more so than that of his other wacky movie character, British be-speckled super-spy, Austin Powers.
Wayne's World may not be the most creative comedy film, ever - but the manner it manages to interweave pop culture references and still make the rest of the film funny, charming and upbeat, is well, 'excellent'. Plus, it is the movie that introduced us to Mike Myers & his comedic talents.
So, party on!
Overall:
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