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sends a robot sentry to go after them and assassinate them, in accordance with an alternative interpretation of their historical documents.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.