Wayne's World (1992)

Film: Wayne's World

Director: Penelope Spheeris

Country: USA

Released: February 1992

Runtime: 95 minutes

Genre: Comedy

Studio: Paramount

Influenced: Adam McKay, Kevin Smith, Paul Feig, Amy Heckerling, Judd Apatow, Tina Fey

One of the notable trends in 90s American cinema was the emergence of a whole new generation of female directors, from Julie Dash and Penelope Spheeris to Kathryn Bigelow, Cheryl Dunye and Amy Heckerling. Before Wayne's World, Spheeris was better known for her documentary work, most notably her three-part series, The Decline of Western Civilization, which focused on the 80s punk and heavy metal music scene in Los Angeles. This music background, along with her prior collaborations with Lorne Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live, made her the ideal candidate to direct Wayne's World. The film began as a recurring sketch on SNL featuring Mike Myers as Wayne Campbell and Dana Carvey as Garth Algar, and the sketch became so popular that it eventually led to the development of a feature film.

A slacker ethos had emerged during the late 80s and early 90s, best exemplified in buddy comedies such as Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), and we can see this trend continue with Wayne's World, Beavis & Butthead (the MTV series that first aired in 1993) and Kevin Smith's Clerks (1994). The film follows the adventures of Wayne and Garth, two metalheads who host their own public access cable TV show from Wayne's basement in Aurora, Illinois. The plot kicks into gear when a sleazy TV executive, Benjamin Kane (Rob Lowe), offers to buy the rights to their show. The character of Wayne was inspired by a combination of various rock musicians, including Angus Young from AC/DC and Alice Cooper, who has a cameo in the film as himself, famously schooling Wayne and Garth on the history of Milwaukee.

Mike Myers insisted on using the Queen song Bohemian Rhapsody for the sing-along car scene, despite resistance from the studio, and the scene quickly became one of the film's most iconic moments. Other memorable moments include Wayne and Garth's deadpan mockery of the shameless product placement in movies and TV shows, particularly in a scene that features blatant advertising for various brands, as well as the "No Stairway to Heaven" sign in the music store, in reference to the overplayed Led Zeppelin song. One of the film's innovations was its self-aware sense of humour and its breaking of the fourth wall. The characters often directly address the audience, offering meta-commentary on the events taking place, such as Wayne's line – "Aren't we lucky that we were there to get all that information? Seemed extraneous at the time" – in relation to the whereabouts of rock promoter Mr Big. 

Wayne's World was a massive commercial success, grossing over $180mn worldwide, while also receiving largely positive reviews from critics, who praised its sharp humour and cultural commentary. The film's success also led to a quickly assembled and middling sequel, Wayne's World 2, in 1993. The original film has since attained cult status and remains beloved by fans of comedy and 90s pop culture. It popularised catchphrases like "Schwing!", "Not!", "Bite me!", "Way!", "Party on!", all of which entered into the cultural mainstream. Not only did Wayne's World become a significant part of 90s pop culture, it also launched the careers of Mike Myers, who would go on to have further success with the Austin Powers and Shrek comedy franchises, and Tia Carrere, who not only released her debut album Dream in 1993 but also went on to star in various TV & film roles, including as Juno Skinner in 1994 blockbuster, True Lies.