Amazon.com video review:
TV's Saturday Night Live has been
like the evil twin of the legendary alchemist's stone, which
supposedly could turn lead into gold. SNL usually does the
opposite, taking rich comic premises from short skits and
extrapolating them into overblown and unfunny full-length films. ("The
Coneheads"? Puh-leeze!) But this film proved to be the exception,
thanks to Mike Myers's wonderfully rude lowbrow humor and his
full-bodied understanding of who his character is. Wayne Campbell
(Myers) and his nerdy pal Garth (Dana Carvey) are teens who live at
home and have their own low-rent cable-access show in Aurora,
Illinios, in which they celebrate their favorite female movie stars and
heavy-metal bands. When a Chicago TV station smells a potential
youth-audience ratings hit, the station's weasely executive (Rob Lowe)
tries to coopt the show--and steal Wayne's new rock & roll girlfriend
(Tia Carrere) at the same time. It's filled with all kinds of knowing
spoofs of movie conventions, from Wayne talking to the camera (and
forbidding other characters to do so) to hilariously self-conscious
product placements and labeling a moment a "Gratuitous Sex
Scene." Dumb--and very funny. --Marshall Fine
