Wayne's World (film)
Encyclopedia
Wayne's World is a 1992 American comedy film
directed by Penelope Spheeris
and starring Mike Myers
in his film debut as Wayne Campbell and Dana Carvey
as Garth Algar, hosts of the Aurora
, Illinois
-based Public-access television
cable TV show Wayne's World. The film was adapted from a sketch
of the same name
on NBC
's Saturday Night Live
.
The film grossed US$121.6 million in its theatrical run, placing it as the tenth highest-grossing film of 1992 and the highest-grossing film ever based on a Saturday Night Live skit. It was directed by Penelope Spheeris
, with Myers co-writing the script.
Wayne's World was Myers' feature film debut. The film also featured Rob Lowe
, Tia Carrere
, Lara Flynn Boyle
, Brian Doyle-Murray
, Robert Patrick
(spoofing
his role
in Terminator 2: Judgment Day
), Chris Farley
, Ed O'Neill
, Ione Skye
, Meat Loaf
, and Alice Cooper
.
Wayne's World received mostly positive reviews upon release and was commercially successful (unlike many Saturday Night Live-based films). Filmed in 34 days, it was followed by Wayne's World 2
. In 1993, readers of Total Film
magazine voted Wayne's World the 41st greatest comedy film of all time.
) and Garth Algar (Carvey
) are the hosts of Wayne's World, a local Friday late-night cable access program based in Aurora, Illinois
, where they ogle pictures of beautiful celebrity women, play air guitar and drums, and interview local people, indirectly making fun of them over the course of the interview. The program is popular with local viewers. One day Benjamin Kane (Lowe
), a television station executive, is visiting a girlfriend (Ione Skye
) who turns the TV to the show. When she tells him how many people watch the show, he instructs his producer Russell Finley (Kurt Fuller
) to find out where the show is taped, telling him they may have an opportunity for a huge sponsorship.
Benjamin shows up next week in Wayne's basement and introduces himself after the show ends. He offers to buy the rights to the show for $10,000 ($5,000 each) and to keep Wayne and Garth on for what he describes as a "huge" salary. Garth then covertly speaks to the audience, sensing he has a bad feeling that Wayne is selling out
, but he is too shy to confront Wayne about it. Following the purchase of the show, it is quickly "reinvented", complete with a weekly interview guaranteed to Noah Vanderhoff (Brian Doyle-Murray
), the show's sponsor. The first reinvented show is also their last, as Wayne holds up a series of cards with questions on the front and, unknowingly to Vanderhoff, insulting phrases on the back such as "Sphincter Boy" (with an arrow pointing at Vanderhoff), "He blows goats...I have proof" and "This man has no penis", prompting Benjamin to call Wayne up to the control booth and fire him on the spot.
At the same time, Wayne's blossoming relationship with hard rock vocalist and bassist Cassandra (Tia Carrere
), the frontwoman of a band named Crucial Taunt, leads to a rift forming between Wayne and Garth. It erupts after Wayne walks out on the show, leaving Garth to a bout of stage fright for the rest of the show. The two separate, but later make up after Wayne breaks up with Cassandra following an argument between them over Benjamin.
While making up with Garth, Wayne remembers a limo belonging to record executive Frankie Sharp (Frank DiLeo
) outside an Alice Cooper
concert in Milwaukee. He also remembers that a security guard at the concert (Chris Farley
) said that Sharp would be riding through Chicago later that day and forms a plan with Garth to get her back. With everyone in the donut shop helping, Wayne is able to convince Cassandra, who is at a video shoot directed by Benjamin, to leave the shoot with the band and head back to Aurora with him to perform on the show. Garth, meanwhile, hacks into a satellite system and is able to route the signal from the broadcast into the television set in Sharp's limo. In the meantime, the police keep Benjamin at bay and leave him unable to enter the house until the show's over.
