Wayne's World: Schwing! Schwing!

Wayne's World

Directed by Penelope

Prheeris

Featuring Mike Myers, Dana

Carvey and Rob Lowe

Paramount Pictures

Wayne's World will undoubtedly be seen and savored by every "Saturday Night Live" fan, and especially those who adore Wayne and Garth, the show's near-legendary sultans of teen-aged idiocy.

Wayne's World encompasses every facet of Wayne (Mike Meyers) and Garth's (Dana Carvey) personality, making it a pleasure for SNL fans. Silly, yes, but unlike other meaningless comedies which possess feeble skeletons for a plot, Wayne's World boats no plot to begin with and does not attempt to simulate one. Knowing that the Wayne's World skits on Saturday nights are one of the last bastions of quality on the show, the makers of Wayne's World attempt to stretch a funny but plot-less skit into a movie.

The story (if it can be referred to as that) originates on a television set in producer Benjamin Oliver's (Rob Lowe) bedroom when he views "Wayne's World," a variety show produced by the two heavy-metal loving teenagers Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar. Oliver struggles to win the rights to the show by capitalizing on Wayne and Garth's gullibility, this confrontation evolving into the bad guy-good guy conflict in the film.

The slick, womanizing Rob Lowe is, of course, the perfect foil for the abundantly earthy and clueless Wayne and Garth.

Meanwhile, the film's romantic aspect comes from a Chinese heavy metal singer, Cassandra (Tia Carrere). A particularly trademark Wayne-line comes up when Wayne says, "I feel partly responsible for her self-nullifying behavior" in Cantonese.

And, for no apparent reason other than for us to see her ram into a car on a bicycle, there is Wayne's ex-girlfriend Stacey (Lara Flynn Boyle), which evokes one pressing question in the viewers minds: How is it possible that Boyle's character would date Wayne? Perhaps a slight miscasting occurred in getting the stunning Boyle (whose other credits include Twin Peaks and a Playboy centerfold) to play the role of an obsequious, leeching girlfriend.

Several cameo appearances pepper the film--Chris Farley (an SNL regular) plays a security guard, Ed O'Neill (Married...With Children) is an eccentric owner of the cafe where Wayne and Garth hang out, and Alice Cooper plays himself (what else could he portray?).

Though barely a semblance of a plot emerges, Wayne's World seems like the movie prototype of witty one-liners that made "Saturday Night Live" famous. In short, think of every good line from the "Wayne's World" skits on SNL, throw them randomly together in a screenplay, and you've got Wayne's World, the movie.

This, of course, implies that any non-SNL watchers should beware; most of the lines are funny for only two reasons: A They are either the expected Wayne-isms (e.g. Not, sphincter, schwing I'm not worthy, etc.) or B. They are extensions of the lovable characters of Wayne and Garth that only fans can appreciate (Garth scratching a car in a body shop with an electric screw driver, or their car named the Mirthmobile). Basically, Wayne's World has been tailor-made for devoted SNL followers.

Wayne's World does have plenty of funny moments, although most of them are inside jokes reserved for Wayne and Garth fans. Another good point: From the looks of the filming, the camera operators didn't take themselves too seriously either.

There probably will be those who argue that Wayne's World evokes laughter the most only in five minute segments on Saturday nights--but unless you anticipate the great awakening of Lorne Michaels in the fashions of his old SNL episodes, Wayne's World gives the audience a small enough dosage so that it still possesses its potency, yet is sufficient to prevent anyone from asking for more.