May 9, 2021

Wayne's World

Saw Wayne's World.  It was an SNL spinoff about an affably goofy host of a public access show about nothing much.  The film is mostly about heavy rock worship and guitar fetishism.  It's not super funny and contains a lot of dated pop-culture references, but it does have its moments and is endearing.  There's the classic scene where they bob along to Bohemian Rhapsody, and where they lay there, watching the planes fly by overhead.  It's not laugh-out-loud funny, but these idiots seem like nice people who it would be fun to hang out with for a while.

I don't have a ton of thoughts about this film.  It takes place in the rust-belt shadow of Chicago, where already car manufacturing was falling victim to globalization.  Wayne lives with his parents and spends his time on the public access show which is surely a passion project more than a money maker.  He's teased by his metal-head friends for being a loser but they are all just as much losers themselves.  This is a land of dead ends in which affability and a masculine, defiant attitude counts for a lot.  It's set in the suburbs of Detroit but is based on Mike Myers' hometown in the outskirts of Toronto, another (Canadian) car city.  There's a sinister sense of pointlessness to the film which is kept very far in the background but which is also omnipresent.

So the mood is interesting.  The action proceeds in a meandering way, engaging in some post-modern riffing on Clue (I think) in the end.  Another difficulty the film faces is that the irony and detachment that made rock so appealing is now completely mainstream.  I dunno.  It didn't tickle me, but it was an alright way to spend some time.  A solidly okay movie.

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