Summary
- Singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" in Wayne's World had a cultural reset for the iconic Queen song, making it more popular and memorable.
- Mike Myers, who played Wayne in Wayne's World, also appeared in Bohemian Rhapsody as a record executive who rejected the song.
- The connection between Wayne's World and Bohemian Rhapsody pays tribute to both pop culture icons, highlighting the impact of Queen's music.
Wayne's World is one of the funniest comedies born out of Saturday 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 are driving 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 movie the Bohemian Rhapsody cast includes 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, is Myers' 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" is one 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 of Wayne'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 the Wayne's World stars 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 in Bohemian Rhapsody is 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 that nobody 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 reason Bohemian Rhapsody is one of the best musical biopics, and it is due to the overwhelming success of the film's exhibits of the song.
Bohemian Rhapsody was 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 in Bohemian Rhapsody is another way he made the song more popular after a film's release. I even 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 of the 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' characters pays tribute to Queen's song. His role in Wayne's World provides insight into how many listeners absolutely adore the song and its outstanding effect on them. Myers' character in Bohemian 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 behind Bohemian Rhapsody proves that.
Anyone familiar with his work, though, would know about his role in Wayne's World and the "Bohemian Rhapsody" scene.
Myers' role in Bohemian Rhapsody also pays tribute to the fantastic sing-along scene in Wayne'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, from Shrek to the Austin Powers movies. Anyone familiar with his work, though, would know about his role in Wayne's World and 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 have known they were paying tribute to Wayne's World by casting him.
Ultimately, Wayne's World paid tribute to Queen, and Bohemian Rhapsody paid tribute to Wayne's World. With Wayne's World 3 on everyone's minds, there is more opportunity for the Saturday Night Live franchise to honor Queen. The band and their music have changed the lives of many listeners, myself included. Seeing other pop culture sources reference the band reminds its listeners why they love Queen's music. When films like Bohemian Rhapsody show respect to pop-culture media that clearly adore their source material, they also remind audiences why they love this other media.
Wayne's World
- Release Date
- February 14, 1992
- Runtime
- 94 minutes
- Director
- Penelope Spheeris
Cast
Dana Carvey
WHERE TO WATCH
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 ion project - and must find a way to take it back.
- Writers
- Mike Myers, Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner
- Studio(s)
- Paramount Pictures
Your comment has not been saved
Bohemian Rhapsody
- Release Date
- October 24, 2018
- Runtime
- 2h 14m
- Director
- Bryan Singer, Dexter Fletcher
Cast
Ben Hardy
Aidan Gillen
WHERE TO WATCH
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.
- Writers
- Anthony McCarten, Peter Morgan
- Studio(s)
- 20th Century
Your comment has not been saved