Over in the discussion of guilty-pleasure movies, many people expressed a fondness for the one truly great SNL-skit-inspired movie, Wayne’s World. (Bear in mind that The Blues Brothers was never really a skit, per se. Although I never really got the appeal of that movie.)
Anyhow, it’s probably my single favorite movie, as measured by the total amount of entertaniment it has provided. I saw it something like 7 times in the theatres, bought it on video, watched it until the tape wore out, bought another copy, and now own it on DVD.
There are so many great and hilarious moments that it hardly seems worth mentioning them all, but here are is my list of top 10 funny bits (and I know I’m forgetting some… but there are just so many):
Ed O’Neill as Glenn (“I’d never done a crazy thing in my life before that night. Why is it, if a man kills another man in battle, it’s called heroic. Yet if he kills a man in the heat of passion, they call it murder?”)
The chinese subtitles (“I feel partly responsible for her self-nullifying behavior.”)
Foxy Lady (“I say, hurl. If you blow chunks and she comes back, she’s yours. If you spew and she bolts, it was never meant to be.”)
Chromakey (“Or imagine being able to be magically whisked away to… Delaware. Hi. I’m in Delaware.”)
Garth gives Stacey romantic advice ("…he’s going through a really tough time right now. You know what I think it is?" “That you’re mental?”)
The Cue Cards (“What’s the difference between Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, really?” “Well, she has a bow on her head”. “That’s it? Get right out of town!”)
Bohemian Rhapsody (“I’m giving you a no-honk guarantee”)
The second-to-last ending ("…we hope you found it entertaining. Whimsical, and yet relevant. With an underlying revisionist conceit that belied the film’s emotional attachments to the subject matter.")
Backstage with Alice Cooper (“I think one of the most interesting things about Milwaukee is the fact that it’s the only major American city to have ever elected three socialist mayors.”)
The discussion in Stan Mikita’s Donuts ("…that doesn’t mean we can’t still go out" “Well it does, actually. That’s what breaking up is.”)
(Actually, I’m a bit ashamed to admit that the one thing in the movie that most consistently makes me laugh out loud is none of the above… it’s actually quite a dumb joke. Namely, Stacey riding her bike into the parked car.)
What are some other great Wayne’s World moments and stories?
Okay, back when I was in college, this movie came out and a bunch of my friends and I wanted to see a movie. I was hoping to see Wayne’s World, since I had seen it on SNL a couple of times and enjoyed it. One of the group wanted to see one of the other movies that was out at the time: Medicine Man with Sean Connery. Luckily, we were able to convince him to see Wayne’s World instead. Well, I laughed throughout the movie and so did the guy we convinced to go see it with us. He came out thinking it was one of the best movies ever. I waited until video to see Medicine Man and regretted renting it. Bleah…
At the time, I was working at the college newspaper, and I remember seeing a story about (whether this was true or not, it was the rumor going around) Wayne’s World, in that while on it’s theatrical run, more than 50 percent of males in college had seen it.
Also, I bought it the day it came out on video. What puzzled me was the sticker on the box that said “Some of the audio has been altered from the original theatrical version.” Well, in the scene where he starts playing “Stairway to Heaven,” it no longer sounds like it any more. Which in the movie, it did sound just like the beginning of “Stairway,” but in the video version, that joke where the clerk points to the sign, doesn’t work any more really because what he starts playing is so off.
I guess they didn’t have the video rights for the song or something.
Something else I remembered. A few months before the movie came out, we were in the theater waiting for another movie to come on and the previews were showing. Well, this was about the time that the first Addam’s Family movie was coming out and they start playing the Addam’s Family theme and showing a cemetery scene. Then they pan over and it’s Wayne and Garth doing the snapping sounds. It turned out to be a preview for Wayne’s World.
“…and they have to take the handlebars off just to get it out again…”
“If that’s a human head, I’m going to be very upset.”
“A gun rack? A GUN rack? I don’t even own AH gun…”
I couldn’t stand Wayne’s World on SNL, and the movie was even worse (went to please a friend). Most of all, Mark Meyers denies stealing the idea, as I once heard in an interview, but it is so obvious he did. His arguements during that interview just served to prove the point that he snagged it, baby!
Wayne’s World? Get a life…that goes for Elmo and his annoying world, too!
Phew, I was worried this thread would make it to half a dozen posts without being crapped on. Thanks for the insight, Jinx.
From where?
Anyway, I’ve found a lot of fans of the movie. It’s nice to see Mike Myers used to being funny and keeping his obnoxious schtick in check. I do like the Blues Brothers, so I think they compete for best SNL movie. They’re both a lot of fun, and the characters are pretty likeable instead of just being one joke stretched out for way too long.
Wayne’s World is the funniest movie I’ve ever seen. Its humor is derived from its subtle brilliance. It’s one of the few movies I can watch repeatedly and still laugh my ass off.
It’s an amazing coincidence that this thread appeared just now, just as I’ve had the Wayne’s World parody version of “Layla (unplugged)” stuck firmly in my head for several days now…
It’s Wayne’s World
Party all the time
Wayne’s World!
You’ll laugh, you’ll hurl, you’ll cry
Wayne’s World!
Darlin’ won’t you party all the time…
I love everything about this movie, so it’s hard to me to choose which scenes to bring up.
One of the best is when Mr. Vanderhoff’s wife is looking through the camera and says “Oh, it’s so big,” and the crew guy who’s standing there says “thank you.”
“Do I scare you?”
“No.”
“Do you want me to?”
My favorite bit is Garth’s dance to “Foxy Lady.” The little gesture where he makes ears on his head with his fingers just slays me (to the point where I do that for myself whenever I hear the song).
I liked the first Wayne’s World, but didn’t think much of the second. Maybe if I saw it again I’d like it more.
But to be fair, I always thought it was blatantly obvious that WW (the movie and the skit) was a rip-off of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, which was an even better movie.
“Look, you can stay here in the big leagues and play by the rules, or you can go back to your farm club in Aurora. It’s your choice.” (holds up pepsi) “Yes. And it’s the choice of a new generation.”
IIRC, and I’m not sure if I do, but is it either Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man(She has a bow, that’s the difference)? something in my head is saying TROG, but I think that might be the game in Terminator.