Nearing the end of Cassandra's song, Frankie Sharp and Benjamin enter the basement. Once the song is finished, Frankie says to Cassandra that it is the wrong time to sign her band, causing her to become infuriated with Wayne. Wayne is called small-time by Benjamin just before he leaves with Cassandra, and Wayne's crazy ex-girlfriend Stacy (Lara Flynn Boyle
) comes in to announce to Wayne that she is pregnant. Suddenly, an electrical fire starts from the broadcasting equipment and consumes the house. While Wayne walks out of the burned-down house with an injured Garth, Cassandra lies in paradise with Benjamin. Wayne and Garth then decide they don't like that ending, and decide to do the "Scooby-Doo ending" instead. Wayne then pulls off Benjamin's face, revealing that he is actually Old Man Withers, who then remarks, true to Scooby-Doo
form, "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for you snooping kids!" After this, Garth imitates Scooby-Doo by saying "Good One, Shaggy." Wayne and Garth then decide to do the "mega happy ending", where Frankie gives Cassandra a six album record deal, Wayne and Cassandra kiss, Russell and the crew member who keeps saying "I love you" get together, while he announces how he discovered that "platonic love
can exist between two grown men", Noah is glad people are seeing him in a new light after he started sponsoring Wayne's World, Benjamin realizes being successful doesn't get you everything, and Garth finally gets his dream girl (Donna Dixon
).
", as well as popularizing "That's what she said", "Party on!" and the use of "...Not!
" after apparently affirmative sentences in order to state the contrary. It augmented the slacker
language of Generation X
, much as Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
had done previously. It featured a baby blue 1976 AMC Pacer
with flames and non-matching wheels, which Wayne and Garth dubbed "The Mirthmobile".
The film frequently breaks the fourth wall
, with Wayne, Garth, and others on occasion speaking directly to the audience. Parts of the story are carried by Wayne's narration to the camera, in which he offers his thoughts on what's happening in the film. Despite Wayne, Garth, Cassandra, Glen, and Ben addressing the viewer, no one else seems aware that they are in a film.
, the Sega Mega Drive
, and the Nintendo
Game Boy
. The game's plot differs from the film: the player controls Wayne as he goes on a mission throughout Aurora – visiting The Gas Works, Stan Mikita's, and the music store from the "No Stairway" scene, among other locations – to rescue Garth from inside the "Zoltar the Gelatinous Cube" arcade game mentioned in the film.
Alternatively, an adventure game
version of Wayne's World was released around the same time for DOS. The plot involves Wayne and Garth trying to raise money to save their show by holding a "pizza-thon".
In the beginning of the film, the Noah's Arcade commercial features Starlight Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog playing behind Noah Vanderhoff, the owner of the Noah's Arcade franchise.
The video games Pong
, Pac-Man
, and Ms. Pac-Man
were mentioned by Noah & Wayne but not seen in the film.
In addition, Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned
features a car based on the AMC Pacer named "Rhapsody" in reference to the famed scene from the film. If the player zooms in on the dashboard with the sniper rifle, they can see a photograph of Wayne and Garth.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Penelope Spheeris
Penelope Spheeris
Penelope Spheeris is an American director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known as a documentary film director whose works include the trilogy titled The Decline of Western Civilization...
and starring Mike Myers
Mike Myers (actor)
Michael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
in his film debut as Wayne Campbell and Dana Carvey
Dana Carvey
Dana Thomas Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.-Early life:...
as Garth Algar, hosts of the Aurora
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the 112th largest city in the United States. A suburb of Chicago, located west of the Loop, its population in 2010 was 197,899. Originally founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded greatly over the past...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
-based Public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV show Wayne's World. The film was adapted from a sketch
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
of the same name
Wayne's World
Wayne's World was originally a recurring sketch from the NBC television series Saturday Night Live. It evolved from a segment titled "Wayne's Power Minute" on the CBC Television series It's Only Rock & Roll, as the main character first appeared in that show...
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
.
The film grossed US$121.6 million in its theatrical run, placing it as the tenth highest-grossing film of 1992 and the highest-grossing film ever based on a Saturday Night Live skit. It was directed by Penelope Spheeris
Penelope Spheeris
Penelope Spheeris is an American director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known as a documentary film director whose works include the trilogy titled The Decline of Western Civilization...
, with Myers co-writing the script.
Wayne's World was Myers' feature film debut. The film also featured Rob Lowe
Rob Lowe
Robert Hepler "Rob" Lowe is an American actor. Lowe came to prominence after appearing in films such as The Outsiders, Oxford Blues, About Last Night..., St. Elmo's Fire, and Wayne's World. On television, Lowe is known for his role as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing and his role as Senator Robert...
, Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere is an American actress, model, voice artist, and singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, Queen Tyr'ahnee in Duck Dodgers, and as Sydney Fox in the TV series Relic Hunter.-Early life:Carrere was born in...
