| Wayne's World | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Penelope Spheeris |
| Produced by | Hawk Koch Lorne Michaels |
| Written by | Mike Myers Bonnie Turner Terry Turner |
| Starring | Mike Myers Dana Carvey Rob Lowe Tia Carrere |
| Music by | J. Peter Robinson |
| Cinematography | Theo van de Sande |
| Editing by | Malcolm Campbell |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | February 14, 1992 |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2.000.000 |
| Followed by | Wayne's World 2 |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Wayne's World is a 1992 comedy film starring Mike Myers as Wayne Campbell and Dana Carvey as Garth Algar, hosts of the cable access television show Wayne's World in Aurora, Illinois. The film was adapted from a sketch of the same name on NBC's Saturday Night Live. The film grossed US$121.6 million in its theatrical run, placing it as the eighth highest grossing film of 1992 and the highest grossing movie ever based on a Saturday Night Live skit. It was directed by Penelope Spheeris, with Myers co-writing the script. The film also featured Rob Lowe, Tia Carrere, Lara Flynn Boyle, Brian Doyle-Murray, Robert Patrick (spoofing his role in Terminator 2: Judgment Day), Ed O'Neill, Ione Skye, Chris Farley (in his first film role), Meat Loaf, and Alice Cooper. Wayne's World received mostly positive reviews upon release and was commercially successful (unlike many Saturday Night Live-based films). It was followed by Wayne's World 2. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted Wayne's World the 41st greatest comedy film of all time.
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Summary
When the cable-access program Wayne's World is bought by scheming businessman Benjamin (Rob Lowe), it is quickly "reinvented". This, along with Wayne's blossoming relationship with vocalist Cassandra (whose career Benjamin has also taken an interest in), leads to a rift forming between Wayne and Garth. Wayne's World has multiple endings and anti-plot (the ridicule of common plot techniques). The movie provides two "alternate" endings - a "sad ending" and a "Scooby-Doo ending". These two endings are an alternative to the "Mega-Happy Ending". The sequel makes it clear that the "Mega-Happy Ending" is what actually occurred. Filled with pop culture references, the film started a few catchphrases, such as "Not!", "Party on!", "Schwing!", and "Schaa". It augmented the slacker language of Generation X much like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure had done previously. It featured a baby blue 1970s AMC Pacer with flames and non-matching wheels, which Wayne and Garth dub the "Mirth Mobile".[1] Wayne and Garth's hobbies include playing street hockey, hanging out at Stan Mikita's donut shop (an in-joke on Tim Horton's, a popular Canadian donut shop and fast food restaurant also named after a hockey player), avoiding Wayne's ex-girlfriend Stacy, (whom he refers to as a "psycho hose beast"), and watching local bands perform at "Gas Works", an Aurora hard rock club. (Gas Works was also a Canadian in-joke; it was the name of a real Toronto live music nightclub in the late 1970s and early 1980s which primarily booked hard rock bands.) The film frequently breaks the fourth wall, with Wayne, Garth, and others on occasion speaking directly to the audience. Much of the story is carried by Wayne's narration to the camera, in which he offers his thoughts on what's happening in the film. Despite Wayne, Garth, Glenn, and Ben addressing the viewer, no one else seems aware that they are in a film.
Video game
In 1993, a Wayne's World video game was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Mega Drive, Nintendo Entertainment System and Nintendo Game Boy. The game's plot differs from the film, you play as Wayne as he goes on a mission throughout Aurora (visiting The Gas Works, Stan Mikita's and the music store from the "No Stairway" scene, among other locales) to rescue Garth from inside a video game at Zoltar's Arcade.
Music
- Wayne began to play "Stairway to Heaven" on the Stratocaster in the music store in the original theatrical release. However, the producers had not secured the rights to the song, mistakenly believing that using only the first few opening notes would be permissible. All subsequent versions of Wayne's World have not included the beginning of the song, instead used the ending riff of Queen's "We Will Rock You," which the producers were able to secure the rights to. Despite the change, Wayne still famously exclaims "No Stairway!...Denied!" in all versions.
- The use of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the film propelled the song to #2 in Billboard singles charts nearly 20 years after its first release The soundtrack album reached number one in the Billboard album charts.
Trivia
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- A Wayne's World theme park attraction was built and featured at the formerly-Paramount-owned theme parks Kings Dominion and Carowinds. The Wayne's World-themed roller coaster, Hurler, remains at both parks, but the Wayne's World section of Carowinds has been re-themed Thrill Zone, and the Wayne's World section of Kings Dominion has been merged into another area of the park known as The Grove.
- Downtown Aurora was actually shot in downtown Covina, California.
- Wayne and Garth's dialogue, when lying on the hood of the car, had been improvised. Garth's question about finding Bugs Bunny attractive provokes genuine laughter from Myers.
- The opening scenes of the film feature TV ads for Menards, the Chia Pet, The Clapper and Empire Carpets--all commonly seen on cable television in Chicago in the early 1990s. Also, the Victory Auto Wreckers ad ("That old car might be worth money!") is shown in Mr. Bigg's limo.
- Rob Lowe's character introduces himself as Benjamin Caine, but is listed in the credits as Benjamin Oliver. It is a little known fact that this is not a continuity error but, instead a tribute to producer Bernie Brillstein's son Michael's seventh grade best friend, Oliver Benjamin.
- The commercial for Noah's Arcade that opens the film contains footage of a prototype version of Sonic the Hedgehog playing in the background, which is a Sega Genesis game, not an arcade game.
- The statue of cars on a large spike is named The "Spindle" and is located in Berwyn, Illinois.
- Robert Patrick reprises his role as the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgement Day (he is credited as 'Bad Cop' in the credits). He appears late in the film, pulling Wayne over on a police motorcycle. He shows Wayne a picture of a child and asks, "Have you seen this boy?" Wayne screams and drives off, and the T-1000 walks after him.
References
- ^ [1]Excellent! 'Wayne's World' car for sale AMC Pacer from movie, $1.2 million Shelby Mustang among items for sale by car museum. CNNMoney.com December 16, 2004 NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The 1976 AMC Pacer used in the 1992 movie "Wayne's World" is among the items to be sold by an Illinois car museum.
See also
- Wayne's World the sketch
- Wayne's World 2
- Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches
- Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
External links
 American films of the 1990s |
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