Beyond ‘No ‘Stairway”: The 10 Funniest ‘Wayne’s World’ Deep Cuts

Led Zeppelin didn’t write tunes everybody liked,” Wayne Campbell once mused to his best friend, Garth Algar. “They left that to the Bee Gees.”

And in comedic terms, Wayne’s World‘s Bee Gees moments — those larger-than-life, people-pleasing scenes — are pretty obvious: Wayne and Garth singing (and head-banging) along to Queen‘s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the duo telling Alice Cooper they’re “not worthy” of being in his presence, Wayne testing out a Fender Stratocaster before a guitar shop employee details their strict “No Stairway” policy. (In actuality, the riff he plays sounds zero percent like that rock epic, but let’s not split hairs.)

Still, some of the funniest moments from that 1992 classic are, to continue the music theme, deep cuts. For example, while most people love the Cooper sequence for Wayne and Garth bowing down to greatness, other moments from that backstage cameo — including an anecdote about Milwaukee’s political history — balance out the silly physical comedy with straight-up absurdity. For this list, we dug a bit deeper — recapping some of Wayne’s World‘s most overlooked punch lines and gags.

10. Garth’s Twilight Zone Interlude

It’s a tense moment — how many of us have signed a contract without understanding every little clause? So you can’t blame Garth for feeling a bit suspicious as he and Wayne sign over their show to hotshot businessman Benjamin (Rob Lowe). He does the natural thing: placing a pen on the restaurant table, intentionally knocking it off, gesturing to the camera to meet him near the floor, daydreaming about how much the moment reminds him of a classic sci-fi program. “Does this seem weird?” he asks. “I mean, why does this guy have contracts? Did you ever see the Twilight Zone where the guy signed a contract, and they cut out his tongue and they put it in a jar and it wouldn’t die — it just grew and pulsated and gave birth to baby tongues? Pretty cool, huh?” Very.

9. Garth’s Epic Drum Solo 

Wayne testing out “Excalibur” shows up on more “best moment” lists, but Garth’s fantasy drum solo wins this head-to-head comedic showdown. He’s just killing time as Wayne takes a hard look at the Stratocaster, but Garth ends up the star in his mind — testing out a massive kit with loads of toms and two kick drums. Suddenly the music shop transforms into a rock club, Garth smiling under the lights while flaunting his chops. “Wow, you’re … amazing, dude,” says an onlooker. “Thanks, I like to play,” he sheepishly replies, gently tapping a ride cymbal for emphasis.

8. Garth’s Profound Underwear Analogy

It isn’t a seamless transition for Wayne and Garth, moving their show from a shoddy basement to an expensive studio. But for a brief period, they find a sense of security — much like the kind some fresh Hanes provide. “It’s like a new pair of underwear,” Garth notes. “At first it’s constrictive, but after a while, it becomes a part of you.”

7. Bugs Bunny: A Vision in a Dress

In a rare quiet moment, Wayne and Garth recline on the hood of the Mirthmobile, staring into the sky as the latter whistles a hilariously pitch-perfect melody. They share brotherly daydreams about their future (“Sometimes I wish I could boldly go where no man has gone before,” Garth muses, “but I’ll probably stay in Aurora”) and gush over Wayne’s future girlfriend, Cassandra. But the scene peaks with Garth’s out-of-nowhere admission that he’s turned on by a particular cartoon character: “Did you ever find Bugs Bunny attractive when he put on a dress and played a girl bunny?” he asks, earning a resounding “no” from Wayne. “Neither did I,” Garth adds. “I was just asking.”

6. Wayne’s Unwanted Gun Rack   

Wayne’s obsessive ex-girlfriend, Stacy (Lara Flynn Boyle), is a pointless character, but thankfully she provides us with this scene. After spotting Wayne at the donut shop, she waltzes over to bring him an anniversary present — even though they broke up two months before. (“If it’s a severed head,” Wayne notes, “I’m going to be very upset.”) The reality is much more ridiculous: “A gun rack?” our protagonist exclaims. “A gun rack. Shyeah, right! I don’t even own a gun, let alone many guns that would necessitate an entire rack.” (Few comic actors could make the word “a” funny, but Myers is not most actors.)

5. The Choice of a New Generation 

Wayne and Garth aren’t too fond of their new corporate overlords after signing a contract with Noah Vanderhoff (Brian Doyle-Murray), owner of Noah’s Arcade. (They even make fun of the guy on camera — not the wisest business move.) So when sharp-dressed Benjamin reminds the hosts of their business duties, they respond with, naturally, a super meta-joke about the interaction of sponsorship and artistic integrity. “Contract or no, I will not bow to any sponsor,” Wayne says, holding a Pizza Hut box. The jokes bounce back and forth, as the duo pimp themselves out for Reebok, Doritos and Nuprin. Pondering whether or not to play by the rules, Wayne mugs for the camera, modeling a can of Pepsi, and adds, “It’s the choice of a new generation!”

4. It Sucks, Whether Cutting and Not

Poor Ron Paxton. He shows up to a dinky public access show, beaming from ear to ear as he hawks his genius invention the Suck Kut (“a revolution in home haircutting”) — only to be mercilessly mocked. “Wow, what a totally amazing, excellent discovery!” Wayne says with fake enthusiasm before Paxton slaps the device onto Garth’s “melon.” (“Just a trim,” Garth warns. “Don’t buzz me, all right?”) “As you can see, it sucks as it cuts!” Paxton adds, essentially vacuuming Garth’s scalp. Wayne, comeback master: “It certainly does suck!”

3. Delaware’s New Deadpan Tourism Slogan

Wayne and Garth, now working in a fancy studio, take advantage of their newfound chroma key technology by “[traveling] through time and space.” They venture to obvious destinations like Hawaii and Texas, adding goofy one-liners for each. Then, well: “Imagine being magically whisked away to … Delaware,” Wayne says. “Hi. I’m in … Delaware.”

2. Alice Cooper: King of Milwaukee 

Wayne and Garth are ushered backstage at an Alice Cooper show, flashing their laminated passes as they slide into a bustling hangout space. But what they find isn’t quite the rowdy atmosphere they expected. Instead, Cooper launches into a studious stream of Milwaukee-related trivia: “I’m a regular visitor here, but Milwaukee has certainly had its share of visitors,” he says, much to the duo’s bewilderment. “The French missionaries and exploring were coming here as early as the late 1600s to trade with the Native Americans.” Later, he observes that Milwaukee is the “only major American city to have ever elected three socialist mayors.” Wayne’s perfect reply: “Does this guy know how to party or what?”

1. Demented Diatribes at a Donut Shop

Most TV fans will recognize Ed O’Neill for his major roles on the sitcoms Married … With Children and Modern Family. But his most ridiculous performance — a low-stakes and somewhat disturbing role as Glen, manager of the Mikita’s Donuts — just might be his funniest. The whole thing is a non sequitur: As Wayne (Mike Myers) breaks the fourth wall, guiding viewers through his life in Chicago suburb Aurora, Ill., he stops by the shop, only to have Glen intercept the camera with a rant about his dark past. “I’d never done a crazy thing in my life before that night,” he says, nearly gritting his teeth with intensity. “Why is it that if a man kills another man in battle, it’s called heroic, yet if he kills a man in the heat of passion, it’s called murder?” Later on, he has a similarly twisted conversation with a customer who recently lost his job. “I know what you’d like to do,” Glen snarls. “You’d like to find the guy who did it, rip his still-beating heart out of his chest and hold it in front of his face so he can see how black it is before he dies.” The man replies, baffled, “Actually, I was thinking of filing a grievance with the union.”

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