Bill and Ted Face the Music

 

It's been 29 years since we last saw Bill and Ted but we finally catch up with them after all this time as our titular heroes finally face having to write the song that is supposed to unite all of existence. With a return of a very game Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, how does this belated sequel stack up? I'm happy to report that is was most excellent.

Bill S. Preston, Esquire (played by Alex Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (played by Keanu Reeves) have spent the time since we last saw them exhaustively trying to create the song that will unite the world with no apparent success. As a result, their fame as Wyld Stallyns has waned significantly from when we saw them last at the end of Bogus Journey. They have now basically been reduced to playing weddings and open mic nights. Just as they reach their lowest point as Ted is about to quit the band, they are visited by Kelly (played by Kristen Schaal), Rufus's daughter. She transports them to the distant future where they are informed by Kelly's mother, The Great Leader (played by Holland Taylor), that the duo that the time has come to create the song that will unite all of existence or else all of time and space will unravel in less than 7 hours. Facing the biggest case of writer's block ever, Bill and Ted make the inspired choice to steal the old time booth time machine and travel into their future when they've already written the song and just steal it from themselves. Meanwhile, The Great Leader is not convinced that Bill and Ted are destined to save the universe and sends a robot sentry to go after them and assassinate them, in accordance with an alternative interpretation of their historical documents. When Kelly returns to the past to warn them, she instead finds Bill and Ted's daughters, Thea (played by Samara Weaving) and Billie (played by Brigette Lundy-Paine). Billie and Thea decide to borrow Kelly's time machine to travel back in time to gather some of the greatest musicians of all time, including Jimi Hendrix (played by Dazmann Still) and Louis Armstrong (played by Jeremiah Craft), to assist their fathers when they get back with the song. 

Dean Parisot directed the film from a script from series mainstays Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. Despite it being 29 years later, they do an impressive job of recapturing the same good-natured sweetness and innocence of the characters Bill and Ted, as well as the tone of the first two films. This does feel like a genuine progression of these two characters that we have followed all these years. Yet, Bill and Ted are older now and you get a sense they are tired, wearing out under the pressure knowing they are destined to create this great song that is supposed to unite the universe. The film does come up with plenty of unique and fun set pieces to keep things fresh without retreading too much familiar material, especially as Bill and Ted meet their various future selves throughout time that seem to be worse and worse off with each meeting. For a movie that has several plot lines in motion, it keeps a brisk pace which lends a certain energy to the film. The film also manages to work in a brief but touching tribute to the late George Carlin that was a nice touch.

Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves do an excellent job recapturing their characters, while also adding additional layers as they are now at middle age. Their characters have been such close friends for much of their lives and it becomes clear just how close they are. They even attend couples therapy with their wives at one point...together. There has always been a sweetness and innocence to these characters beyond everything else that continues on wonderfully with them again in these films. No matter what else, these two mean well, which is a big part of what continues to make them such endearing characters. Added to the mix this time are their daughters, played wonderfully by Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine. Lundy-Paine in particular really feels like a chip off the old block as Ted's daughter as she captures so much of Ted's persona as well. Samara Weaving is wonderful as Thea and makes a great pair with Brigette Lundy-Paine much in the same way Alex and Keanu have been a great pair. Kristen Schaal pops up to stand in for the late George Carlin as Rufus's daughter and does a great job with the role in that hilarious Kristen Schaal way. It was great that they were able to work in William Sadler as the Grim Reaper again in a very natural and funny way as the two different plot lines converge in hell.   

Bill and Ted Face the Music is the rare belated sequel that really manages to recapture what made the first two movies great fun and brings things to a satisfying conclusion in a most non-heinous way. The film does leave things open for more adventures should the opportunity present itself, but if they left it as it is this would be a most excellent way to end the trilogy of films.  

Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey

It has taken me some time to really warm up to Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. As a follow-up, it's a film that diverts dramatically from what the first film was. However, as I revisited it again for this review, I have to admit I was really taken with what a creative and bold follow-up it actually is. It's a sequel that definitely blazes it's own path and never settles to just rehash the original film and I can't help but respect it for that. 

We re-join Bill S. Preston (played by Alex Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (played by Keanu Reeves) still trying to get their band Wyld Stallyns off the ground. They are disrupted when they meet their evil robot counterparts (played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves), who they mistake for themselves from the future. The evil robot Bill and Ted were sent into the past by the most heinous De Nomolos (played by Joss Acklund), who is scheming to assassinate Bill and Ted in the past to reform the future as he'd like it to be. The evil robots succeed in killing Bill and Ted, who find themselves in the depths of hell. With no other option, Bill and Ted have to figure out a way out of hell, face off with the Grim Reaper (played by William Sadler), and find a way back to life so they can stop their evil robot selves from destroying their lives and, oh, also win Battle of the Bands so they can finally get their band going. 

The film was directed by Pete Hewitt from a script by Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson. Soloman and Matheson went wild with throwing every crazy idea they had on the page and amazingly it works. Have Bill and Ted face off with the Grim Reaper from Bergman's The Seventh Seal in a series of board games in an attempt to regain their lives, as death loses one game after another, be it Battleship, Clue, Electric Football, or Twister? Sure, why not? Evil robot Bill and Ted causing havoc all over San Dimas? Of course, why wouldn't that be in the movie? Bill and Ted venturing into their own personal versions of hell that look like Dr. Suess' nightmares? That's gotta be in here! This movie is a bit more scattershot than the original film, but it also feels a bit more unique. Pete Hewitt directs the action well, giving the film it's own unique visual flair, especially as the action moves through Heaven, Hell, the Future, and everywhere in between. For a film that has such dark themes, they really give it a light touch so it never quite stops being fun, even as Bill and Ted are fighting their way out of Hell.  

Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves reprise their roles as the titular heroes well, more or less picking up right where they left off in the first film. There is such a good-natured quality to these two characters that make them hard not to love, in spite of their more air head tendencies. It's clear that both Winter and Reeves are having a lot of fun playing the characters too. There is something amusing about them encountering all these crazy things with an almost affable indifference, such as them meeting the Grim Reaper and Ted responding by saying, "How's it hanging, Death?" Then on the other hand, Reeves and Winter are clearly having a ball playing the robot counterparts of Bill and Ted, who are every bit the lunkheads but only evil too. But the person who absolutely steals the show is William Sadler as the Grim Reaper. Whether it's his growing frustration at being bested at a series of board games by Bill and Ted or trying rather badly to sneak into Heaven with Bill and Ted, or even remarking to a smoker, "See you real soon" as he walks by (as said smoker immediately stamps out the cigarette and quickly walks away), Sadler had me laughing all the way through. Joss Acklund really doesn't get much to work with as the villain, De Nomolos, but makes it the best he can (although the fact that his name is co-writer Ed Solomon's name backwards is pretty clever).

Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey is certainly a bold and original sequel and is carves plenty of new ground for the world of these two lovable numbskulls. It did result in a rather polarizing sequel that has taken some time for audiences to really warm up to, although it has gained a sizable cult following in it's own right. It's certainly one took a few viewings for me to fully appreciate. If nothing else, it's a sequel that never settled for rehashing the original while also being very funny, very unique and very entertaining.  

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

 

I've always been a sucker for a good time travel movie and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure is one of the more fun ones. There's a certain charm to the film as we watch the titular characters stumble through time to study for a crucial history report they have due the next day. It doesn't burden itself with time travel theory or even perhaps historical accuracy, rather preferring to just be a good and frequently funny. It certainly made it's mark with audiences over the years, with a belated third movie finally hitting screens this weekend. In honor of this occasion, I take a look back at the movie that started it all.

Bill S. Preston (played by Alex Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (played by Keanu Reeves) are two best friends living in the California suburb of San Dimas, California. They have aspirations to being rock stars with their garage band Wyld Stallyns, of which they are the only two members and it occupies much of their free time. As a result, their schoolwork has suffered. If they fail their history exam, Ted's dad (played by Hal Landon, Jr.) is threatening to send Ted to Oates Military Academy. Realizing they have to buckle down, the two hit the books when they are visited by a man from the future, Rufus (played by George Carlin). He was sent back to present Bill and Ted with a time machine in the form of a telephone booth that they can use to travel through time to prepare for their presentation the next day. After their first trip accidentally brings Napoleon (played by Terry Camilleri) into present day California, Bill and Ted decide to travel through time to bring other important historical figures to present day to help with their report too, including Billy the Kid (played by Dan Shor), Socrates (played by Tony Steedman) and Abraham Lincoln (played by Robert V. Barron), among others.

The film was directed by Stephen Herek from a script by Ed Soloman and Chris Matheson. There is a certain simplicity to this film's story that really works for me. It's basically two numbskulls misadventures as they travel through time, with their reactions to various things providing much of the humor of the film. But there is a lot of cleverness behind all the silliness that really worked for me with Soloman and Matheson's script. There is also a lot of heart in the movie too, especially towards the main characters, who despite it all have a sort of sweet innocence about them and it's clear no matter what, they mean well. They may not be the brightest bulbs, but there is a certain charm to them that makes them rather likable. They are a pair that you can't help but root for and don't want to see split up. The movie also does set up plausible stakes to explain why Rufus brings them the time machine in the first place. It turns out that Bill and Ted, with their band Wyld Stallyns, ultimately create music that helps unite the world and create the future as they know it. With Ted being threatened with being shipped off to Military School puts that future in dire jeopardy.     

Keanu Reeves' turn as Ted was the first role to really make him famous, so much so that he struggled to escape it initially and feared his epitaph would read Here Lies Keanu Reeves. He Played Ted. Still, he infuses Ted with a certain likability and charm that is hard to resist and it's easy to see why he became the beloved star he is today. Alex Winter matches Keanu beat for beat throughout the film as Bill. Both actors do a great job depicting how close of friends the two of them are and that they have been friends for a long time. George Carlin has a small but memorable role as Rufus, who initially sends Bill and Ted off on their adventure. It's so memorable in fact, that when the third movie was announced, fans were wondering how a Bill and Ted movie could work without Rufus, since Carlin passed away in 2008. Of course, I also have to make note of the actors playing the various historical figures, especially Terry Camilleri as Napoleon, who is cut loose on modern day San Dimas as we see him interact with such things as bowling and a water park, ultimately finding delight in both. In fact, the actors are clearly having a ball playing their historical characters interacting with modern day, whether it's Beethoven (played by Clifford Davis) discovering electric keyboards, Joan of Arc (played by Jane Wiedlin) taking to aerobics, or Genghis Khan (played by Al Leong) laying waste to a sporting good store after trading his club in for an aluminum baseball bat. 

This film certainly made it's mark not only in pop culture history, spawning both an animated series, a ill-fated live action series, two sequels and a breakfast cereal, but also in the pantheon of time travel movies. There is even a knowing nod to the Bill and Ted films in the cult favorite time travel series Timeless, with the three lead characters Lucy Preston, Wyatt Logan and Rufus Carlin named after the characters in this movie. Still, none of it would matter if the first film wasn't as fun and memorable as it was. It's not going to be confused with high art, but it was never meant to be. This movie is just plain fun from beginning to end, and frequently more clever than one might initially expect, not unlike it's two titular characters.