It was in 1989 that audiences were first introduced to the
duo of Bill S. Preston, Esquire, and Ted ‘Theodore’ Logan AKA the Wyld Stallyns
(*Air Guitars*) in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Inspired by a
stand-up routine that writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson (the latter being
the son of legendary sci-fi writer Richard Matheson) had developed in college,
this comedic romp about two music-loving high-schoolers who are given a phone
booth shaped time machine to ace a crucial history report quickly became one of
the most iconic films of the 80’s. Bolstered by the outstanding camaraderie
between its two stars, Alex Winter as Bill and Keanu Reeves as Ted (not to
mention a scene-stealing turn from George Carlin as Rufus, their friendly guide
from the future), it soon paved the way for a 1991 sequel, Bill & Ted’s
Bogus Journey. After that, the franchise saw its fair share of spin-offs,
including an animated series that notably saw Winter, Reeves, and Carlin reprise
their respective roles for its first season before they were replaced by the
actors who would end up playing the characters in a short-lived live-action
series. But as for a potential third film, that ended up taking a while for
various reasons ranging from Reeves, Winter, Solomon, and Matheson all moving
on to other projects to a general reluctance from most studios to try and
revive a ‘cult’ franchise without it being a reboot. Eventually, though, a deal
was finally made (which, reportedly, was largely thanks to the career resurgence
that Reeves experienced in 2014 with John Wick) for one of the
most iconic duos in cinematic history to make their triumphant return to the
big-screen. Thus, 29 years after the release of Bogus Journey, we now
have Bill & Ted Face the Music, directed by Dean Parisot, the same
director behind another sci-fi cult classic, 1999’s Galaxy Quest. And
for a film that’s been several years in the making, I’m pleased to report that
fans will not be disappointed by this long-awaited threequel.
It has been more than three decades since Bill S. Preston,
Esquire (Alex Winter) and Ted ‘Theodore’ Logan (Keanu Reeves) were first told that,
in the future, they would create the kind of music that would unite the world
and form a utopian society. By the year 2020, however, they’ve been unable to
come up with that world-changing music, thus resulting in their band, the Wyld
Stallyns, falling into complete irrelevancy. And yet, at the point where Bill
& Ted speculate that the time has finally come for them to move on to other
things, the two are approached by Kelly (Kristen Schaal), the daughter of their
old friend Rufus, who brings them into the future to address a major problem.
There, they are informed by the Great Leader (Holland Taylor), who also happens
to be Kelly’s mother, that they must perform that pivotal song at 7:17 PM that
night. If they fail to perform it, reality as they know it will fall apart,
which is something that has already begun to take place all over the world as
historical figures are randomly transported to other points in time. Realizing the
daunting task at hand, Bill & Ted decide that the best route for them to write
the most important song of their lives is to travel into the future to a point
where they have written it. And so, with the help of their old phone
booth time machine, the Wyld Stallyns head out on a new adventure to finally
fulfill their destinies. Meanwhile, Bill & Ted’s daughters, Theodora ‘Thea’
Preston (Samara Weaving) and Wilhelmina ‘Billie’ Logan (Brigette Lundy-Paine), attempt
to help their dads by embarking on their own time-travel adventure to recruit
some of the most legendary musicians of all-time.
One of the best things about the Bill & Ted films
is how they’ve never tried to take themselves too seriously. In other words,
this is a franchise that is fully aware of how utterly goofy it can be and how
it’s far from being an accurate interpretation of both history and the concept
of time-travel. And yet, it goes without saying that this is one of the biggest
reasons why these films have always been so entertaining, with Bill &
Ted Face the Music dutifully continuing that trend. When comparing this
film to its predecessors, Face the Music does a great job of incorporating
the best elements of both Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey,
two films that, plot-wise, newcomers to the franchise may be surprised to find
are quite different from each other. Overall, Face the Music is arguably
more in line with the former since it sees the titular duo heavily utilize
their iconic phone booth time machine, which wasn’t featured as prominently in
the surreal road-trip-esque adventure that was Bogus Journey. And yet, the
film still manages to feature many of the great things that Bogus Journey brought
to the franchise, such as, of course, Death himself (William Sadler), who’s
revealed to be on rocky terms with Bill & Ted after they had sued him for
trying to hog their spotlight. It’s also worth noting that, ironically, Face
the Music is the first installment in a series centered on characters who are
musicians for a living that is largely based around music. And despite
everything that I just said about how this film generally mirrors the plot of Excellent
Adventure and is full of nostalgic throwbacks, both this and some solid
moments of emotional poignancy that do address how much time has passed since
the release of Bogus Journey helps Face the Music stand out
amongst its predecessors.
