Galileo, Figaro / Magnifico!
I missed about 15 minutes of Sunday's awful MTV Movie Awards, and they were apparently the only 15 minutes worth watching: The return of "Wayne's World"! (Click on Clip No. 15 on the linked video player.)
"Wayne's World" began, of course, as a sketch on "SNL," and it instantly won over suburbanite metalheads everywhere with its casual references to all things rock, Mike Myers' perfect mullet, the breakfast nook, and Garth's Aerosmith T-shirt. It was especially meaningful to me as Wayne seemed to be interested in everything I was interested in, including the Chicago Blackhawks.
Yes, this is that scene from the movie.
Penelope Spheeris' "Wayne's World" feature was a defining moment in Little Sean's life, mostly because I would speak as Wayne or Garth on a daily basis for roughly the next three years. (Sorry, Mom and Dad.) In addition to being consistently hilarious, "Wayne's World" is a great love letter to the Chicago area, from the Berwyn car spindle to the Empire Man, whose appearance in the film's opening scene drew applause every time I saw it; it's just too bad there wasn't really a Stan Mikita's Donuts in Aurora. "Wayne's World 2" lost most of that Chicago feel, although I did appreciate Wayne's line about working at Great America, "cleaning up lung butter." Of course, it's hard to make a movie that feels like suburban Chicago when you're filming in Southern California.
But the biggest impact "Wayne's World" had on pop culture must have been the reintroduction of "Bohemian Rhapsody." Think back to the mid-'90s -- was there an event you went to where you didn't hear this song? I remember going to multiple White Sox games where the camera guys went looking for headbangers while the heavy part of the song blared over the PA. I remember my friend Elliott insisting the live band at his bar mitzvah would have to put down their trumpets for a few minutes while he and his friends did an a capella version of the Queen classic. (He lost that argument, sadly.)
This looks awful. Naturally, I'll be seeing it opening night.
What is up with Mike Myers and his ability to invade our lives? "Wayne's World" had run out of steam by 1997, but then everyone started screaming "Oh, behave!" and "Yeah, baby!" after "Austin Powers" became a megahit on home video. Does this mean we'll all be affecting an offensive Indian accent and joking about smuggling Schnauzers this summer after "The Love Guru" comes out?
We will if we listen to Deepak Chopra, who insists the film is not offensive and says it actually brings attention to "some very profound truths." Mike Myers, profound?!?
What about you? Are you still excited by the prospect of a new catchphrase machine from the guy who gave us Wayne and Dr. Evil, or are you so over Mike Myers now?
Mike Myers gets me EVERY DAMN TIME. Even though he does some of the same jokes over and over, I always laugh. I can't wait for "The Love Guru." At first, I thought it looked dumb and I wanted to resist, but alas...I'm fished in once again. He did a sketch with the two Davids on American Idol finale as the guru that had me in tears laughing. I can't really put a finger on why I love Mike Myers so much...he's just silly and knows how to make people laugh. He has created major pop culture icons (Wayne, Austin Powers, Shrek) and I think if this new movie turns out to be a disaster, it's forgivable. I won't be "over" Mike Myers any time soon.