, Lara Flynn Boyle
Lara Flynn Boyle
Lara Flynn Boyle is an American film and television actress best known for her performances as Laura Palmer's best friend Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks and Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in The Practice...
, Brian Doyle-Murray
Brian Doyle-Murray
Brian Doyle-Murray is an American comedian, screenwriter, actor and voice artist. He is the older brother of actor/comedian Bill Murray and has acted together with him in several films, including Caddyshack, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, The Razor's Edge and Groundhog Day...
, Robert Patrick
Robert Patrick
Robert Hammond Patrick, Jr. is an American actor, known for his leading and supporting roles in a number of films and television shows....
(spoofing
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
his role
T-1000
The T-1000 is a fictional nanomorph mimetic poly-alloy assassin and the main antagonist in Terminator 2: Judgment Day controlled by the series main antagonist Skynet. The T-1000 is portrayed primarily by Robert Patrick; however, being a shape-shifter, the T-1000 is played by other actors in some...
in Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr.. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong...
), Chris Farley
Chris Farley
Christopher Crosby "Chris" Farley was an American comedian and actor. Farley was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1995....
, Ed O'Neill
Ed O'Neill
Edward Phillip "Ed" O'Neill, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes...
, Ione Skye
Ione Skye
Ione Skye Lee is an English-born American actress, who became a teen idol after the 1989 movie Say Anything.... In 2006 VH1 placed her at number 84 in the "100 Greatest Teen Stars" list.-Early life:...
, Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
, and Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
.
Wayne's World received mostly positive reviews upon release and was commercially successful (unlike many Saturday Night Live-based films). Filmed in 34 days, it was followed by Wayne's World 2
Wayne's World 2
Wayne's World 2 is a 1993 comedy film starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as hosts of a Public-access television cable TV show from Aurora, Illinois. The film was adapted from a sketch on NBC's Saturday Night Live and is the sequel to Wayne's World....
. In 1993, readers of Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
magazine voted Wayne's World the 41st greatest comedy film of all time.
Plot
Wayne Campbell (MyersMike Myers (actor)
Michael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
) and Garth Algar (Carvey
Dana Carvey
Dana Thomas Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.-Early life:...
) are the hosts of Wayne's World, a local Friday late-night cable access program based in Aurora, Illinois
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the 112th largest city in the United States. A suburb of Chicago, located west of the Loop, its population in 2010 was 197,899. Originally founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded greatly over the past...
, where they ogle pictures of beautiful celebrity women, play air guitar and drums, and interview local people, indirectly making fun of them over the course of the interview. The program is popular with local viewers. One day Benjamin Kane (Lowe
Rob Lowe
Robert Hepler "Rob" Lowe is an American actor. Lowe came to prominence after appearing in films such as The Outsiders, Oxford Blues, About Last Night..., St. Elmo's Fire, and Wayne's World. On television, Lowe is known for his role as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing and his role as Senator Robert...
), a television station executive, is visiting a girlfriend (Ione Skye
Ione Skye
Ione Skye Lee is an English-born American actress, who became a teen idol after the 1989 movie Say Anything.... In 2006 VH1 placed her at number 84 in the "100 Greatest Teen Stars" list.-Early life:...
) who turns the TV to the show. When she tells him how many people watch the show, he instructs his producer Russell Finley (Kurt Fuller
Kurt Fuller
Kurt Fuller is an American character actor. He has appeared in a number of television, film, and stage projects. He graduated from Lincoln High School in Stockton, California in 1971.-Career:...
) to find out where the show is taped, telling him they may have an opportunity for a huge sponsorship.
Benjamin shows up next week in Wayne's basement and introduces himself after the show ends. He offers to buy the rights to the show for $10,000 ($5,000 each) and to keep Wayne and Garth on for what he describes as a "huge" salary. Garth then covertly speaks to the audience, sensing he has a bad feeling that Wayne is selling out
Selling out
"Selling out" is the compromising of integrity, morality, or principles in exchange for money or "success" . It is commonly associated with attempts to tailor material to a mainstream audience...
, but he is too shy to confront Wayne about it. Following the purchase of the show, it is quickly "reinvented", complete with a weekly interview guaranteed to Noah Vanderhoff (Brian Doyle-Murray
Brian Doyle-Murray
Brian Doyle-Murray is an American comedian, screenwriter, actor and voice artist. He is the older brother of actor/comedian Bill Murray and has acted together with him in several films, including Caddyshack, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, The Razor's Edge and Groundhog Day...
