Wayne’s World is a film that needs no introduction, but will get one anyways. As the maiden voyage for Paramount’s 30-year relationship with Lorne Michaels, we witnessed a beloved yet unidimensional Saturday Night Live sketch adapt into one of the highest grossing films of its decade and solidify it’s legacy as a cultural and comedic juggernaut. Multiple generations have laughed, cried, and hurled, time and time again, for over three decades. But after three decades of anything, change can be scary. That is, unless you have Zoe Lister-Jones and Film Independent sitting in the driver’s seat of that sky blue AMC Pacer with flames on the side. Then it’s not scary at all. It’s party time. It’s excellent.
On Tuesday June 11th, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts filled to the brim as five hundred people (many in costume) flocked to have the same collective question answered; how exactly does one breathe new life into a thirty year old classic? Before the night was over, the answer was resoundingly evident. But we’re not there yet, so in the words of Wayne Campbell, let me bring you up to speed.
As fans trickled in and found their seats, murmurs and whispers and contagious anticipation swelled throughout the auditorium. There wasn’t an empty seat in the house and the excitement in the room was palpable. Some audience members flew nearly 2,000 miles to attend (and some coming from Eagle Rock and Highland Park just felt like they were traveling 2,000 miles). Some were overheard remarking that they’ve never quite felt an energy like this before. And they were right – there was something special coursing through the Wallis that evening. When the lights went down, the room was treated to an absolute shred fest from a supergroup of queer rockers featuring Miya Folick, Amelia Randall Meath (Sylvan Esso), and Claud. Hundreds of people losing their minds was a sight (and sound) to behold. But that was only the beginning.
After a warm and enlivening intro from Film Independent Director of Programming and Events Rachel Bleemer and Acting Chief Artistic Officer for the Wallis Coy Middlebrook, what followed could only be described as magical. Our fearless leader for the evening Zoe Lister-Jones – in full Garth Algar attire – came out to uproarious applause, a noise that only intensified more and more as she brought out performers Sophia Bush, Abbi Jacobson, Poppy Liu, Sherry Cola, Nicole Byer, Meatball, Nori Reed, Robby Hoffman, Kate Moennig, and Dylan Mulvaney. The chemistry emanating from Abbi and Zoe (Wayne and Garth, respectively) was absolutely incredible. Every mannerism was spot-on and their tone was pitch-perfect – it was so very clear how much love they had for these fictional Illinoisan slackers. There are too many remarkable moments to list, but a standout was the bus-directions monologue (originally delivered by the late and legendary Chris Farley) lovingly commandeered by comedy-titan Nicole Byer, who completely made it her own in the funniest way possible.
Sometimes change isn’t bad, but rather interesting. For instance, if anyone walked into the Wallis that evening hoping to see scenes depicted exactly how they were on screen or hear actors deliver lines verbatim from the film, they would be left waiting, because in some key instances that was not how it went down. No, this audience had the unique pleasure of hearing lines read from the actual shooting script, directly from the studio. In some cases, whole scenes and full pages of dialogue were unrecognizable from the finished film, allowing us a window into what could’ve been and almost was. One of the best scenes in the original film, when Wayne and Garth dish out some obvious product placement, featured entirely different products and completely alternate lines. When Wayne and Garth lounge on the hood of the Mirthmobile watching airplanes go by and professing attraction to Bugs Bunny in a dress, what mere moviegoers wouldn’t know is that right before that line, the shooting script contains an entire monologue laying out Wayne’s personal philosophy about living life like Bugs Bunny, with plenty of carrots and a hole in the ground. Now, that monologue may not fit perfectly into the flow of the film, but it’s existence is a riveting view into the filmmaking process, giving everyone in attendance a rare glimpse at writers Mike Meyers, Bonnie Turner, and Terry Turner showing their math. Most likely, this script draft has never been read by anyone outside of Paramount Pictures or Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video, and hearing it come to life with a new cast was astonishing and oddly emotional.
The original film culminates in a raucous and passionate performance of Wayne’s love interest Cassandra Wong belting out “Ballroom Blitz.” It’s a perfect way to send us out of the film, but perfect can be improved on and Zoe Lister-Jones knows exactly how to do it. In the final scene of the Live Read, the band hit us with the familiar opening riffs of “Ballroom Blitz,” but nobody began singing. At this moment, Lister-Jones stood up and grabbed the microphone. Was she about to sing the song? Can she sing? Well, the audience never found out, as she screamed into the microphone, “ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the one and only, Tia Carrere!” Unfortunately, the building didn’t make it, as the roof was torn to absolute shreds. Grown adults shrieked and made noises that should be illegal, as their childhood and adulthood crush gave a mind-bendingly extraordinary performance. That original scene was filmed in the summer of 1991, and the only explanation here is that Carrere continued to practice the song every day for the past 33 years, because what she did on stage was nothing short of transcendent. We are truly not worthy.
As the cast bowed, waved goodbye, and exited stage, it was clear the audience seemed unsure of what to do next. Were we all expected to just walk back into our normal lives pretending like everything was ok and normal? It wasn’t! How do we come down from this? The evening was a beautiful gift, wrapped up in pink paper with a red bow on it. But not like a gun rack.
There are many people to thank for such an unforgettable evening, but special thanks go out to the Wallis, HFPA, and the Film Independent Programming and Events team (namely, Rachel Bleemer, Kate Mason, Terry Chi, Rebecca Cavaleri, Jen Wilson, Matilda Nunez, Hannah Panlov, and Film Independent Josh Welsh).
