WAYNE’S WORLD 2 (Directed by Stephen Surjik. Starring Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Christopher Walken, Tia Carrere, Ralph Brown)

A SURPRISINGLY original and inventive follow-up to the finest post-modernist comedy ever made. Not. Guess what, Wayne’s World 2 is like Wayne’s World, only with different jokes.

The two teenage airheads from Aurora have grown up a little; that is, they’re still not as old as they look (about forty) but they’ve moved out of home and are getting into girls and stuff. The puerile but unforgettable rock classic in the opening credits is ‘Radar Love’ (good choice); there are a lot of special guest appearances (Kim Basinger, Drew Barrymore, Heather Locklear, Charlton Heston and Aerosmith); more verbal jiggery pokery and some nice touches of cinematic wit (including a great subtitled kung fu fight) but it inevitably lacks the fresh faced sparkle of the original.

The duo’s cause is not helped by the defection of director Penelope Spheeris, whose replacement is a strictly pedestrian first-timer. Wayne’s World 2 is amusing enough, but I suspect it will be the last in a short lived series. Wayne and Garth are going to have to get proper jobs like the rest of us. It’s amazing how quickly the new becomes old, isn’t it dudes?