), the show's sponsor. The first reinvented show is also their last, as Wayne holds up a series of cards with questions on the front and, unknowingly to Vanderhoff, insulting phrases on the back such as "Sphincter Boy" (with an arrow pointing at Vanderhoff), "He blows goats...I have proof" and "This man has no penis", prompting Benjamin to call Wayne up to the control booth and fire him on the spot.
At the same time, Wayne's blossoming relationship with hard rock vocalist and bassist Cassandra (Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere is an American actress, model, voice artist, and singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, Queen Tyr'ahnee in Duck Dodgers, and as Sydney Fox in the TV series Relic Hunter.-Early life:Carrere was born in...
), the frontwoman of a band named Crucial Taunt, leads to a rift forming between Wayne and Garth. It erupts after Wayne walks out on the show, leaving Garth to a bout of stage fright for the rest of the show. The two separate, but later make up after Wayne breaks up with Cassandra following an argument between them over Benjamin.
While making up with Garth, Wayne remembers a limo belonging to record executive Frankie Sharp (Frank DiLeo
Frank DiLeo
Frank Michael DiLeo was an American music industry executive and actor, known for his portrayal of gangster Tuddy Cicero in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. For five years in the late 1980s, and again in 2009, he was Michael Jackson's manager.-Career:Frank DiLeo graduated from Central Catholic High...
) outside an Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
concert in Milwaukee. He also remembers that a security guard at the concert (Chris Farley
Chris Farley
Christopher Crosby "Chris" Farley was an American comedian and actor. Farley was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1995....
) said that Sharp would be riding through Chicago later that day and forms a plan with Garth to get her back. With everyone in the donut shop helping, Wayne is able to convince Cassandra, who is at a video shoot directed by Benjamin, to leave the shoot with the band and head back to Aurora with him to perform on the show. Garth, meanwhile, hacks into a satellite system and is able to route the signal from the broadcast into the television set in Sharp's limo. In the meantime, the police keep Benjamin at bay and leave him unable to enter the house until the show's over.
Nearing the end of Cassandra's song, Frankie Sharp and Benjamin enter the basement. Once the song is finished, Frankie says to Cassandra that it is the wrong time to sign her band, causing her to become infuriated with Wayne. Wayne is called small-time by Benjamin just before he leaves with Cassandra, and Wayne's crazy ex-girlfriend Stacy (Lara Flynn Boyle
Lara Flynn Boyle
Lara Flynn Boyle is an American film and television actress best known for her performances as Laura Palmer's best friend Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks and Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in The Practice...
) comes in to announce to Wayne that she is pregnant. Suddenly, an electrical fire starts from the broadcasting equipment and consumes the house. While Wayne walks out of the burned-down house with an injured Garth, Cassandra lies in paradise with Benjamin. Wayne and Garth then decide they don't like that ending, and decide to do the "Scooby-Doo ending" instead. Wayne then pulls off Benjamin's face, revealing that he is actually Old Man Withers, who then remarks, true to Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo is an American media franchise based around several animated television series and related works produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969...
form, "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for you snooping kids!" After this, Garth imitates Scooby-Doo by saying "Good One, Shaggy." Wayne and Garth then decide to do the "mega happy ending", where Frankie gives Cassandra a six album record deal, Wayne and Cassandra kiss, Russell and the crew member who keeps saying "I love you" get together, while he announces how he discovered that "platonic love
Platonic love
Platonic love is a chaste and strong type of love that is non-sexual.-Amor Platonicus:The term amor platonicus was coined as early as the 15th century by the Florentine scholar Marsilio Ficino. Platonic love in this original sense of the term is examined in Plato's dialogue the Symposium, which has...
can exist between two grown men", Noah is glad people are seeing him in a new light after he started sponsoring Wayne's World, Benjamin realizes being successful doesn't get you everything, and Garth finally gets his dream girl (Donna Dixon
Donna Dixon
Donna Dixon is an American actress.Donna Dixon was born in Alexandria, Virginia; her father, Earl Dixon, owned a club on U.S. 1, called "Hillbilly Heaven." She is a 1975 graduate of Groveton High School and attended The George Washington University...
).