Ultimately, though, the best thing that this film manages to
accomplish is that it’s an absolute comedic riot, and of course, this is
largely thanks to one of the best comedic duos in cinematic history, Alex
Winter and Keanu Reeves as Bill & Ted. Even after all these years, Winter
and Reeves slip back into their iconic roles with ease and their camaraderie is
just as terrific as it was back in the 80’s (and early 90’s since Bogus
Journey came out in 1991). Face the Music also notably sees a few
key figures from the franchise make a return as well, such as Hal Landon Jr. as
Ted’s consistently disapproving father Capt. John Logan and Amy Stoch as Bill
(and later Ted’s) ever-flirtatious step-mother Missy. But when it comes to
classic characters from this franchise (apart from Rufus due to George Carlin’s
passing in 2008, although the film does feature some nice tributes to him),
none are arguably more iconic than William Sadler as the personification of Death
himself, the Grim Reaper. Admittedly, Death doesn’t factor into the film too
much as he doesn’t really show up until the final third, but even with his
brief screen-time, Sadler is once again one of the top comedic standouts as this
franchise’s delightfully dorky interpretation of the Grim Reaper. As for
newcomers, Face the Music sees its fair share of great additions to the cast
such as Kristen Schaal as Rufus’ daughter Kelly, who gets into a lot of
hilarious arguments with her mother, and Anthony Carrigan as an anxiety-prone
robot named Dennis that the Great Leader sends out to kill Bill & Ted when
it seems like they won’t be able to fulfill their prophecy. But, of course, the
biggest new additions to the cast are Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine
as Bill & Ted’s daughters Thea and Billie. And while their roles in the
film primarily consist of them embarking on the same kind of time-travel/unexpected
excursion to hell adventures that their dads went on, Weaving and Lundy-Paine prove
to have the exact same kind of outstanding camaraderie that Winter and Reeves
have always had. It also helps that the two of them just feel like the natural
offspring of their respective parents.
As I noted in the intro, Bill & Ted Face the Music is
one of the prime examples of a film that was several years in the making. I
still remember when this film was initially rumored to be happening all the way
back in 2009/2010, which was right around the time when I was first introduced
to this franchise. And because of all the times where it seemed like little to
no progress was being made in its development, I will openly admit that there were
a few points where, presumably like many others, I started to wonder if the
film was ever going to see the light of day. But now, that time has finally
come, and to be perfectly blunt, it couldn’t have come at a better time. At the
risk of making an incredibly obvious pun, Bill & Ted Face the Music is
a most triumphant return for one of the most iconic comedic duos in cinematic history.
For a film that could’ve easily ended up as being nothing more than a stale and
outdated rehash of its predecessors, it instead serves as a reminder of why this
franchise has thoroughly maintained its status as an enduring cult classic. As
always, much of this is due to the perfect combination of Alex Winter and Keanu
Reeves’ excellent (*air guitars*) performances in the title roles and Ed
Solomon and Chris Matheson’s sharp script that, in this instance, does a great
job of bringing the best elements of the previous two films together in ways
that will surely satisfy longtime fans. At the same time, though, the film also
manages to be much more than just a rehash of what came before and, with some surprisingly
well-handled emotional moments, proves that even dim-witted characters like
Bill & Ted can show some genuine signs of maturity. Because of all this, Face
the Music is the very definition of a feel-good film, which means that I’m
more than willing to echo the sentiments of many of my peers by stating that
this will surely be a delightful bit of escapism for anyone who’s been thoroughly
overwhelmed by everything that is 2020.
Rating: 4.5/5
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