The Unpopular Opinion: ‘Wayne’s World 2’ Is Better Than The First Movie
By Britt Hayes/Dec. 10, 2018 12:00 pm EST
(Welcome to The Unpopular Opinion, a series where a writer goes to the defense of a much-maligned film or sets their sights on a movie seemingly beloved by all. In this edition: the sequel to Wayne’s World is actually better than the beloved original.)In 1993, just one short year after Wayne’s World transitioned from SNL favorite to box office hit, Paramount unleashed the sequel. Despite the fact that Wayne’s World 2 received mixed reviews and couldn’t seem to attract as many fans as the first film, it remains a hilarious and highly-underrated sequel – a delightfully silly follow-up that ups the ante while wryly (or obnoxiously, given the behind-the-scenes drama) delivering a formulaic sequel; a sort of self-aware cinematic Mad Libs. In my mind, Wayne’s World 2 belongs to the small group of comedy sequels that are better than their predecessors, like Problem Child 2 and Gremlins 2. At the very least, it should be considered just as great as the first film.
Where Wayne Went Wrong
Myers knew exactly what he was doing. In 2017, SNL creator and Wayne’s World producer Lorne Michaels told THR that Myers’ original script for the sequel was loosely based on the 1949 British comedy film Passport to Pimlico. The story would follow Wayne and Garth as they discover an ancient scroll that inspires them to secede from the United States and start their own country. Myers was operating under the misguided belief that Paramount had the rights to Passport to Pimlico, putting the studio in a tight spot: If they moved forward with Myers’ idea, they’d be facing a potential lawsuit. They could try to obtain the rights, but that would severely delay production.And so Sherry Lansing, who was the chief of Paramount at the time, called Myers into her office to demand he rewrite the screenplay. According to one person who was present at the meeting, Lansing “said, ‘How dare you? How dare you put us in this position?’ She turned to Mike and said, ‘We’ll sue you. We’ll take your f—ing house. You won’t even own a f—ing home.’” Lansing proceeded to make up a story about how a bunch of lawyers were sitting in a room with a Paramount exec “figuring out how they can take every single thing away from” Myers. After the meeting, he “was so shaken that he curled up in a fetal position on Lansing’s couch.“With his original idea tossed out, Myers had to come up with a new one – and fast. The end result feels like a response to that meeting, and to a studio that wanted a quick turnaround on a sequel to cash-in on the success of the first film. It has everything a studio might want or expect from a sequel, which is to say that it is rather formulaic. If anything, it feels like a middle finger to Paramount – a great joke in itself, but hardly the funniest thing about Wayne’s World 2.
The Best Joke in Cinematic History
Which brings us to what is easily the most hilarious (and silliest) joke in cinema history, and really the only thing needed to justify my overall argument: Garth has found himself in the home of one Ms. Honey Horneé, a stunningly beautiful woman who is trying her best to seduce this endearingly hapless dweeb. The whole scene is worth a watch, but the greatest joke of all time happens at the 3:20 mark in the embed above.I rest my case.
The Unpopular Opinion: ‘Wayne’s World 2’ Is Better Than The First Movie
By Britt Hayes/Dec. 10, 2018 12:00 pm EST
(Welcome to The Unpopular Opinion, a series where a writer goes to the defense of a much-maligned film or sets their sights on a movie seemingly beloved by all. In this edition: the sequel to Wayne’s World is actually better than the beloved original.)In 1993, just one short year after Wayne’s World transitioned from SNL favorite to box office hit, Paramount unleashed the sequel. Despite the fact that Wayne’s World 2 received mixed reviews and couldn’t seem to attract as many fans as the first film, it remains a hilarious and highly-underrated sequel – a delightfully silly follow-up that ups the ante while wryly (or obnoxiously, given the behind-the-scenes drama) delivering a formulaic sequel; a sort of self-aware cinematic Mad Libs. In my mind, Wayne’s World 2 belongs to the small group of comedy sequels that are better than their predecessors, like Problem Child 2 and Gremlins 2. At the very least, it should be considered just as great as the first film.
Wayne’s World 2 is Actually Good – No, Really
Where Wayne Went Wrong
Myers knew exactly what he was doing. In 2017, SNL creator and Wayne’s World producer Lorne Michaels told THR that Myers’ original script for the sequel was loosely based on the 1949 British comedy film Passport to Pimlico. The story would follow Wayne and Garth as they discover an ancient scroll that inspires them to secede from the United States and start their own country. Myers was operating under the misguided belief that Paramount had the rights to Passport to Pimlico, putting the studio in a tight spot: If they moved forward with Myers’ idea, they’d be facing a potential lawsuit. They could try to obtain the rights, but that would severely delay production.And so Sherry Lansing, who was the chief of Paramount at the time, called Myers into her office to demand he rewrite the screenplay. According to one person who was present at the meeting, Lansing “said, ‘How dare you? How dare you put us in this position?’ She turned to Mike and said, ‘We’ll sue you. We’ll take your f—ing house. You won’t even own a f—ing home.’” Lansing proceeded to make up a story about how a bunch of lawyers were sitting in a room with a Paramount exec “figuring out how they can take every single thing away from” Myers. After the meeting, he “was so shaken that he curled up in a fetal position on Lansing’s couch.“With his original idea tossed out, Myers had to come up with a new one – and fast. The end result feels like a response to that meeting, and to a studio that wanted a quick turnaround on a sequel to cash-in on the success of the first film. It has everything a studio might want or expect from a sequel, which is to say that it is rather formulaic. If anything, it feels like a middle finger to Paramount – a great joke in itself, but hardly the funniest thing about Wayne’s World 2.
The Best Joke in Cinematic History
Which brings us to what is easily the most hilarious (and silliest) joke in cinema history, and really the only thing needed to justify my overall argument: Garth has found himself in the home of one Ms. Honey Horneé, a stunningly beautiful woman who is trying her best to seduce this endearingly hapless dweeb. The whole scene is worth a watch, but the greatest joke of all time happens at the 3:20 mark in the embed above.I rest my case.
