Wayne's World 1 and 2 (The Complete Epic) DVD
Paramount Home Video
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Length: 188 minutes
Director: Penelope Spheeris
Year: (1992-1993)
Britt Gillette's Wayne's World DVD - The Complete Epic Review
You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll hurl…
So begins the 90's cult comedy classic Wayne's World, the ingenious brainchild of Saturday Night Live standouts Mike Myers and Dana Carvey. The movie, born from a SNL skit of the same name, chronicles the lives of teenage party animals, Wayne Campbell (Myers) and Garth Algar (Carvey). Wayne and Garth are the stars of a local cable access TV show titled Wayne's World which is a big hit with their niche audience. This two disc set, titled Wayne's World - The Complete Epic includes both films - Wayne's World and its sequel, Wayne's World 2…
Wayne's World
Wayne and Garth are perfectly happy delivering their popular TV show from Wayne's mom's basement via local cable access, when they're approached by the slick & sleazy TV executive Benjamin Kane (Rob Lowe). Benjamin offers Wayne and Garth a big contract to tape their show from his network studios so as to advertise Noah's Arcades, a chain of video arcades run by clueless founder Noah Vanderhoff (Brian Doyle-Murray).
En route to fame and fortune, Wayne meets and falls in love with rock star goddess Cassandra Wong (Tia Carrere). Meanwhile, Garth continues his unprofessed infatuation with his dream woman (Donna Dixon), a waitress at Glen Mikita's donut shop. Things are going great for Wayne and Garth when everything goes awry. Benjamin tries to change multiple aspects of the show, and following a Wayne and Benjamin shouting match, Garth is left to do the show by himself. Wayne and Garth try to quit, but they never read their contract and Benjamin owns the rights to their show.
Meanwhile, Wayne suspects that Benjamin is trying to steal away Cassandra. Benjamin puts together a video shoot for Cassandra and her band. Driving hundreds of miles to tell Cassandra how he feels, Wayne wins Cassandra over and the two flee the set of Benjamin's arranged video shoot. Wayne and Garth have the last laugh when they broadcast a show from their basement once again, featuring Cassandra and her band. The one man audience broadcast reaches its intended target - Mr. Big, a recording studio executive who gives Cassandra and her band a contract on the spot.
With guest appearances by Alice Cooper, Chris Farley, Ed O'Neill, and Meat Loaf, Wayne's World has the supporting cast to compliment Wayne and Garth's zany antics. The creative word plays of Myers and Carvey have since penetrated the everyday vernacular (NOT!), making Wayne's World a must-see comedy given its place in early 1990s cultural history…
Wayne's World 2
While certainly not as good as its predecessor, Wayne's World 2 is still a highly entertaining film. Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) return as the inseparable teen duo engaged in a series of activities that always merit the taglines "party on dude" and "excellent"! Huge hits in the early 1990's, the influence of the Wayne's World franchise may fade over time because the films were so in tune with the time frame in which they were written that future generations probably will not understand a lot of the humor that made them blockbusters.
The premise of this second film revolves around Wayne and Garth's efforts to stage a rock concert called Waynestock. The film also boats of the return of Tia Carrere as Wayne's rocker girlfriend Cassandra Wong. As in the first movie, Wayne must fend off a successful man (this time a record producer instead of a TV executive) who is after Cassandra.
As in the first film, the plot is really just a skeleton for the talents of popular SNL performers Mike Myers and Dana Carvey to be put on display. Neither one will disappoint. If you enjoy comedies, Wayne's World 2 is worth the effort. It probably doesn't rank as a must-see as does the original, but I'll include it in this set of reviews because it doesn't suck either… Wayne and Garth would probably be jubilant to receive such a compliment.
Britt Gillette
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Read more Wayne's World Complete Epic DVD Reviews (MRI)
Posted on 16 December 2004