Two mistreated teen outlaws find love and purpose on the open road in YouTube’s trashy but tender romantic-comedy.
“‘Bonnie and Clyde’ for the younger generation” must be a hot pitch around Hollywood. After Netflix struck cult-classic gold with “The End of the Fucking World” in early 2018, YouTube has another rebellious-teen/road-trip romance to rev up the new year. And unlike so many inadvertent entertainment twins, where one entry dwarfs the other, “Wayne” is worth watching.
Created by Shawn Simmons (“School of Rock”) and produced by the “Deadpool” team of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the half-hour black comedy follows Wayne (Mark McKenna of “Sing Street”) as he takes and doles out beatings, each delegated by his sense of duty. The 15-year-old tough guy has quite a reputation around his southeastern Massachusetts hometown, and most kids run when they hear, “Wayne’s comin’!” But his vengeance stems from pain: Wayne’s mother up and left, while his father (Ray McKinnon) is dying from workplace illness.