Cast
- Mike MyersMike Myers (actor)Michael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
as Wayne Campbell - Dana CarveyDana CarveyDana Thomas Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.-Early life:...
as Garth Algar - Tia CarrereTia CarrereTia Carrere is an American actress, model, voice artist, and singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, Queen Tyr'ahnee in Duck Dodgers, and as Sydney Fox in the TV series Relic Hunter.-Early life:Carrere was born in...
as Cassandra Wong - Rob LoweRob LoweRobert Hepler "Rob" Lowe is an American actor. Lowe came to prominence after appearing in films such as The Outsiders, Oxford Blues, About Last Night..., St. Elmo's Fire, and Wayne's World. On television, Lowe is known for his role as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing and his role as Senator Robert...
as Benjamin Kane - Lara Flynn BoyleLara Flynn BoyleLara Flynn Boyle is an American film and television actress best known for her performances as Laura Palmer's best friend Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks and Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in The Practice...
as Stacy, Wayne's crazy ex-girlfriend - Michael DeLuiseMichael DeLuiseMichael Robert DeLuise is an American actor, film director, and film producer.-Early life and career:DeLuise was born in Los Angeles, the second son of actor and comedian Dom DeLuise and actress Carol Arthur, and the brother of actor, writer, director Peter DeLuise and actor David DeLuise.DeLuise...
as Alan, one of Wayne and Garth's crew - Lee TergesenLee TergesenLee Allen Tergesen is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Tobias Beecher in HBO’s prison drama Oz and as Evan Wright in Generation Kill.-Early life:...
as Terry, Wayne and Garth's head cameraman - Dan Bell as Neil, Wayne's and Garth's other crewman
- Sean Gregory Sullivan as Phil, Wayne and Garth's perpetually wasted friend who works at an auto repair shop
- Brian Doyle-MurrayBrian Doyle-MurrayBrian Doyle-Murray is an American comedian, screenwriter, actor and voice artist. He is the older brother of actor/comedian Bill Murray and has acted together with him in several films, including Caddyshack, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, The Razor's Edge and Groundhog Day...
as video arcade magnate Noah Vanderhoff - Colleen CampColleen CampColleen Celeste Camp is an American actress and film producer, known for her performances in two installments of the Police Academy series and as Yvette the Maid in the 1985 black comedy Clue. She was also the first actress to play Kristin Shepard in U.S. prime time soap opera Dallas in 1979.Camp...
as Mrs. Vanderhoff - Kurt FullerKurt FullerKurt Fuller is an American character actor. He has appeared in a number of television, film, and stage projects. He graduated from Lincoln High School in Stockton, California in 1971.-Career:...
as Russell Finley, Benjamin's assistant - Chris FarleyChris FarleyChristopher Crosby "Chris" Farley was an American comedian and actor. Farley was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1995....
as the well-informed security guard at the back of Alice CooperAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
concert - Frank DiLeoFrank DiLeoFrank Michael DiLeo was an American music industry executive and actor, known for his portrayal of gangster Tuddy Cicero in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. For five years in the late 1980s, and again in 2009, he was Michael Jackson's manager.-Career:Frank DiLeo graduated from Central Catholic High...
as rock promoter Frankie 'Mr. Big' Sharp - Ed O'NeillEd O'NeillEdward Phillip "Ed" O'Neill, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes...
as Glen, the manager at Stan MikitaStan MikitaStanislav "Stan" Mikita , is a Slovak-born Canadian retired professional ice hockey player, generally regarded as the best centre of the 1960s. In 1961, he won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom he played his entire career.-Early life:Mikita was born in Sokolče, Slovak Republic...
's Donuts - Mike Hagerty as Davy, a controller at the Cable 10 television station who Benjamin and Russell ask for help, he later claims that he got laid off while at Stan Mikita's.
- Frederick CoffinFrederick CoffinFrederick D. Coffin was an American film actor.-Early life:Coffin was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1943 to actress Winifred Deforest Coffin, and was one of five children. He was educated at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, where he was both a student and athlete. He began to study...
as Officer Koharski - Donna DixonDonna DixonDonna Dixon is an American actress.Donna Dixon was born in Alexandria, Virginia; her father, Earl Dixon, owned a club on U.S. 1, called "Hillbilly Heaven." She is a 1975 graduate of Groveton High School and attended The George Washington University...
