Rating:

Sure, I know what you’re thinking: What’s a review of Wayne’s World doing on a website devoted to superheroes? It’s a fair question, but when you think about it, to the slacker generation, Wayne Campbell is a superhero of sorts. Eternally optimistic, gifted with the power of sarcasm, and joined by his faithful sidekick, Garth, it’s not too hard to picture Wayne jaunting about with a cape, saving the world from the humdrum by finding enjoyment in the mundane. Wayne’s World and its sequel spoke to an entire generation of twentysomething headbangers and pretty much paved the way for Mike Myers to give us Austin Powers and, for better or worse, The Love Guru.

Still, I was as suspicious as anyone when these discs landed on my review stack. Wayne’s World…on Blu Ray? Do we really need this movie in high definition? Are people really that eager to count the follicles on Myer’s mullet wig, or see every pore in Dana Carvey’s makeup? Hopefully fans will pardon my use of one of the movie’s best lines, but…is it worthy?

In a nutshell, not as Paramount is presenting it now. Let’s be honest, Wayne’s World is not going to be part of the Critereon Collection, nor does it need the two-disc special edition treatment. That said, it would have been nice to have had more meat with the potatoes on these discs. High definition clarity doesn’t improve nor take away from the humor of the movies, and to be honest, if you’re watching these movies for the crystal clear clarity of the picture, you’re missing the point. You could get the same enjoyment from watching the regular DVD, and most likely for a cheaper price tag.

So if you’re going to put this movie out on Blu-Ray, you need to include enough extras to justify the purchase. Sadly, all we get in these releases is the obligatory self-congratulatory “making of” 10-minute featurette, where Myers, Carvey and crew talk about the film with enough bombast to make it sound like it was the second coming of Olivier. Hey, I enjoyed the movie as much as anyone, but it’s Wayne’s World…not Othello, okay? And that’s all we get for the extra dough we shell out for the Blu-Ray discs. Extra clips from the SNL broadcasts, particularly the classic Tom Hanks/Aerosmith appearance, for example, might have justified the purchase, but really, there’s nothing on these discs you couldn’t enjoy just as much on the regular DVD.

The low rating on this review is not necessarily an indictment against the movies themselves. Despite being over 15 years old, a lot of the humor remains intact and will still generate a smile for both new audiences as well as old-time fans looking for a little nostalgia. Where these discs fail is due in part to the idea that Wayne’s World really needs the Blu-Ray treatment. In addition, if they’re going to give us these movies on Blu-Ray, they ought to behave like Blu-Ray movies, offering extras that really warrant the purchase.