A very silly comedy from the early '90s, but certainly not one that has failed to make me laugh

Rating: 7/10 (22 July 2008)

I was, well, under the age of six when this movie based on a series of "Saturday Night Live" sketches came out, but remember seeing some of it probably not long after it came out on video, even though it's not a family movie (mind you, I didn't pick up any of the vulgarity). I can't really remember anything from that viewing other than the suck-cut part. It wasn't until about three years ago when I finally watched the whole thing for the first time, and while it may not have been as entertaining as I had hoped, it was still fairly amusing. I watched the entire movie for the second time just last night, and I think it was pretty much the same this time.
Wayne Campbell is a headbanger who still lives with his parents in Aurora, Illinois and has a whole collection of name tags and hair nets, obviously from previous jobs he has failed to keep. However, he does host a popular public access TV show called "Wayne's World" from his basement with his best friend, Garth Algar. Their show has been seen by Ben Oliver, a TV executive, who knows how popular it is, and wants to have it on his network. So, Wayne and Garth soon find themselves doing "Wayne's World" professionally, now on a basement set in a TV station, and it looks like they'll be making a lot of money doing this. However, the two headbanger friends are headed for trouble! They don't realize how sleazy Oliver is at first, and conflict between Wayne and Garth soon arises. In addition to that, Wayne has trouble with his girlfriend, Cassandra (lead singer and bass player of a local band), who may end up with Oliver instead of him if he's not the one who gets her musical career off the ground!
Make no mistake, this is a very silly and rather juvenile movie, but silly and juvenile certainly doesn't necessarily mean not funny. Personally, I can't remember exactly how much I laughed the first time, but the second time, I definitely got a good number of laughs, even though it stumbles a bit at times. Wayne and Garth (played by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey) may have trouble staying consistently funny throughout the film's entire runtime (it's obviously harder in a movie than in brief sketches), but for the most part, they succeed, sometimes reasonably funny and sometimes VERY funny, saying some bizarre things. If lines like "Turn it off man, turn it off! It's sucking my will to live! Oh, the humanity!" amuse you, this could be your kind of movie. Certain minor characters sometimes add humour to the film as well, such as the freaky doughnut shop manager, Glen, played by Ed O'Neill. I also can't forget the beautiful Tia Carrere as Cassandra. With this role, she got to show both her acting and singing skills. Overall, this 1992 hit comedy's highlights are not exactly enough to make it a classic, but if you want silliness and rock music, you'll find plenty of that here.