as Garth's dream woman - Ione SkyeIone SkyeIone Skye Lee is an English-born American actress, who became a teen idol after the 1989 movie Say Anything.... In 2006 VH1 placed her at number 84 in the "100 Greatest Teen Stars" list.-Early life:...
as Elyse, Benjamin's girlfriend, who introduces him to Wayne's World - Robin Ruzan as a waitress
- Charles NolandCharles NolandCharles Noland is an American actor who had recurring roles on The West Wing, as Steve, a member of the White House press corps, and on ER as a desk man named E-Ray. He has also appeared in the films Dirty Deeds, Wayne's World, Old School, "Blow" and Bubble Boy.-External links:...
as Ron Paxton, who tries to market his invention, the "Suck-Kut", to Garth - Carmen FilpiCarmen FilpiCarmen Filpi was an American actor who starred in films and on television. He is well known for playing a homeless man in a lot of films....
as Old Man Withers - Chaz Healy as Concert-goer
- Robert PatrickRobert PatrickRobert Hammond Patrick, Jr. is an American actor, known for his leading and supporting roles in a number of films and television shows....
as T-1000T-1000The T-1000 is a fictional nanomorph mimetic poly-alloy assassin and the main antagonist in Terminator 2: Judgment Day controlled by the series main antagonist Skynet. The T-1000 is portrayed primarily by Robert Patrick; however, being a shape-shifter, the T-1000 is played by other actors in some... - Alice CooperAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
with Pete FriesenPete FriesenPete Friesen is a guitarist who has toured the world and recorded with such acts as Alice Cooper, The Almighty and Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson.-Biography:...
, Derek SherinianDerek SherinianDerek Sherinian is a rock keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kiss, and Alice In Chains. He was also a member of Dream Theater and is the founder of the instrumental metal-fusion band Planet X...
and Jimmy DeGrassoJimmy DeGrassoJimmy DeGrasso is an American heavy metal drummer. He is currently the drummer for F5.DeGrasso was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and graduated from Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1981....
as themselves
Box Office
The movie was a box office success debuting at No.1. The film's final final domestic gross was $121,697,323.Effect on pop culture
Filled with pop culture references, the sketches and film started catchphrases such as "Schwing!" and "SchyeaYeah, right
Yeah, right may refer to:*"Yeah, right", a common sarcastic remark*"Yeah, Right", a song by The Reverend Horton Heat from their 1994 album Liquor in the Front...
", as well as popularizing "That's what she said", "Party on!" and the use of "...Not!
Not!
Not! is a grammatical construction in the English language that became a sarcastic catchphrase in North America in the 1990s. A declarative statement is made, followed by a pause and then an emphatic "not!" is postfixed. The result is a negation of the original declarative statement...
" after apparently affirmative sentences in order to state the contrary. It augmented the slacker
Slacker
The term "slacker" is used to refer to a person who habitually avoids work. Slackers may be regarded as belonging to an antimaterialistic counterculture, though in some cases their behavior may be due to other causes ....
language of Generation X
Generation X
Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the Western post–World War II baby boom ended. While there is no universally agreed upon time frame, the term generally includes people born from the early 1960's through the early 1980's, usually no later than 1981 or...
, much as Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is a 1989 American science fiction–comedy buddy film and the first film in the Bill & Ted franchise in which two metalhead slackers travel through time to assemble a menagerie of historical figures for their high school history presentation.The film was written by...
had done previously. It featured a baby blue 1976 AMC Pacer
AMC Pacer
The AMC Pacer is a two-door compact automobile produced in the United States by the American Motors Corporation between 1975 and 1980.Its initial design idea was started in 1971. The car's unusual rounded shape with massive glass area greatly contrasted with the three-box architecture with "square,...
with flames and non-matching wheels, which Wayne and Garth dubbed "The Mirthmobile".
The film frequently breaks the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
, with Wayne, Garth, and others on occasion speaking directly to the audience. Parts of the story are carried by Wayne's narration to the camera, in which he offers his thoughts on what's happening in the film. Despite Wayne, Garth, Cassandra, Glen, and Ben addressing the viewer, no one else seems aware that they are in a film.
Video games
In 1993, a Wayne's World video game was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemSuper Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, the Sega Mega Drive
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
, and the Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
. The game's plot differs from the film: the player controls Wayne as he goes on a mission throughout Aurora – visiting The Gas Works, Stan Mikita's, and the music store from the "No Stairway" scene, among other locations – to rescue Garth from inside the "Zoltar the Gelatinous Cube" arcade game mentioned in the film.
