Wayne's World 2

(1993) ** 1/2 Pg-13
95 min. Paramount Pictures. Director: Stephen Surjik. Cast: Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Lee Tergesen, Dan Bell, Tia Carrere.

/content/films/3417/2.jpgWayne's World 2 revels in silliness even more than the first movie, but it turns out that's a good thing as compensation for the otherwise repetitive feel. The concept of two overgrown children (one sort of cool, the other not) hosting a cable access show in a Chicago suburb that seems suspiciously Canadian is no longer novel, but Mike Myers and Dana Carvey continue to mug away with abandon as Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar, and if your expectations aren't unreasonable, you'll find this appealingly absurd sequel as satisfying—or, for that matter, as off-putting—as the first.

The simple premise of Wayne's World 2: Wayne has a dream involving Jim Morrison "and his weird naked Indian friend." Morrison tells Wayne to fulfill his destiny of holding a rock concert: "If you book them," Morrison says of big acts like Aerosmith, "they will come" (such randomness reigns, as the movie allusions stretch out from The Doors and Field of Dreams to The Graduate and Thelma and Louise). Wayne resolves to hold a fest called Waynestock, and enlists the help of Morrison-recommended British super-roadie Del Preston (Ralph Brown). Meanwhile, Wayne watches his girlfriend Cassandra's rock star rise under the aegis of a record producer (Christopher Walken) who's too "hands on" for Wayne's comfort. As a sideshow, there's a romance for the virginal Garth, who mysteriously lights the fire of smokin' hot Honey Hornée (Kim Basinger).

Like the first movie (also written by Myers and Bonnie & Terry Turner), this one is heavily peppered with catch-phrases ("Shyah, right!", "We're not worthy!") and oddly endearing in its "fourth wall"-shattering self-awareness. Director Steven Surjik, who had logged time with the Kids in the Hall, ably steers the ship, Walken cuts a rug (always a good thing), and cameo players steadily roll out for a few gags each: Drew Barrymore, Bob Odenkirk and Robert Smigel, Heather Locklear, Rip Taylor (oh, Rip, we hardly knew ye), Charlton Heston (you read that right), Jay Leno, Kevin Pollak, Olivia D'Abo, Ted McGinley, Harry Shearer (ideally cast as WPIG deejay "Handsome Dan"), and from Myers' and Carvey's SNL stomping grounds,  Chris Farley and Tim Meadows (as Sammy Davis Jr., no less). Plus, there's a lesson kids: do your homework right away, so you can happily party on later.

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Bluray

Aspect ratios: 1.78:1

Number of discs: 1

Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1

Street date: 5/12/2009

Distributor: Paramount Home Video

Like its predecessor, Wayne's World 2 gets a natural-looking, filmic transfer on Blu-ray. The image isn't entirely clean (some specks of dirt and dust), but it does have nice detail and accurate color and contrast. It's not reference-quality material, but it's a major step up from DVD. Though the movie is eighteen years old, the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix presented here does a very nice job of punching up sound effects and music for a more-than-decent effort at immersing the viewer.

As on DVD, only a couple of bonus features make it to disc, but they're solid ones. There's a commentary with director Stephen Surjik that should be intriguing to fans of the film mostly because he's little-known. Surjik tells tales of production, but there are some literal and figurative gaps in his content.

"Extreme Close-Up" (14:06, SD) mirrors the first movie's making-of retrospective with a series of mostly fluffy comments from Mike Myers, producer Lorne Michaels, Tia Carrere, Dana Carvey, and Surjik.

Review gear:
Panasonic Viera TC-P55VT30 55" Plasma 1080p 3D HDTV
Oppo BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
Denon AVR2112CI Integrated Network A/V Surround Receiver
Pioneer SP-BS41-LR Bookshelf Speaker (2)
Pioneer SP-C21 Center Speaker
Pioneer SW-8 Subwoofer

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