Too weird to be true, but Wayne and Garth rock ... and roll too ...

Rating: 10/10 (11 June 2012)

Once upon a time in Aurora (Illinois), in a modest basement :
"Wayne's World! Wayne's World! Party On! Excellent!"
"Extreme close up"
"Waaaaaaah"
Ahhh,.. "Wayne's World", as one of its several number-one fans, I have so many things to say that I really don't know how to handle it. Well, how about the mega-pompous over-insightfully wannabe Ebert approach, with a nostalgic and teary eye:
THE MEGA-POMPOUS OVER-INSIGHTFULLY WANNABE-EBERT APPROACH, WITH A NOSTALGIC AND TEARY EYE:
To assert my cinematic knowledge; I would say that "Wayne's World" is probably to the 90's what "Car Wash" was to the 70's, the comedic encapsulation of a spirit that today prevails  not, with Rock'n'Roll and Heavy Metal replacing Funk and Disco as the two musical pillars conveying the nostalgic feeling of the early 90's. "Wayne's World" is so dedicated to music, to the very spirit that made music indispensable in those excessive post-Berlin wall consumerist days, that not only it rocked on that level, but rolled, too.
But more than a film about music, "Wayne's World" is the ode for a whole generation that grew up with 'Scooby Doo' and 'Sesame Street' and was still sucking the thumbs of the eighties at the dawn of the electronic era. Those were the times were the net was still synonym of fishing, and when Zuckerberg was still watching "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". In a nutshell, "Wayne's World" is to Cinema what "Smell Like Teen Spirit" was to Rock.
But I guess if Mike Myers was told that his film was the best that ever captured the spirit of the X-generation, he would modestly answer with a suave and solemn voice: "I was not aware of that!". Indeed, twenty years later, many viewers look at the film with a nostalgic eye and say 'hey, this is how it used to be' but that's only one (and probably unintentional) secondary level, in fact, when you watch "Wayne's World", it's a whole other dimension that cuts straight to you.
THE EMOTIONAL INTROSPECTION INTO WAYNE AND GARTH'S INSPIRINGLY SELF-REFLEXIVE INTERACTION:
Watching "Wayne's World" is an excellent antidote against bad mood, you're simply having a great time following the crazy adventures of Wayne Campbell, the host of a (feeble according to Benjamin) TV public-access cable show of the same name, with his sidekick and best friend Garth Algar. Mike Meyers (in his film debut) and Dana Carvey play one of the most recognizable duos of the 90's and probably the funnier and gentler, as nothing is more exhilarating than watching them making fun of their host, playing road-hockey, lying on the Mirthmobile waiting for planes to land, elaborating the most philosophical statements about girls, music and life, and last but not least, visiting Milwaukee.
The film sets the tone very quickly when Wayne starts talking to the camera, the fourth-wall-breaking is one of the film's greatest delights as if it was aware of its own cleverness enough to push the self-derision button, making fun of its own ending, plot devices, and getting away with one of the most blatant cases of product placements... that actually worked and became an instant classic. The talking-to-the-camera is also a perfect invitation to join this group and its communicative fun
ON THE QUOTABILITY 1-10 SCALE, THIS GOES TO ELEVEN
It's irreverent but never vulgar, intelligent but not inaccessible, childish but not annoying, the humor displayed in "Wayne's World" shares the same goofiness than some Zucker or Brooks' parodies, but it defines something new, beyond the jokes and the inventive vocabulary how 'shall' I put it? Well, many lines can lead to cringe-worthy silences or awkward 'What the hell does that mean?' pauses but in "Wayne's World", for some reason, the weirdest lines work. Garth might sound a bit too one-dimensional but the way he delivers his "Hi!" and "Thank you" is a no-cringe guarantee, and don't even get me started on Mike Myers who can make people laugh with lines as stupid as "Esquueze me? A baking powder?" just as Jim Carrey can afford to play an obnoxious character like 'Ace Ventura' and keep it funny. When you got talent, you can get away with everything.
The film features one classic or priceless line every 30 seconds and in fact, let me rewrite this chapter's title, it's :
ON THE QUOTABILITY 1-10 SCALE, THIS GOES TO ELEVEN, ON THE MEMORABILITY, TO TWELVE !
The great Howard Hawks said it himself: "a good movie is three good scenes and zero bad scene", then Wayne's World is a triumph on the field of comedic film-making. Penelope Spheeris directed one of the funniest American comedies, opening it with the emblematic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' lip-synching scene. And till now, whenever the instrumental part starts, I feel like frenetically banging my head.
The film also includes a great cast, Rob Lowe as the antagonistic slick small TV exec and womanizer, and Tia "Schwing!" Cassandra, a beautiful Chinese singer. Good thing they avoided the obvious stereotype of a pretty blonde chick, and made her more exotic if only for the Cantonese quotes' gags, that lead to one of the most obscure and hilarious line when they order Cantonese food. The film features many great cameos, among them, a notable performance from Alice Cooper, Alice Cooper who'll help me to conclude this expose by paraphrasing one of the film's most brilliant exchanges :
"In fact, is it "Wayne's World" one of the all-time funniest movies?"
"Yes, Pete it is"
(PS1: the film made it in Gene Siskel's Top 10 movies from 1992, so believe me, it IS worthy! it IS worthy!)
(PS2: this review contains 10 superlatives and too many adverbs, it is so incredibly badly written)
(PS3: have you noticed that the review's title is a haiku?)