Wayne's World

Penelope Spheeris (also of the Decline of Western Civilization Series and Suburbia) was chosen as the director of Mike Myers and Dana Carvey's SNL creation. This is the film that catapulted both comedians' careers into the stratosphere. 1992 is an interesting time in alternative rock history between the peak of grunge in 1991, and the coming crest of the "punk revival" in 1994 with Green Day, Offspring and Rancid. Wayne's World reveled in this new "alternative rock," music a concept which was at the time much more flexible than it is now. Rife with irony, alternative rock was eventually the name given to the music that blended aspects of rock, metal, punk, pop, and eclectic "weirdness." While Wayne is the more metal half of the excellent duo, Garth is the grunge/nerd/"punk" side of the equation.

Heavy metal rock and roll fandom provides the backdrop for a non-stop train wreck of social satire. Only in 1992; and only in Meyer's and Carvey's comedic genius could Aurora, Illinois ever seem so cool. Wayne's World, in the film's plot, is the name of a Cable Access television show (dare I say "DIY") hosted by Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar. Rob Lowe plays Benjamin, an advertising scout/producer who is looking for talent to promote a chain of video game arcade stores. He finds his muse in the low-brow witticism, promptly signs the boys, and sets them up in a proper television studio. A battle ensues between Ben and Wayne for the affection of one way-hot Cassandra (Tia Carrere) who is easily lured away from Wayne at the first flourish of Benjamin's bountiful extravagance. Wayne and Garth's plans to win back Cassandra culminate in the film's tripartite finale.

"...with an underlying revisionist's conceit that belied the film's emotional attachments to the subject matter..." the film was truly entertaining, whimsical, and relevant. And to reassure Garth; No, it did not suck.

WAYNE'S WORLD is actually one of the best SNL-inspired comedies ever made. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey are way cool as Wayne and Garth. It's just shameful that the movie contains mostly wasted music...HYUH, RIGHT, if monkeys fly out of my butt. I think it the music here is excellent. Tia Carerre is hot as Wayne's love interest, and Rob Lowe does a fine job as the con artist who buys Wayne and Garth's show. Believe me, it's worthy.

4 out of 5

I've always found Mike Myers to be something of an acquired taste and struggle to warm to his work. Wayne's World is the one exception, and surely the highlight of his career. The film is fairly novel in its design and has a lot of very witty moments. Dana Carvey is arguably the star of the show, playing the uniquely amusing Garth to perfection. Tia Carrere and Rob Lowe round out a pretty strong cast with decent, if slightly cheesy, performances.

I would agree that the film has aged a lot since its release, but it serves as a cultural reference point and will remain a very nostalgic and enjoyable viewing experience for people of a certain age. The subversive takes on mainstream films become a bit tiresome and the love triangle story is a little corny but this is not a film that needs analysing in great detail. A fun movie, with its own unique vibe and styling.

Wayne's World—which it's hard to believe is two decades old this year—still provides me with a good time, Mike Meyers' unique brand of surreal humour still managing to tickle my ribs, the music still causing my head to bang (only perhaps not quite as hard), and Tia Carrere still making me wanna go 'Schwing!' . I don't know how much of this enjoyment is down to nostalgia—I was a metal/heavy rock fan in my twenties when I first saw the film—but my kids seem to enjoy its random, scatter-shot craziness just as much as I do, despite not understanding many of the 90s cultural references (and, thankfully, some of the more 'adult' humour).

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for being able to whisk me back to a time when torn jeans, mullets and rock music ruled (I listen to BBC Radio 1 these days and I silently weep for the modern generation).

One of the classica of my teenager years, Wayne's World was de facto included in all our all night movie marathons. Watching it with my son now, 30 years later, it still holds up as a funny and weird movie. Excellent!