Alternatively, an adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
version of Wayne's World was released around the same time for DOS. The plot involves Wayne and Garth trying to raise money to save their show by holding a "pizza-thon".
In the beginning of the film, the Noah's Arcade commercial features Starlight Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog playing behind Noah Vanderhoff, the owner of the Noah's Arcade franchise.
The video games Pong
Pong
Pong is one of the earliest arcade video games, and is a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. While other arcade video games such as Computer Space came before it, Pong was one of the first video games to reach mainstream popularity...
, Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
, and Ms. Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man is an arcade video game produced by Midway as an unauthorized sequel to Pac-Man. It was released in North America in 1981 and became one of the most popular video games of all time, leading to its adoption by Pac-Man licensor Namco as an official title...
were mentioned by Noah & Wayne but not seen in the film.
In addition, Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned is the first of two episodic expansion packs developed for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC versions of Grand Theft Auto IV, developed by Rockstar North. It was first released for the Xbox 360 on 17 February 2009 and on PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows...
features a car based on the AMC Pacer named "Rhapsody" in reference to the famed scene from the film. If the player zooms in on the dashboard with the sniper rifle, they can see a photograph of Wayne and Garth.
Music
- The use of QueenQueen (band)Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
's "Bohemian RhapsodyBohemian Rhapsody"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera...
" in the film propelled the song to #2 in Billboard singles chartsBillboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
nearly 20 years after its first release. The soundtrackWayne's World (soundtrack)Wayne's World is the original soundtrack album by the film of the same title. It was released on February 18, 1992.-Track listing:# "Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen# "Hot and Bothered" - Cinderella# "Rock Candy" - BulletBoys# "Dream Weaver" - Gary Wright...
album reached number one in the Billboard album charts. Freddie MercuryFreddie MercuryFreddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
, the lead singer of Queen, died of bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
a few months before the film's release.
- Gary WrightGary WrightGary Malcolm Wright is an American musician, best known for his song, "Dream Weaver". He was the piano player on Harry Nilsson's version of "Without You".-Early life:...
rerecorded "Dream Weaver" for this film and it was used whenever Wayne looked at Cassandra.
- While in the music store, Wayne (Myers) tries out a guitar by starting to play "Stairway to HeavenStairway to Heaven"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album . The song, running eight minutes and two seconds, is composed of several sections, which...
" by Led ZeppelinLed ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, and is stopped by a salesman (often falsely credited as Dana StrumDana StrumDana Strum is the bassist of heavy metal band Slaughter. Before that, he was in Vinnie Vincent Invasion together with fellow bandmate, Mark Slaughter...
from the band SlaughterSlaughter (band)Slaughter is an American heavy metal band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada by lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Mark Slaughter and bassist Dana Strum. The band reached stardom in 1990 with their first album, Stick It to Ya which spawned several hit singles including "Up All Night", "Spend My Life", "Mad...
), who points to a sign on the wall of the sales floor, which says "No Stairway To Heaven". The joke references the fact that in a number of guitar stores in the UK, the song is banned from being played due to the fact that so many people tried to play the guitar portions of the song after its release, employees became sick of hearing it. Wayne's performance existed in original 35mm theatrical prints, but, due to the band's licensing restrictions, the notes performed were changed for home video and television broadcasts and bear very little resemblance to the original, and the point of the joke is lost. Also, when Garth (Carvey) tries out a large Yamaha drum kit, the scene as filmed was actually Carvey playing the drum kit (microphones can be seen mounted on the kit to record the performance). Carvey had played drums during appearances as The Church LadyThe Church LadyThe Church Lady was a recurring character in a series of sketches on the American television show Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1990, with later appearances in 1996, 2000, and 2011...
on Saturday Night Live.
- Tia Carrere sang all her own vocals on songs she performed in the film, and her cover version of songs, such as Sweet's "The Ballroom Blitz", were included in the film's original soundtrack recording.
See also
- Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketchesRecurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketchesSee also: Listed chronologically, Listed by cast member, Saturday Night Live TV show sketches of the 2000s-A:-B:-C:-D:-E:-F:-G:-H:-I:-J:-K:-L:-M:-N:-O:-P:-Q to R:-S:-T:-U to V:-W:-X to Z:...
- List of Saturday Night Live feature films
External links
- Wayne's World at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...