Wayne's World

Last night I came home trying to do some work but when I came home all my roommate's were watching Wayne's World so I naturally sat down and put off my work further more. I was never passionate about Wayne's World but I remember appreciating it when I saw it a good 6 or 7 years ago so I was curious what I'd think of it now. I don't know if I just haven't changed my humor since middle school or was just enjoying the nostalgia of watching it, but I found myself and my roommates laughing hard at the a lot of the jokes. One of my favorite scenes in that movie is Garth's day dream about approaching the hot girl in the dinner with Jimmy Hendrix's Foxy Lady underneath it.

After that I started thinking about how this movie was different because of how frequently they broke that fourth wall. It was cheesy at times but I still enjoyed it. My favorite time they break the fourth wall is when Wayne, Garth, and Cassandra are in Ben Kane's apartment. Garth Steps back and starts talking about how bad of an idea it was for Wayne to bring Cassandra there. Although he's supposed to be the idiot of the film I realize he pushes the plot forward. In that scene he's going around the apartment showing books of "how to pick up women" and then finds is to do note book that says, "buy television program - Exploit it." I can't tell if it was a cheap or clever way of pushing the story forward.

I think overall, I really liked how they had the characters aware that a movie was being made on them. I think since Wayne and Garth were making a TV show in the movie, it fits to have them aware of the makings of the film. I also really enjoyed how it made fun of Hollywood cliches. Wayne has a scene when he's professing his love to Cassandra where we openly splashes water in his face while "Oscar winning scene" flashes at the bottom of the screen. They do a nice job of transitioning between the realization of the Hollywood cliche back into the storyline with out you even noticing.

Night at the Museum 3?

If there's one thing I hate about the film industry, it's the perpetuation of a film series in order to make  more money. Lucrative films are always getting sequels, prequels and and other type of "quel" that can be squeezed out. Sometimes, these subsequent films build upon the foundation set by their predecessor and are quite good. However, I've found that nine times out of ten, the series reaches a threshold where the films simply stop being good. Take the Shrek series, for example. The original "Shrek" movie was great. Funny, charming, built with a great cast, it was one of my favorite films growing up. Shrek 2 was a pleasant surprise, and in some cases proved to be better than the original. Then "Shrek the Third" rolled around. I remember thinking to myself, my goodness this film is terrible. I didn't even bother going to see the fourth Shrek film. For better or worse, each film was considered a blockbuster hit, and perpetuated the creation of other film. I bet right now there's someone in Hollywood who thinks another Shrek film is a brilliant idea. My point is, monetary success is not proportional to quality, and should not be considered as such.

Recently it was just announced that the "Night at the Musuem" franchise is getting another installment. Now, this one particularly bothers me. I remember being in elementary school when the first film came out, and I was very excited. Rightfully so, as the film was charming, witty, and had a pretty good premise. After seeing the second one, it was clear that the source material for the films had quickly evaporated. It was essentially the same as the first, only it had lost it's charm. I feel like this downhill slide could only continue with a third film. I mean, how many museums can Ben Stiller almost ruin?

It seems like this project is going to get the greenlight, as Robin Williams recently announced that he would reprise his role as Teddy Roosevelt. Nothing to keep a film going like the attachment of big-name actors.

Although I don't want it to, this film will definitely and unfortunately happen.

The Second City

Last night, I attended a comedy show by this troupe called The Second City at James Madison University. I really didn't know much about them before going to the show, but it turned out to be a lot of fun and they were hilarious. Apparently quite a few comedians and actors today have gone through the ranks of this troupe such as Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Chris Farley, Stephen Colbert, and Mike Myers. It has been a starting point for many actors and comedians in the show business and its alumni have gone on to many different things such as SNL, Wayne's World, The Daily Show, 30 Rock, and Conan.  Second City is an improvisational comedy group from Chicago. Since starting in the late fifties, they have been touring all over the country performing at a wide variety of locations, including colleges and universities. 

Their skits ranged from awkward dinner dates to political debates and many forms of standup comedy. They also did a lot of audience participation which I thought was funny because they had to come up with stories and jokes on the spot and think fast about it. Even after just hearing something, they were always able to come up with elaborate stories and jokes to make everything in the audience laugh. In fact, I think some people never stopped laughing through the 90 minutes of the show. 

If anyone has the opportunity to see them perform live anywhere I would highly recommend it. Tickets were only $5 so it was a steal to see that much talent perform for so cheap.