Directed by: Penelope Spheeris
Written by: Mike Myers, Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner
Starring: Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Rob Lowe, Tia Carrere, Brian Doyle-Murray
Rating: [3/5]
Creating something unique and organic contains the potential to break out when getting to the proper audience that appreciates it. Something that takes heart and soul, which is why when a corporation sees the ability to buy it outright it threatens to ruin the identity of its soul. A tale as old as time in all reality, but something Wayne’s World aims to capture amongst all of the other humorous nonsense it displays.
Filming on a weekly basis from a basement, Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey) have a very popular series that has the attention of young folks. When noticing their appeal, television producer, Benjamin Kane (Rob Lowe) seeks to buy their program and use it to advertise Noah Vanderhoff’s (Brian Doyle-Murray) arcade business in a more organic manner much to the surprise of Wayne and Garth.
Finding its origins from a “Saturday Night Live” skit, stretching the idea of Wayne and Garth into a feature-length film would certainly present some challenges narratively. It would not only need to bring its humor to the big screen but provide enough of it to the point where it could sustain a whole film. When initially served in bite-sized pieces, needing to create enough content for a whole movie put these writers and comics to the test and what we receive here can be described as a bit of a mixed bag.
This feature contains a very specific type of humor, which involves nods to the camera as it acknowledges the joke. Wayne and Garth even speak to the camera in private as if this entire narrative serves as a documentary of their experience. This makes for multiple nods and winks and while some of the humor still stands tall, the majority of it feels bland. Having this transpire certainly exists as one of the biggest issues any comedy film must fight. It’s not to say that the humor does not age well in that it contains problematic elements, but it simply does not have the same lasting power. Sure, this style of humor may have knocked it out of the park with individuals seeing this at a young age or back in the 1990s when this film saw its release, but watching it now showed several of these scenes fall fairly flat. I could appreciate what they attempted to do and the effort, but it just does not carry the level of humor it originally intended. One can only watch Wayne act like an adolescent around adults for so long without it feeling a bit exhausting after a while.
That, however, does not take away from the scenes that definitively stand out. The product placement scene, for example, never gets old where we have Wayne and Garth speak ill about the practice and their refusal to partake in it while doing so in the process. In those moments the film shines so brightly and demonstrates exactly why this film has maintained such popularity and high status amongst comedies.
Outside of the jokes, the central narrative throughline of the feature transpires with Wayne and Garth selling their show’s identity and not necessarily grasping the ramifications. Instead of this special little silly show they now must adhere to the demands of those paying the bill, namely Benjamin, who seeks to milk this opportunity for all he can. Here we see the rebellious spirit of Wayne and Garth indicating what made their show so popular amongst their audience. It certainly instills the juvenile humor that does not land as well but it certainly further drives home the point. This element of the film works fine enough even if underdeveloped because it fights for attention with the underbaked love story Wayne has with the lead vocalist of a rock bang Cassandra Wong (Tia Carrere).
While having many issues with elements of the film, Wayne’s World has plenty to enjoy that helps overlook its flaws. We have a loveable duo in Wayne and Garth as they bumble around in this cynical world with a worldview we can only envy. While it struggles with maintaining a strong narrative, the jokes that hit well do so in a way we can fully appreciate. Definitely something younger folks would enjoy more as I did but has not maintained its supreme quality when rewatching it at an older age.
Films with Josh 
