The Party On Dudes Hit DVD

by Johnny Bray

If you're looking to be blown away by one of history's most sweeping epic pictures, ripe with fine acting and superb direction, Wayne's World is the movie for you.

Not!

However, it is quite possibly one of the funniest and most creative pictures to come out in the last decade.

Mike Myers stars as Wayne Campbell, star of a popular late-night cable access show. Dana Carvey plays Garth Algar, Wayne's lovable, but not quite personable sidekick. They've had their share of Joe-jobs, demonstrated by their collection of nametags and hairnets, but would love to do Wayne's World for a living.

It might happen. Shya, right!

Then one day they're approached by a charismatic TV exec, played by Rob Lowe. He offers them a chance to play in the big leagues, provided they give the sponsor a weekly spot on the show. Wayne meets Cassandra (Tia Carrere), and suddenly all is right in the world.

Of course you know what happens next. Wayne loses his show, his girl, and his best friend, and must figure out a way to get them back.

The film is very cleverly written, throwing jokes at you faster than you can comprehend them. Of course, this makes it even better. It even throws in a few parodies for good measure.

There are enough jokes to keep people of all ages happy. And it's one of those movies that you can watch over and over and not get sick of.

The only flaw the film has, is that it gave us another hundred words/phrases to use over and over. But not really any different than other comedies of this sort.

If you can get around that, you just may enjoy yourself.

The picture and sound quality are good, but not excellent. It has anamorphic widescreen and dolby digital 5.1, but they could have been remastered a little better.

It would be nice to have a few more extras on this disc. You get a commentary by director Penelope Spheeris, and some cast and crew interviews, and that's it. A movie like this deserves to have some outtakes at the very least. And there's nothing wrong with throwing in a making-of featurette.

Oh well.

Wayne's World, from Paramount Home Video
94 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (16X9 compatible), 5.1 dolby digital
Starring Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Rob Lowe, Tia Carrere
Written by Mike Myers and Bonnie Turner & Terry Turner
Produced by Lorne Michaels Directed by Penelope Spheeris

Wayne's World 2

Wayne's World 2 is a classic example of a movie suffering from "sequel syndrome": The original made lots of money, so let's throw together a sequel to make even more. We don't have a story, but that's okay.

The original Wayne's World is one of the funniest and most clever movies made in years. Wayne's World 2 is not. Though it does have some very amusing moments, it doesn't come anywhere near the quality of the first.

It has been a year since the events in Wayne's World. Wayne and Garth still have their cable access show, but Wayne is now struggling with whether or not he's doing what he's meant to. He still has his girlfriend, Cassandra (Tia Carrere), but he's not quite happy.

Then one night, he's visited by a "weird, naked Indian," who leads him to the desert. There, he meets Jim Morrison, who explains to him that he must put on a concert. Jim states that if he books the bands, they will come.

So off Wayne goes to put on his concert. Of course assisted by his lovable sidekick, Garth. Garth has some very funny scenes in this movie, but he doesn't quite seem to be the same character anymore. And in this case, he really is more of a sidekick, as opposed to the second main character like he was in the original.

Wayne's World wouldn't be Wayne's World without some evil dude trying to steal Cassandra away from Wayne. This time, it's Christopher Walken, playing the same character he has in every other movie he's been in. He's the "sinister record producer" in charge of producing Cassandra's first album.

The funniest part of the film has to be the fight between Wayne and Cassandra's father. It's extremely cheesy, and that's what's great about it. There's also a rip-off of the Village People; yes, you can see it coming ten minutes before it gets there, but it's still funny.

If Wayne's World 2 hadn't been made strictly as a money-making sequel, it could have been much better. Instead, they tried to rush it out too quickly, without worrying about whether or not it was up to par with the first one. If you're a fan of Wayne's World, you will be disappointed in Wayne's World 2.

However, you still can't help but enjoy it a little bit.

The picture and sound weren't transferred as well as they were on the first film, though they're still not bad. The anamorphic widescreen is always nice to see, but the 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround is pretty much wasted until the end, when Aerosmith performs live.

The extras include nothing more than a commentary by director Stephen Surjik, and some cast and crew interviews. The interviews are not very exciting, much like the ones included on the DVD of the first film.

Wayne's World 2, from Paramount Home Video
94 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (16X9 compatible), Dolby Digital 5.1
Starring Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Christopher Walken, Tia Carrere
Produced by Lorne Michaels
Written by Mike Myers and Bonnie Turner & Terry Turner, Directed by Stephen Surjik

Tell us at TechnoFile what YOU think