Summary
Wayne’s Worldis one of the funniest comedies born out ofSaturday Night Live.Mike Myers, as Wayne, is easily one of the most recognizable characters in comedic history, allowing the movie to hold up its relevance today. One of the most famous moments from the film is when Wayne, Garth (Dana Carvey), and their friends aredriving around and singing along to Queen’s hit song “Bohemian Rhapsody.“After recently rewatching the movie, I was looking forward to seeing this scene again.
The Oscar-award-winning movieBohemian Rhapsodyfeatures not just the making of this popular song but the story behind the band Queen. Ironically,theBohemian Rhapsodycastincludes Myers. He appears in this film as Ray Foster, an executive at the record company that Queen was trying to release “Bohemian Rhapsody” through. The thing that many viewers, including myself, may have missed, however, isMyers' connection with both of these movies and the meaning behind it.
Why Wayne’s World 3 Hasn’t Happened Yet (& Why It Still Could)
Wayne’s World is one of the most iconic movies to come out of the 1990s, and while Wayne’s World 3 hasn’t happened yet there is still reason for hope.
Wayne’s World Features “Bohemian Rhapsody” & Is The Reason Many Listeners Headbang At The Popular Guitar Riff
This Moment Was A Cultural Reset For The Song
While Wayne, Garth, and their friends are singing along to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” they start headbanging to the guitar riff towards the end of the song. This scene permanently changed how I listen to this song. It is undoubtedly one of the reasons I always headbang to the song. Because of this cultural reset, “Bohemian Rhapsody” isone of the songs that became popular again after being in a movie.
Cultural resets, like this moment in the movie, allow these kinds of songs to stay popular. Without this scene, “Bohemian Rhapsody” might not be as iconic as it is today.
Indeed, before the release ofWayne’s World, “Bohemian Rhapsody” was already considered one of Queen’s greatest songs. Cultural resets, like this moment in the movie, allow these kinds of songs to stay popular. Without this scene, “Bohemian Rhapsody” might not be as iconic as it is today. It would just be considered as another classic rock song. Everyone may love it, but it would not be iconic. Even though theWayne’s Worldstars hated filming the “Bohemian Rhapsody” scene,they made the song even more culturally significant.
Mike Meyers' Character Ironically Disapproves Of The Song In Bohemian Rhapsody
Frankly, His Character’s Opinion Was Wrong
Although Myers' character inBohemian Rhapsodyis entirely fictional, his role is crucial for the film. He symbolizes the conflicts Queen must overcome to become a successful band. In fact, he specifically told the band thatnobody would listen to “Bohemian Rhapsody” because of its length and the strange language in its lyrics.As the film proves, later on, he could not have been more wrong. The band overcoming this drawback is a reasonBohemian Rhapsodyis one ofthe best musical biopics, and it is due to the overwhelming success of the film’s exhibits of the song.
Bohemian Rhapsodywas so widely appreciated that Rami Malek won the Best Actor award for his role as Freddy Mercury at the 2019 Oscars. Therefore, Myers is not the only actor in “Bohemian Rhapsody” gaining even more popularity in recent years. Malek is, too.
Myers' role as the person who turned down Queen inBohemian Rhapsodyisanother way he made the song more popular after a film’s release.I even remember listening to “Bohemian Rhapsody” many more times after watching it at a movie theater. He is not the only reason, as the movie is now considered one ofthe best music biopics of all time, but he certainly played an essential role in the song’s recent popularity. His rejection of the band’s song reminds audiences that Queen had to undergo several obstacles to achieve the high-level success they obtained.
The Connection Between The Two Is A Tribute To Not Just Queen, But Also Waynes’s World
They Are Both Pop Culture Icons
The ironic juxtaposition of Myers' characterspays tribute to Queen’s song. His role inWayne’s Worldprovides insight into how many listeners absolutely adore the song and its outstanding effect on them. Myers' character inBohemian Rhapsody, on the other hand, showcases the rejection the band faced to achieve not only the song’s success but also their own as a band overall. Nothing was just handed over to Queen. They had to work terribly hard to release any of their music, and the story behindBohemian Rhapsodyproves that.
Anyone familiar with his work, though, would know about his role inWayne’s Worldand the “Bohemian Rhapsody” scene.
Myers' role inBohemian Rhapsodyalso pays tribute to the fantastic sing-along scene inWayne’s World. The film could have cast anyone to reject Queen and their song. Yet, they chose Mike Myers. Indeed, he has many roles in several famous movies, fromShrekto theAustin Powersmovies. Anyone familiar with his work, though, would know about his role inWayne’s Worldand the “Bohemian Rhapsody” scene. After all, I am a fan of the actor, and this is one of my favorite scenes of his. Thus, the filmmakers must haveknown they were paying tribute toWayne’s Worldby casting him.
Ultimately,Wayne’s Worldpaid tribute to Queen, andBohemian Rhapsodypaid tribute toWayne’s World. WithWayne’s World 3on everyone’s minds, there is more opportunity for theSaturday Night Livefranchise to honor Queen. The band and their music have changed the lives of many listeners, myself included. Seeing otherpop culture sources reference the band reminds its listeners why they love Queen’s music.When films likeBohemian Rhapsodyshow respect to pop-culture media that clearly adore their source material, they also remind audiences why they love this other media.
Wayne’s World
Cast
Penelope Spheeris takes the classic Saturday Night Live recurring sketch and expands it into its own film with Wayne’s World, a comedy film that stars Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as Wayne and Garth. The movie follows the two music fans as they begin to climb the ladder of success by taking their public access show in their basement to a worldwide audience after “selling out,” leading the two stuck in a situation where they lose creative control of their passion project - and must find a way to take it back.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Bohemian Rhapsody tells the story of the band Queen and their iconic frontman Freddy Mercury (Rami Malek). A biographical musical drama, Bohemian Rhapsody follows the meteoric rise of Queen from their formation in 1970 and chronicles some of the creative and personal differences that the band was forced to overcome to achieve global success.
