Wayne’s World is the rarest of films – a good Saturday Night Live movie. It was the 2nd SNL movie made, 12 years after The Blues Brothers, and was a rousing success. Not only did Wayne’s World launch Mike Myers into the realm of movie stardom, it opened the floodgates for a series of dismal SNL movies throughout the ‘90s. But none of those films could gross more than one-quarter of Wayne’s World’s domestic tally. Made amidst a flurry of feuds, it’s truly remarkable that Wayne’s World not only got finished, but has endured as a comedy classic.
The film’s premise is simple enough: Wayne Campbell (Myers) hosts a public access show with his best friend Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) in suburban Chicago. Their show is acquired by a corporate goon, Benjamin Oliver (Rob Lowe), who intends to use it as a platform for Noah Vanderhoff (Brian Doyle Murray), an arcade tycoon looking to advertise. Having hastily signed the contract, Wayne and Garth are unaware and unhappy about changes being made to the show. At the same time, Wayne’s girlfriend, Cassandra (Tia Carrere), and her band Crucial Taunt are being guided by Benjamin, who is paying for a music video shoot. Backed into a corner, Wayne and Garth must prevent Benjamin from stealing Cassandra and take back their show.
As evidenced by the Austin Powers films, Mike Myers is extremely adept at coining catch phrases that find themselves engrained in the cultural consciousness. The script, credited to Myers and Bonnie & Terry Turner, is full of wit and meta commentary, often breaking the 4th wall at will for comedic effect. However, the real MVP of Wayne’s World is its director, Penelope Spheeris. A few years before taking the helm of Wayne’s World, Spheeris had produced and directed The Decline of Western Civilization Pt. 2: The Metal Years. Where the first Decline documentary dealt with the world of punk rock, Pt. 2 ventures into the realm of heavy metal. It’s one of the finest documentaries I’ve ever seen, successfully exploring every minute nuance of ‘80s metal. Decline Pt. 2 combined with her early work in making shorts with Albert Brooks for SNL made Spheeris the most qualified person in the world to direct Wayne’s World.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qKlZELdJh8
As a comedy director Spheeris shows incredible instincts. Shying away from the simplistic shot-reverse-shot of most comedies, a number of exchanges are presented in a single frame, adding a streak of naturalism to the absurdism. But Spheeris’ extensive knowledge of the metal scene and her comedic chops didn’t make her job any easier. There were disputes with Myers over the headbanging scene during Bohemian Rhapsody – Myers wondering why he had to bang his head. The disputes would later come up in editing, Myers angered that his suggestions went ignored. Despite the massive success of Wayne’s World, Spheeris was not asked to return for the sequel. Spheeris has publicly stated that she believes Myers lobbied hard not to have her return, though she has set aside the past and publicly appeared with Myers for a revival screening of the film. While not reviled, the sequel would gross less than half of the original and lacks the sheer volume of memorable moments.
The music of Wayne’s World isn’t exactly my forte. I really don’t care for mid-‘80s – late ‘90s metal. Much in the way Decline Pt. 2 looks into the world of metal, Wayne’s World is adept at satirizing it. One of my favorite moments of the film involves Alice Cooper giving a calm lecture about the history of Milwaukee, subverting the loud, drunken party image of the rockers with an eloquent and informed history lesson. Though the film finds its humor in the metal scene, it’s decidedly not mean spirited. All of the venom within the film is reserved for the corporate culture that seeks to eat up the little guy for its own benefit. They even take this beyond the Benjamin character and place it into the leads – Wayne and Garth object to a sponsored segment while themselves promote countless products.
There was a time where Mike Myers was among the most popular comedic actors working, but he hasn’t starred in a film since 2008’s disastrous The Love Guru. Though he was one of the most popular cast members during his run on SNL, Dana Carvey has more or less slipped into obscurity, he, too, led a disastrous comedy – 2002’s The Master of Disguise. On the other hand, Spheeris never seemed to garner the respect she deserved for Wayne’s World’s success. While she has steadily worked over the past 2 decades, it seems as if she’s been relegated into the realm of subpar comedies, having helmed soulless movie versions of The Little Rascals and The Beverly Hillbillies. In an odd twist, the actor to emerge from Wayne’s World and have maintained success working in comedy is Rob Lowe. The role of Benjamin was an attempt to rehabilitate and satirize Lowe’s public image after a sex tape leaked out (Yes, that even happened then.). Not only did it work, it successfully created Lowe as a comedic presence, which he’s consistently been since 1992. Wayne’s World is a glimpse into a time capsule, made in its loving form by a director who knew the scene better than anyone else around her. There’s a reason the film lives on as a beloved comedy, but I’ll let Benjamin’s producer, Russell, explain: “These’ guys aren’t phonies. Kids can spot phonies.”
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