Wednesday, February 03, 2010

“I managed to take out the tiger with a can of mace, but the shopowner and his son... that's a different story altogether. I had to beat them to death with their own shoes.”

Hot on the heels of the success of Wayne’s World in 1992, we got Wayne’s World 2 in 1993, which like most sequels, delivered more of the same, but MORE. The results are interesting.

Plot
So Wayne Campbell’s life has improved for the better. He’s dating a hot musician, moved out into an apartment and his cable access show is a success, but he’s still not satisfied with his life. Then in a dream, the ghost of Jim Morrison (along with a weird naked Indian guy) tells him to host a concert. And lo, Waynestock was born. Though all is not well in Aurora, IL, as Wayne’s girlfriend’s producer is trying to become more than that, and Wayne has to deal with the realities of getting his concert off the ground. So, you know, this movie actually has a plot.

Characters
Wayne Campbell: Mike Myers again with more character development ensuing as he tries to, in a way, grow up and do something with his life that has some kind of meaning.

Garth Algar: Dana Carvey again, and this time, Garth gets an honest to God subplot that focuses on his romantic misadventures.

Cassandra Wong: Tia Carrere again as Wayne’s girlfriend. Her character doesn’t change much from the first movie’s formula. They’re together, some guy gets in between, misunderstanding leads to separation, happy reunion.

Bobby Cahn: Christopher Walken hamming things up as Cassandra’s lecherous producer. On the one hand, he’s got less to do and is less of a threat than Rob Lowe’s character in the first movie. On the other hand, its Christopher Walken as the Villain.

Milton: Chris Farley (who was in the first movie for like one scene) is a friend of the guys and joins their crew for Waynestock.

Del Preston: Ralph Brown plays an addled, burned out roadie that Wayne & Garth visit in England to recruit for Waynestock. The guy’s totally insane, but a legendary roadie, and he had the same Jim Morrision dream, so he signs on. The badass of the film for his mad-eyed delivery of anecdotes.

Visuals/Effects
Stephen Surjik, who’s done a lot of TV work, goes for a very similar look as the first movie. Lots of sight gags, a hell of a lot of cameos and the pacing moves along at a nice clip.

Writing
Mike Myers, Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner do a better job with the story this time around as stuff actually happens and characters actually develop. There’s some good jokes, but some gags seem to go on longer than they should, like the dubbed kung-fu fight and the whole “The Graduate” segment. Still, it has a lot of the elements that made the first one work.

Sound
Carter Burwell’s original score is completely overshadowed by a very solid rock soundtrack. Edgar Winter, Golden Earring, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, the Village People and an appearance by Aerosmith are a few of the songs involved.

Conclusion
Wayne’s World 2 is a fine enough sequel to the first movie. The story is a little bit more involved, but its not quite as funny as the original. However, major points for Christopher Walken and an actual plot.



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