Happy 30th birthday to Wayne’s World, which was released on this day in 1992. In celebration, we’re dusting off a few oldie but goodie articles; you can check them all out here. Party on!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Art is subjective. Music and movies aren’t about competition; they’re about artistic expression. Well, for those of you who know better than to believe those lies, welcome to another installment of Vs. This time, we definitively determine which Wayne’s World movie parties harder.
A lot can be said about Wayne’s World since Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) first schwinged their way into theaters 30 years ago on Valentine’s Day. We could break down how it blended rock and roll, sketch comedy, and pop culture unlike any film before it. We could harp on about how it set a dizzying bar for SNL movies, became arguably the most quotable comedy of a generation, and remains a time capsule of early ’90s slackerdom.
Or, if we wanted to get more personal, we could talk about how it was our ultimate weekend rental as young teens, a non-Hughesian rite de passage, and one of the first films of ours that we caught our parents giggling at after they thought we had fallen asleep.
Or, here’s something you can scribble on the back of your note cards: The sequel didn’t blow goats!!!
That sounds like a minor feat to focus on until you think about the massive flock of ’90s sequels that did indeed fellate goats. Some might chalk up the second installment’s appeal to the surprise, runaway success of the original. Less than two years after Wayne and Garth stormed Hollywood by way of Aurora, the same beloved characters found themselves again on the big screen.
But what a different flick. While the beats, bad guys, and babes were similar, our favorite cable-access co-hosts were sprung from Wayne’s basement (“sans parents”) and emerged into a world that spun pop culture, Hollywood in particular, on its head fast enough to make you hurl.
Find another film of that era — or any era, for that matter — that could send up both the biggest blockbuster hit of that same summer (Jurassic Park) and pay a lengthy and faithful homage to arguably the greatest coming-of-age film in history (The Graduate), never once second guessing itself or breaking from the mental hijinks of its irreverent stars.
Wayne’s World and Wayne’s World 2 remain side-clutchingly excellent more than two decades later. Which is the better flick? Well, that may come down to whether you prefer crullers or sugar pucks, partying at The Gasworks or Komrades, or hanging backstage with Frankensteins or dudes who look like ladies.
Never ones to shirk our duties (or pass up a chance to ride in the Mirthmobile), we decided to break down 13 categories to determine once and for all which Wayne’s World movie parties hardest. Ix-nay on the condescension-ay there, Chet, but if you do have comments, share them below. We’ll be sure to read them … oh, and monkeys might fly out of our butts.
Game on! In five, four, three, <two>, <one>…
— Matt Melis
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