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Just wanted to mention that Mike Myers grew up in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto, not far from where I grew up. All of Wayne's verbal tics, and expressions, his casual use of high school French (mandatory in the school system here), his exaggerated accent, even his attitudes, feel very specific to growing up in the seventies and eighties around Toronto. My friends and I have always marvelled at the fact that Wayne and Garth seem so much like people we grew up with -- and in some cases, like us. (Have a look at early pictures of the rock band Rush - also from suburban Toronto - it's Wayne and Garth) It may be that these things ('no way' - 'way!') existed all over, but I think there's a lesson here: write specifically. What you might think of as provincial and unsophisticated is actually 'character'. Of course Myers and Carvey have unbelieveable comic chops to support it, but those tics and attitudes come from life, from observation, they aren't made up. And to me, Myers and Carvey are mining these characters for comedy, but what they are absolutely not doing is making fun. They love these characters. A final note: a close friend of mine in high school actually drove a Pacer, and, yes, we drove around town in it. I make no claim that this is more than coincidence, but I just about died when Wayne and Garth turned up in one.

WOW Markham, those were AWESOME observations to read. I LOVE TORONTO but by no means would I have had those direct 1970s - 1980s coming-of-age observations that you experienced first hand, which Mike Myers would have most likely experienced as well. Thank you very much for sharing! Thats really cool how those "Wayne's World" speech patterns, dress codes, vehicle choices and mannerisms hit you on a deep level because you share that suburban Toronto world. That "Write What You Know" mantra allows these characters, co-written by Mike Myers, "seem so much like people we grew up with — and in some cases, like us" to you and very authentic to the rest of us who didn't grow up there. Man, the creative process is always a fantastic thing to be in awe of and analyze. EXCELLENT.