Nearly 20 years later, Wayne and Garth still party on

Rating: 7/10 (8 November 2011)

Despite being supremely silly and immature, the timeless duo of Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar manage to make "Wayne's World" and later its sequel two of the only redeeming movies based on "Saturday Night Live" sketches. Their lack of street smarts and schoolyard antics play with a lovable innocence and, more importantly, a self-awareness. It's clear that although the film is basically about two guys horsing around, the talents behind it were doing anything but.
The '90s had a very tough time shaking the '80s, at least as played in the movies, and "Wayne's World" captures this awkward transition whether intentionally or not. Mike Myers and then-"SNL" writers Bonnie and Terry Turner wrote a movie that operated in a very forward-thinking fashion at the time but was trapped in a sea of '80s clichés and long-haired metal rockers. If the point was in fact to poke fun at those still clinging to the age of "excellence," consider it received.
Wayne (Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey) are two dudes living with their respective parents who host a public-access television show in Wayne's basement called "Wayne's World." When Benjamin, a sleazy TV executive (Rob Lowe), flashes money and promises of fame their way, they sell out without realizing it, and when Benjamin starts making a play for Wayne's new babe, Cassandra (Tia Carrere), he and Garth must learn how to stand up for themselves.
Myers and Carvey are held responsible for making this unexciting premise entertaining. Their ability to both convincingly play and make fun of their characters, sometimes simultaneously, has few rivals. Carvey in particular makes Garth one of the most lovable characters in a comedy of this kind. Garth's intelligence is matched only by his naivete and you can see both in Carvey's performance at all times. Wayne and Garth's fondness of innuendo also captures that hybrid of witty word play and complete immaturity that makes the humor tick.
The magic of "Wanye's World" stems from being an everyman's comedy. The way Wayne and Garth (especially Garth) talk to the camera as if they've simply taken a camcorder to their insignificant but fun-filled lives makes them relatable dudes and establishes that the movie's humor is not manufactured to make us laugh, rather it invites us in for a shared comedy experience that is not above any viewer. Few comedies have done anything similar and been funny; 90 percent of them rely on contrived jokes and situations. The breaking of the fourth wall (to use the professional term not fitting of a movie like this) and the awareness of Myers and Carvey really sell us on this idea.
In truth, only a few moments of "Wayne's World" have laugh-out-loud potential, but that's fine. It doesn't need it and it doesn't ask for it. And for a movie with a completely bare plot that does enough to give its characters something to do, it still works somehow thanks to the way it takes jabs at those very conventions. That's probably why 20 years later, it's just as easy to watch this movie and enjoy it even if you didn't sit down with the intent of really watching it. Party on.
~Steven C
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