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Movie:		7.0
Picture:		8.0
Sound:		8.0
Extras:		3.0
Score:		7.0

Director(s):	Penelope Spheeris
Writer(s):	Mike Myers and Bonnie Turner &Terry Turner
Starring:	Chris Farley • Dana Carvey • Mike Myers • Tia Carrere • Rob Lowe
Genre:	Comedy
Release Date:	May 12, 2009
Rated:

List Price:	Blu-ray - $18.49
Amazon:

Wayne’s World is a product of American pop-culture – and it’s deliciously aware of that fact. Spurned by a character from Saturday Night Live (earlier considering Mike Myers was using the personality in his Canada days), Wayne Campbell references movies, consumer culture and everything else in a narrative mixed with soliloquies. Imagine Ferris Bueller’s talk-to-the-camera antics but without the smugness of a character who knows he’s about to have his best day off ever. Wayne Campbell is the everyman trying to live out a life slightly beyond his means.

Wayne Campbell (Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) host a public access television show from the basement of Wayne’s parents’ home. Allowed to do whatever they wish with their show, Wayne and Garth find that the one thing limiting their show is the budget. Enter the greedy producer. Benjamin Kane (Rob Lowe) stumbles across the late night, underground phenomenon of Wayne’s World and decides he can make it a commercial success. He quickly approaches Wayne and Garth offering them more money than the two are accustomed to (which isn’t all that much) and the show begins to spin out of control. Before Wayne and Garth realize what’s going on, the little production they used to manage occurs on a soundstage, has a cheesy announcer and a new theme song – they’re not too thrilled. Unfortunately, they signed away the rights to Wayne’s World and don’t have too many options.

Simultaneously, Wayne is in pursuit of Cassandra (Tia Carrere), a rocking lead singer, who revels in the unpredictable wit and direction of Wayne. The relationship seems too perfect – until Benjamin Kane’s grasp gets a hold of her as well. Smoothly winning Cassandra’s attention with offers of lucrative music video offers, Benjamin steals away Wayne’s two loves: his girl and his show. With the stage set, Wayne and Garth set out to reclaim what they lost.

If you ask someone what the definitive Mike Myers role is – the answer would have changed in the last decade. Back in 1992, when Wayne’s World was released, there was no question as to how Myers was remembered. The Mike Myers-Wayne Campbell connection only grew stronger with the sequel. But then Myers crafted Austin Powers and now you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who thinks Wayne Campbell is the better of the two. Well, I’m one such person. Wayne Campbell didn’t require a spy parody to get his feet off the ground – they started there. Mike Myers takes the character at full tilt the second the movie starts and never eases back. Wayne Campbell is just an impossibly positive spirit.

Dana Carvey’s Garth may be the best sidekick of all time. The sheepish mophead has some of the funniest, offhand remarks that catch the viewer off guard at first. The things he says throw you off balance then leave you laughing hysterically as you reconcile what was said with the person who said it. Garth is such an unimposing character whose jokes seem to burst out of the shell. Carvey and Myers were a pitch perfect pairing for Wayne’s World. You couldn’t ask for much better than this.

Okay, Tia Carrere can’t actually sing, despite being cast as a rocker chick. But she looks hot trying to rock – and unfortunately that was the breadth of the character: look hot, rock out. It’s not surprising that her scenes with both Rob Lowe and Myers are unbalanced in favor of the actors, but it does beg the question that maybe there was a better choice.

Instead of pouring on the sexual innuendo comedy of Austin Powers (which fit the genre being parodied), Wayne’s World has free reign to go wherever it needs to. Sponsorship parodies and head banging to “Bohemian Rhapsody” created in Wayne’s World an instant comedy classic. Now, the real question is whether the extra features warrant buying Wayne’s World on Blu-ray.

Blu-ray Bonus Features

Penelope Spheeris understands Wayne’s World better than most directors understand their films. Coming off of a few rock documentaries, Speeris took on Wayne’s World with the slightest bit of trepidation, only to create the perfect formula for the movie. She talks about working with Myers and Carvey, production issues (the schedule was super tight), and much more. It’s a great commentary, though a second personality would have helped liven it up. Again, Dana Carvey and Mike Myers aren’t too busy – why no commentary from them? The featurette actually has quite a bit of meat on its bones. It spends 30 minutes discussing production, the characters, the actors and everything in between with Myers, Carvey, Lowe and Carrere as well as Spheeris and Lorne Michaels. It’s a pretty interesting piece; even if you don’t like Wayne’s World all that much, it’s equally insightful into the Saturday Night Live world.

Wayne’s World may be a great 90s comedy, but the fact of the matter is there wasn’t much effort put into the Wayne’s World Blu-ray release. It was copied and pasted from the last DVD release and, well, that’s all there is to it. Do you need Wayne’s World in high definition? Sure it’s cool to see cameos from Chris Farley, Robert Patrick and Alice Cooper – but the high definition really won’t help that too much.