Movie Review: "Wayne's World" (1992)

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Movie: "Wayne's World"
Director: Penelope Spheeris
Year: 1992
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour, 34 minutes

Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) have their own very popular TV show called Wayne's World on Chicago public access. Wayne's dream is to eventually be paid for doing Wayne's World. Luckily for him, that dream is about to come true as local TV producer Benjamin Oliver (Rob Lowe) offers to buy the show and pay them to do it weekly. Selling the show may come with some concessions Wayne isn't willing to make, like selling out to their local sponsor, Noah's Arcade. 

A lot of "Saturday Night Live" sketches have tried to make the move from television to feature-length film, but only a few have been really successful at it. Of all the SNL properties, "Wayne's World" is by far the most financially successful, making $64 million more than the #2 film on the list, "The Blues Brothers." Though we personally think "The Blues Brothers" is a better film, "Wayne's World" is still hilarious in its own right and is definitely our second favorite of the SNL transfers. This is the movie that turned Mike Myers from a television sketch actor into a genuine film star and we can see why as he and cohort Dana Carvey really tear up the joint with their laughs. Not everyone will find their brand of humor amusing, but we think Wayne and Garth are comedic gold together. This movie is super funny and has so many great, memorable moments, too many to name off hand. We have loved the band Queen and the song "Bohemian Rhapsody" for a long time, but we can no longer hear it without thinking of this film, seeing Wayne and Garth lip-syncing and head banging to the music in our minds. It's also very self-aware as Wayne and Garth regularly break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience. They also poke fun at selling out to corporate sponsors while they clearly and satirically sell out to corporate sponsors like Doritos, Reebok, and Pizza Hut. There are a lot of laughs to be had in this movie as Carvey and Myers combine quick wit with slapstick and parody to develop a final product that is appealing on many levels to many different people no matter what their sense of humor.

Some might call it lowbrow, but "Wayne's World" is obviously highbrow enough to have lasted a couple of decades. It's just as good today as it was in the 90's when it was released and at its most relevant. It's silly, sort of odd, and there's quite a bit going on in such a short amount of time, but it's still hilarious every step of the way. It's definitely one of those movies we pop in and enjoy each time we view it.

My Rating: 7.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 85%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!