M's Musings on WAYNE'S WORLD

Wayne's World.  Dir. Penelope Spheeris.  Screenplay by Bonnie & Terry Turner and Mike Myers.  Based on characters by Mike Myers.  Ft.  Mike Myers and Dana Carvey.  Paramount, 1992.

Party on, T.

I have always wished that I watch SNL.  But I really never have.  Between that and a childhood void of movies that were rated higher than PG, it is no surprise that this was my first encounter with the WOW (by which I mean World of Wayne... duh!) was this afternoon.

While I wasn't rolling in the aisles at every funny moment, I have to admit, I really enjoyed it.  It was constantly appealing to different kinds of humour.  In particular, I liked how there was a constant interaction with the camera in a mockumentary that predates The Office or Trailer Park Boys but is concurrent with the rise of the reality tv show (a la The Real World).  Wayne & Garth made asides to the audience, and constantly broke the wall that separated the world of the film with the world of the viewer.

When Wayne argues against corporate sell-outs with the extreme product placement (reminded me of 30 Rock), again, the film was being self referential in a way that was clever AND hilarious.  The contrivance of the conflict in the movie was stupid.  Would two bozos be willing to talk about arcade games in order to continue their show and quit their dead end jobs?  Of course.  But that really isn't worth watching.  Instead, the boys are willing to have corporate sponsors for their FILM, but their characters in the SHOW wouldn't sell out in that way.  We were willing to include product placement in our film... but in a film where dudes don't want to sell out...  it either needs to be really emphasized or guiltily hidden away.  Since it seems far fetched that the two bozos with mullets could convince the world to buy anything... you only have one option.  (Side note... the $$$  people made on this film is impressive...  its longevity is also impressive what with all the merch, catch phrases, and general stamina this movie has had over the years).

The various times the movie stops and starts again at the end was perfect.  How do you keep the film from becoming so cliche that it loses some humour?  Layer on some cliches, and offer a choose-your-own-adventure format.

I feel like this movie would be funny if you were feeling like an intellectual snob, or if you just wanted to hear Wayne order the cream of "sum yung guy" and make penis jokes.